Sitting in the coffee shop while my car is getting a tune-up, I’m feeling far from the farm.
Using the complimentary wi-fi, I might as well upload some photos from the vegetable realm. Here’s to garden nourishment!
In the Bag
Once again, it appears as though the Bohemian’s got it in the bag. His innovation continues to impress.
After a year of gardening, our plot has become thick with roots from neighboring trees. Seeking the water and nutrients we bestow upon the garden, their root systems have infiltrated, competing with our plants and tangling our fluffy beds.
The Good Neighbors dealt with the same issue, and decided to dig a trench around the circumference of their garden, inserting a strip of metal to block encroaching tree roots. It’s worked well for them, but it seemed pretty work-intensive for our immediate needs.
An alternative was to create raised beds. But unless we scavenged for our own wood or logs, this would be a few hundred dollars in lumber to build. Additionally, we would eventually be left with sinking soil levels in the beds. Again, a big job and fairly costly.
Ultimately, we just wanted to get some fall crops growing while we were still in the pocket of time to plant. With so many projects on the table, the Bohemian was thinking ‘work smarter, not harder’ and ‘use what’s around.’
Hence, old t-shirts from the giveaway pile, are now housing tomatoes and cauliflower. He used twisty-ties to knot up the sleeves, and filled them with a mix of our rich garden soil, along with his fertilizing worm castings.
Yep, the theory is that this bag of soil will suffice in giving the plant everything it would have in a raised bed, with the added benefit of the t-shirt material holding moisture in the soil.
His solution still doesn’t address the creeping tree roots beneath the garden bed, but it is an immediate solution for our family, that just wants to grow some food this season without a lot of fuss.
I don’t think he sweat a drop, and it didn’t cost us a penny. In fact, it up-cycled some old t-shirts that were cluttering our closet.
It’s an experiment in process, and we’ll see if it bears fruit.
Metamorphosis
A friend gifted the Bohemian a Crown Flower tree for his birthday last April. Not only is it known for its flowers, which can be used in making leis, but it is a host plant for the precious Monarch butterfly.
In the last week, we’ve watched a multitude of caterpillars come to munch the leaves, and have even discovered one cocoon already hanging. The lines along the outside of its wrapping, truly glisten golden in the sunlight. Incredible!
We’ve learned that it’s normal for the caterpillars to devour the whole tree. Once they’ve nourished themselves, made their cocoons, and evolved to fly away as butterflies, the tree will sprout new leaves again.
Knowing that the Monarch butterfly is at risk of extinction (only about 30 million are left on the planet), we are happy to provide a safe haven for them to proliferate.
I delight in the wonder and mystery of how they have discovered us. On a little island (just a speck in the Pacific), our solitary Crown Flower tree sits in a pot, tucked far in the corner of our yard. Yet, now it has become a magnet for these voracious munchers.
Yesterday, my Word Problems post referenced Alice in Wonderland. Well, here’s the caterpillar in real life. Far from lazing, these plump little crawlers are on a mission to transform, in an alchemical process that will take them to new heights. We are thrilled to be the spectators.
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