Yesterday, Christmas Day, was in the mid-50sF and sunny. Not what I expect from a Pennsylvania Christmas. But I go with the flow: spent several hours in the Below the Deck Garden, getting the "Big Tidy" under way. I got the entire top row of the area cleaned off, hauled everything up to the hen run, then got to work with a shovel and weeder to try to get ahead of the couch grass which I've officially named "Weed of the Year 2023." I know that, short of digging up the whole top row and sifting the soil, I'll never eradicate the couch grass, but I figure the plants there are so big and so well established that if i can at least knock it back and keep it under some semblance of control, it will be ok.
I also put in 6 green stakes, two per plant, for the peony supports. I need two more stakes (4 big plants). What I do is place the stakes one on each side of the plant, then attach a sort of "girdle" of fencing (only a strip about 12-18 inches wide and as long as it takes to go from one side of the plant to the other. Since the peonies tend to flop forward, down the slope, this works nicely to keep them more or less upright when in bloom. I had been using whatever stakes i could find, mis-matched, and this looks much better, all green, all uniform in height.
It's raining this morning, just light sprinkles so far, so I'm not sure how much I'll get done outside. I don't want to clear off the remaining Below the Deck Garden just yet; the standing seed heads of the asters, garlic chives, sedums, and grasses are still attractive and it's nice to have some "winter interest" to look at instead of just bare dirt. I think it will be an excellent day to get out the seed box, sort, and decide what I need to order. I've also promised a friend I'd sort out what tomato seeds I have and see if she wants any.
***
I've been reading a very eye-opening book on how big corporations have insinuated themselves into every aspect of our lives, mostly without our being fully aware of it. From convincing us we need to buy "air fresheners" (just open a window) to laying a guilt trip on us about recycling (they package stuff in plastic, leaving us no choice, but then insist it's OUR responsibility to find a way to recycle it) the corporate mind meld has shaped modern life.
I've decided to start a "movement." Throw off the shackles of Big Business as it were.
Strike a Blow Against Corporate Oppression!
Gardeners' Unite!
Grow Your Own!
Every Tomato Is a Victory!
If anybody wants to design posters featuring muscular ladies and stern-visaged men courageously weeding the veg, please, go to it.
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| Big Corps by microb | Dec 30, 2023 3:18 PM | 1 |
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