Garden Prep

We spent the weekend getting the garden ready for planting, finishing the fence to keep the deer out, and marking and shoveling the soil into raised beds.

You can see that we finally managed to get the tilling done in spite of all of the rain/snow we’ve been getting.  The garden is no longer a safe haven for grass and weeds!

While doing some tidying around the compost bins, I noticed that my watering can has been doing double duty as a mouse trap, similar to the one that Kim’s been using over at The Inadvertent Farmer (have you seen this post? Freakishly cool, but definitely not for the faint of heart!).  Note to self: store the watering can upside down so it doesn’t collect water.

We used string and stakes to mark out our pathways, and then shoveled the soil from the paths onto the beds, creating raised beds.  While we were working, we decided it would be fun to let the chickens into the garden now that it’s fenced.  I used my video camera to capture the moment thinking that I could share it with you here, but the rooster was so moved by the girls’ excitement, that he promptly jumped onto one of the hens, turning it into an entirely different kind of movie.

They spent the afternoon happily following us around, dealing with any residual grass, and snatching up the occasional bug or worm unearthed by our shovels. Since it’s early enough that I don’t really have anything growing yet, I didn’t think there was much for them to get into and destroy, but it turns out they have a taste for garlic greens. Hopefully our eggs won’t taste funny tomorrow.

This gorgeous weather is supposed to hold for a few more days, so tomorrow I’ll be taking the opportunity to get my potatoes into the ground. Maybe, if they promise to be good, I’ll invite my friends to join me.