Getting Dirty

Technically, gardening season should be here now, but Mother Nature decided otherwise. We got a dump of snow on Victoria Day, which hasn't quite melted yet and set me back by a few weeks. I've got big hopes for this weekend, though.

Lately, I've been making an attempt at being frugal, so I wasn't going to add any new gardens this year. The only problem is, I've got a stray cat who likes to use the side of my house as a litter box and is forcing me into defensive gardening. Ground cover, egg shells and chicken wire, here we come. Of course, before that ground cover goes in, I need to dig in and edge the garden; so that's what I'll be doing this weekend.

Other than the new garden, I need to do something about my lawn (or lack thereof). The soil in my area has a lot of clay, and the grass has really struggled with it. Last year, it pretty much gave up the ghost. I only had to mow the back yard once, which in and of itself, I didn't mind. The only problem is, a dead lawn kind of detracts from the gardens.

I've been looking into how to fix the lawn, and the ecological consensus is: aerate, organic compost, and better soil. If I was rich, I'd have a load of good, loamy soil brought in, and lay sod over top of that. Unfortunately, I'm not so rich; and as a single person household, I don't produce a whole lot of organic compost. So, I think I'm going to get the yard aerated, spread some better soil over it, and reseed. I might even break down and have some manure delivered.

About that soil... Home depot had a one-day sale on loamy soil over the weekend. A 25L bag was only $1.45; which is a steal of a deal. So, I loaded up the car with as many bags as I could fit. Poor car, it felt like I was popping a wheely all the way home; but we made it.

(I'm aware that all those plastic bags holding that dirt aren't ideal, but I promised myself that I'd use them as garbage bags once I took the dirt out.)