09/30/12

The weather was very nice today. I didn't get as much done as I should have, but did spend a few hours outside working on some projects and enjoying the weather. I worked over at the garden, dragging a few small logs out of the way and pulling down some grapevines that were hanging in the trees near the garden edge. I also clipped the saplings that were growing from the stumps of several small trees that we had cut down earlier in the year.

I think I have a plan for getting the garden plot ready for garlic and cover crops. Since we haven't been able to get rid of the yellow jackets I went ahead and ordered some pesticide to deal with them. The pesticide is suppose to be organic and safe for pets, so we decided to give it a shot. Once that arrives I'll apply and hopefully have the yellow jackets gone by next week. Then I need to clear the weeds around those tree stumps, and then take the chainsaw over and cut the stumps off level with the ground. After that is done I can mow the whole area and then mark off what we want to use as the garden next year. Once that is done I'll till the garden area, then hopefully let it sit for a week or more, so the weeds will have a chance to decompose just a bit before we plant the cover crops. Before planting the garlic I'll add a layer of compost and till that into the soil a few days before time to plant. I just hope we can get it all done before the end of October. It may be pushing it just a bit, since I'm planning to dedicate several days towards the end of the month to assembling the metal storage building that has been sitting in a box in our shed for a couple of years.