Backyard Project: New Studio Footwear and New Garden Bed

I wrote a couple of posts about the shoes I wear going to and from the studio and inside the studio here and here.

With the past snowy winter I had to add another pair of footwear - waterproof rubber boots with New Zealand wool liners. These are also my gardening boots. It is usual to wear longer boots when gardening in forest areas to protect the legs from deer ticks.

Recently I added a pair of Skellerup 'Red Band' flip flops/jandles/thongs to my studio shoe collection. I purchased them in New Zealand where they and 'Red Band' gumboots are de rigeur when in the countryside. Now the paths have been leveled and covered with gravel it is no longer hazardous to walk to and from my studio and these are perfect for slipping on and off during the warm months.

Finally the lumber Josh ordered came in and he was able to finish the cedar fence with the top beam.

In theory that meant there would be no more construction activity in the area between the fence and the studio. Finally I could get going on making the new garden bed.

The soil is in rough shape. It has been driven over, walked over, turned into mud over the rainy season and dust in the dry season. It is thoroughly compacted, full of rocks and stones and has little organic matter - so I need to provide the conditions for the soil organisms to make new soil.

First I dug it over taking out all of the rocks in the first few inches. Then I covered it with a thick layer of all the paper and cardboard I had collected from the house and from dumpster diving.

This paper is the 'Party Time' signal for the earthworms, woodlice/slaters and hundreds of other bugs to start partying/eating. 

Normally this layer has to be soaked with water using the hose but the outside water has not been turned on for the season yet so I made this first layer the day before rain was forecast. As predicted, it got thoroughly drenched.

I measured out the path and started construction of the rock edge using rock blasted from the pergola area.

Next layer - coffee grounds courtesy of our local coffee houses/cafes. As I have posted about before - the coffee is the green and the filters and coffee cups are the brown in the compost mix.

Then the muscle moved in dumping wheelbarrow loads of a 'cooked' spent hops mash from a local brewery and the shreddings from a nearby landscaper - a potent mix.

Tah dah - new garden bed. While the soil organisms do their work transforming the layers into soil  I have the pleasurable task of planning the plantings.

Taylor placed the rocks along the bottom of the fence so the bambi deer could not squeeze under it and get inside the backyard. The mother deer on the other side do crazy things when this happens.

 I think of this as a bonus garden bed. I didn't have it in my original concept design and I didn't know how big it would be until the fence was in place and the path was marked out. Not only is it a big bed it is also a pleasing shape.

Rough and Loose, Green then Brown - Two Gardening Mantras

An ant nest found under a mulch of coffee sacks. The ants were forced to move their colony because I was ready to work on the soil in this bed.

While attending the Organic MasterGardener course Ron and I learnt two very important mantras that continue to guide me as I work at building up the soil in all of the garden beds.

Coffee sacks and a woolen blanket have protected this soil bed until I had time to work on it.

The mulch is removed. The ants are moving out.

A deep watering of  the soil to encourage the soil organisms to get active.

The first mantra is 'Green then Brown'

To make compost whether insitu ontop of the soil or in a trench, or in a compost bin the materials need to be layered by alternating different types.

First the green. I harvested most of the comfrey now the flowers have finished and they are no longer visited much by the bees. It is high in minerals the tap root has brought up from deep in the soil and also high in nitrogen. Comfrey is the 'green' and was the first layer put on the soil.

Next I added shredded branches that are high in carbon as the 'brown' layer. 

The 3rd layer was coffee grounds that are high in nitrogen, a 'green' layer. Technically the grounds I pick up from coffee shops are also high in carbon because there are lots of paper products such as filters and paper cups in the bags. 

So the mantra goes, 'Green then Brown, Green then Brown' which translates to 'nitrogen-rich' then 'carbon-rich' then 'carbon-rich' and so on, until you run out of materials.

Time for the 'chicken scratch' while repeating the 2nd mantra, 'Rough and Loose, Rough and Loose.'

I make like a chicken, lightly mixing the layers together while leaving the surface uneven and light. I avoid standing on the soil as much as possible. This method creates the ideal conditions for supporting soil organism activity.

After a deep watering and the addition of  a final top mulch layer, the bed is ready to hand over to the soil organisms to do their job of making a rich friable soil. 

I ran out of time so put the coffee sacks, blanket and cardboard back in place but will replace it with shredded plant material as soon as I can.

'Green then Brown' - 'Rough and Loose'

Backyard Project and Work in the Studio

Ron and Nordic Fencing team leader, Mat, plan the location of the deer fence along the south boundary.

Nathan is digging trenches for irrigation pipes.

The main pipe will be located under the path going around the pergola and arbor. If there is ever a problem with the pipe it can be dug up without disturbing any garden beds.

Meanwhile, I am collecting leaf skeletons from under the tulip trees.

The damp conditions are ideal for the soft parts of the leaf to rot away leaving the leaf skeleton in tact.

After washing and laying the leaves out to dry...

...I am sewing them onto an embroidered afternoon tea cloth that spent a year or so outside wrapped around a tree trunk. I have been adding leaves to this cloth for the past couple of years. The repair of the decayed cloth with darned leaves speaks of how leaves fall to nourish and repair the soil, the skin of the earth. I will keep adding to the cloth for another season or so to demonstrate how soil building is a long term continual process.

The work is called, 'Earth Repair.'

The hyacinths are blooming in the studio bed. There is such a lovely smell as I come and go from the Green Shed.

Now that the winter rains have eased we can continue with the Backyard Project tasks

Composting Up Close ....

We make compost in wire sleeves held together with twist ties - real simple

But in our winter-wet climate the pile gets a little too wet.

I need to make some winter hats for the piles.

We took 1 pile apart to feed the camellia at the front door.

 It is having a rough time this winter. With the 1st lot of heavy wet snow it had fallen over.

Luckily there is a sailor in the house who knows knots.

I think it is the engineer who added the containers full of water as a counterweight.

Its not pretty at the front door but it appears to be working.

The camellia needed compost & mulch because it has woken up already and is working on its flowers.

Once it has finished blooming we can prune it back so it can stand up on its own again.

Ready To Make Compost

Ever since Ron & I did the Gaia College Organic Master Gardener course we have made compost together - not the most romantic of dates but always most interesting.

The key is to have the materials on hand before a compost-making session.

We have been collecting and will be ready to make compost once things warm up a bit.

Above is a pile of our wood chips produced when we had a pile of small branches shredded.

A pile of horse manure that is maturing nicely.

I collect it in my car, not Ron's, from a nearby stable.

The reason why I have to visit coffee shops is to collect their grounds.

All of our 'non-shiny' waste paper gets collected in a pile outside to start decomposing.

As does all of our 'non-shiny' cardboard.

I have been know to raid our neighbour's when they put it out on recycling day.

And most valuable of all, our raked up leaves.

Now if it would just warm up a few degrees so we can use the compost we have and start making some more.

We know how to have a good time together.