I’m Baaack!!

It’s been awhile. I apologize. Life got in the way. A lot has happened since February so I’ll try to sum it up for you. 

• I met someone amazing who fills my heart with joy and laughter. 
• Licorice (my sweet hen) was eaten by a opossum – the opossum mysteriously disappeared. 
• My remaining two old biddy hens and rooster are on insect and fertilizer duty. They’re locked up in the coop more than I like but it’s better than being eaten. I don’t get any eggs. 
• I broke my leg playing soccer in early August and lost half my summer. I started walking again in late October. I got very little gardening done this year between the first bullet and this one (and the sea kayaking course I took with the Mountaineers). 

And…

• I’m moving! I plan to rent out my house to someone who enjoys gardening. Yes, I realize this is wishful thinking.  

That being said, I have a lot of garden chores I need to get done to prepare for the move. I need to root prune trees and bushes moving with me. I need to prepare and design my new garden space for plants being moved. And I need to decide which perennials move with me. I’m a little worried about renting out my garden so plan to take all the special plants along with me. Most are ready to be divided anyway. If you have advice on how to successfully rent out a garden, let me know. 

I’m excited about the move. I get to live with the man of my dreams and I get more garden space. Someone should really pinch me. The garden already has a great foundation of mature plants, a deck, a waterfall/pond and a fenced veggie garden. Since I’m a little bit ‘anti-lawn,’ I’ll probably start by killing some of the lawn to make a little more garden space. I like to use leaves and cover with wet cardboard and fine mulch to kill grass. It works great and creates a happy winter home for the worms. I’ll get this going in the next couple weeks. 

I also need to get going on building a new chicken coop. I was looking through my friend Jessi Bloom’s ‘Free-Range Chicken Gardens’ book this morning for inspiration. I haven’t quite decided where it’s going to live or the style of coop. We get a lot of rain so I’ll probably have a covered run and warm shed-like hen house. Then in spring I’ll get some chicks with the goal of getting fresh eggs again. I was thinking of getting French Marans for their dark brown eggs and Ameraucanas for their light blue eggs. Both breeds are hard to find.   

I also need to get my garlic planted ASAP! I’m already a month or so late. 

Lots to do! We’ll chat again soon.