A4

After the Russian novel explaining how I got into gardening, I thought it might be time to actually talk about my current garden.  Actually, A4 isn't really a garden yet; it's more of an irrigated dirt patch.  But that's close enough! I broke ground there two weeks ago, once again with a hopelessly optimistic schedule in mind.  I went there that day with the intention to loosen the soil with a garden fork and then immediately plant the first of my fall crops.  When I got there, the garden fork went in two inches before hitting a bone-dry, hard-packed mix of sand and rock.  We're gonna need a bigger boat, folks.  I tried again with a shovel, digging down into the sand and mixing it with the thin layer of loose topsoil.  In two hours, I managed to loosen an area four feet by six feet.  Is anyone else starting to sense a theme of hubris here?

A4 before, prima vista

In the picture you can see carrots gone to seed and dead from the heat, some unidentifiable brassica likewise parched, and a toppled sunflower, easily 8 feet tall.  Add to that a fine crop of weeds, and I had my work cut out for me.  I spent a few hours clearing this 10x20 plot, and quickly realized I was going to need three things: sturdy work gloves, organic ant killer, and a lot of patience.

There are a variety of weeds that call A4 home, including creeping spurge, knotweed, purslane, and my personal least favorite, goat's head.  I had never encountered the weed known as goat's head before coming to California.  They are truly the worst little plants I have ever known.  Ubiquitous, with a sprawling growth habit and rhizomes to self-propagate, they seem to appear overnight.  I pull one up, and miss the taproot, so it's back the next week.  I pull another up, getting the taproot and also getting viciously stabbed by one of the seedpods in the process.  And since they're the hardiest things growing in my plot, they provide a shady hiding spot for fire ants.

The fire ants are the other big problem.  They aren't terribly aggressive, but when the bite, does it ever sting!  The entire parcel uses only organic methods, so I resolved to mix up a good ol' solution of Borax and brown sugar for my insect frenemies.

I did get a few prizes for my work clearing the plot: the sunflower head was still full of seeds, most of which appeared to be viable.  I also found two misshapen but edible-looking carrots, and I considered taking them home, but I usually like to know something about what I'm eating.

Since there is no soil structure to speak of in my plot, I plan to essentially dig up the soil to loosen it enough for deep rooting, and then add a considerable layer of composted manure to the top.  The other major problem with the soil currently is that it is sandy and won't hold water.  Everything I dug up was dry and dusty, none of the humidity in the soil I'm used to in New England.  So I watered it all down to try and get some moisture into the soil.  I also watered a bit I hadn't dug up yet.  More to come...