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Therapeutic Effects of Gardening

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 4027

Davit,

It's hard getting a plan out of mom, but maybe it's not fair. I have last years plan, and we had beans, parsley, basil, endive, tomatoes(heritage but wish we had the seedless).

Disappointed since my day(as my life) is hijacked with taking mom to the foot doc, and everything seems to be at the last minute, rather than planned. I need to figure how much mulch, compost & amendments to add to the small garden. The hostas need to be transplanted from the front, since the porch repair would be obstructed, but those hostas are a foot tall. I guess I could move them too, to the back, but I wouldn't do it until I sign a contract timeline, since that could be September, and the hostas are at end of their bloom then.

I got caught up in calculating the rain I could harvest from a roof at a neat website which lets you use google earth to focus on your location, and then amaze yourself in reusing water rather than wasting down the sewer at www.save-the-rain.com/worldbank. Try this KT/Davit, and anyone else, let me know if it's working, since I got lost somewhere. What surprised me is that I think in metric, and when using inches, I was disappointed in the visual bar display from the local weather channel, since the mm seem like more, but inches make the water seem so little during the summer/fall, and hence relaxes my idea of a project interruption, to...which is a good, and necessary seguay to my focus.

I feel unfocused on the main task of getting the porch contracted, since gardening is so seductive(like the garden of Eden), and I was planning on getting the tiller this morning, but couldn't grasp the criterion of whether to till or not depending on whether a handful of soil clumps upon dropping

A work nightmare didn't my popcorn brain any calmer

So we're seeing the foot doc, and tilling will wait until next week, while the day becomes routine

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Kaitie

It is overcast and the clouds are so low I can't see the mountains. It rained but not much. Cold though, temp about the same as you. I have a wood burning cook stove for auxiliary heat. I may need to light it. House is small though so I might not. I'll burn a bit of scrap and see what that does. Mostly it is damp.

Thomas was a unique cat. He had no fear and would ride on my diesel tractor like he owned it. Having no fear got him in trouble though and I did patch him up a lot. He was born here and died here, I would say that was a good life for sure. He will be missed. I don't know if I will replace him.

Hugs

There are times I wish I had a smaller garden but then I've been growing a years worth of food for a long time. It is hard to quit. I used to till it all with an eight horse troy built. Now I use a tractor and a six foot tiller. But I have to be even more careful than you because of the weight of the tractor. And it rained a bit here too. But how late can I leave it. Forecast is for no rain for a few day starting tomorrow. My garden slopes a bit and the soil is light so it has to rain pretty hard to kick me out, but it has in years past. So I rake up narrow raised beds after I till. They have to be watered when it is dry but the plants don't drown on a rainy summer. The beds flatten out over the summer. Also if I side dress with manure the plants can decide how much they want. I have a little bench on skids that straddles the rows. I sit on it over the row to weed and because the row is raised I don't have to bend much. This only works if you have lots of room and that I have.

I have to take pictures of two trees I want to take out. They are very pretty with their flowers but I don't need the apples and letting them fall attracts bears.

Some days planting it all to grass seems like a good idea. Last year I took down the last of the pasture fence to make it easier to mow. I miss the cows, (the organic beef mostly) but it is less work now. Less stress too.

What will you plant in your garden? I put Marigolds in each row to keep carrot fly and cabbage moth away. They have to be the small smelly kind to work. Dill works too. I remember My Mother had poppies in hers but I don't know why. Being this far north we don't get many pests so I can stay organic.

My Peony is only just coming up now. Irises and Lilies will be a while yet too. Tulips are just starting to open.

Looks like it might be a good day to transplant tomatoes in the green house. Squash are coming up in the compost but I don't know what they are. They could be anything. I'll grow a couple just to see, I have the room.

Time for breakfast and another coffee.

Davit

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 4027

I wonder whether I should chance tilling this morning, since I'd rather play it safe until the weekend, after 1/2 inch of rain? It's only a 100 square feet of garden, but hardening the bottom layer might be a bad idea.

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 177

Cloudy and miserable day here today, I've spent all day in front of the air con trying to stay warm. It's been years since we had a winter this cold this early. Today it's 6ºC to 16ºC (42.8F to 60.8F).

My indoor Peace Lily is about to flower though, and we are still getting roses. The bulbs have come up and they're bigger than last year, but they won't flower until spring.

In the meantime though, I've been doing lots of housework and organising. Yesterday I swept and mopped the entire house, and the day before I cleared the overcrowded kitchen benchtops. I'm hoping to organise my wardrobe today, but my room is so freezing! I'll have to turn on my little heater to warm it up.

We're meant to get rain here over the next couple of days, which will bring temperatures down more. I was complaining about having such a humid and muggy summer, so I'm liking this weather a little more than I usually would.

Congratulations on all your flowers blooming, the hard work payed off. And Davit, I'm sorry to hear about Thomas. At 18 he's had a long happy life though, thanks to you.

Kaitie.

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 4027

Getting reading to till soil tomorrow in a small garden is such "waste" of time, but on some level, that's what leisure is, I suppose. I saw the beginning of an Iris, it's first bud, before it bursts into its glorious purple, today. Basil has increased to 3 tiny flowers, from the single one, now, to our delight.

The peony is my new avatar, and I'll wait overnight, to give me something joyous to look forward to photographing tomorrow, until I see the iris again in the morning.

I wonder often, if I have the capacity to deal with "everything" with all the chores to do.

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1071

Hugs,

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!! You're very clever :-)

Also, wanted to say that I feel like I'm 19 again. Actually, I feel healthier than I was at 19. Self care is a very good thing :-) Wish I had learned self-care doesn't mean self-ish a long time ago :-)

Thanks for the laugh Hugs

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 4027

Shari,

Backwards, that would be "ma(how's) ya knee".

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 1071

Hi,

My lilac bushes have bloomed and gone and although I had time to bury my face in them and inhale their wonderful fragrance, I forgot to take a picture of them to post as an avatar. My berry bushes are coming in nicely. Will try to remember to take a photo when they are at their best. My Mother's Day bouquet is still in mint condition, going on two weeks now. The liquid supplement package, to keep them fresh, really works.

My favorite day is Monday. It's when I go for my therapeutic massage. I said, "Knee how ma?" Which means, "How are you?" in Chinese and everyone was impressed :-) Of course, that is the phonetic spelling. Like Davit, anxiety is a faint memory. I feel great! My energy is back, with the iron supplement, and I feel like my old (anxiety free) self again. I've had no back pain since I've gotten weekly massages and it's wonderful to be pain free after a year of back pain. I'm healthy and happy and relaxed. Life is good!

Shari

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Good morning all. (morning here.)

Hard to believe I once had bad anxiety and panic attacks. Not hard to believe I have Arthritis. :-) It is going to be what I consider a nice day. Not too hot and maybe a little rain later in the day. Good for the transplants, good for the soul. Itching to get out there but I have one rule as a single person, house work first. Yuk.

Tractor comes tomorrow and then I can till the Garden and plant it so there is only so much time left to do flowers. What I get is what I get. There may be a day in there somewhere to plant some more flowers. Farmers market is only Saturdays so if I want started plants it has to wait till then. If it rains I work in a Greenhouse.

I would say all this busy has helped but it is more than that. Two major stresses this month plus two people younger than me dying, one of Lung Cancer and one suddenly of a heart attack, and I'm fine. Oh I had to tell the anxious moments to go away, but they did and very quick too.

Talked to Sunny yesterday and she is happy in her apartment. You either like this life or you don't. I like it, she don't. So I'm happy for Her and She left me a nice bunch of perennials. Her dog left me a bunch of... well we won't talk about that. All is well that ends well. I'll admit this is not everyones idea of retirement. For every moment of beauty there is a moment or two keeping it that way. For me it is worth it. The other option is live in a city and share the park. For some that works. Not me I'm afraid although that day is coming.

There is a saying that the seat on a horse is good for the soul of a man. It seems to be tractors now. Tractors are easier for me to get on now and easier to keep but they don't make fertilizer. I have worked with horses. Very quiet, very calm. Gardening is good for the soul, it gives a feeling of accomplishment, it gives a reward and it gives a calm space to relax. I was in a chat room yesterday where everyone but one lady gardened to some extent. She was violently against it and thought it was a stupid waste of time. Never done it and never will. Got left out of the conversation too.

Coffee is done, dishes are done, birds are singing, time to get at it.

Davit

10 years ago 0 +0 / -0 6252

Thanks all.

Samantha, It is a good thing I'm retired so it doesn't matter what I do each day. To think I used to go to work and still find time to work on this place. Since then I have built a trail around the ponds that I can keep mowed with a tractor and built some deer pasture. Both of these places have benches overlooking them. Juanita (from the site a while ago) said it would make a good retreat for people with anxiety disorders. Unfortunately I'm too old and too poor to do that but I may open my door to one at a time. It would be similar to the wwoofer (yes that is how it is spelt) program where people all over the world work for their board and keep. We get a lot of wwoofers in this valley.

Things are going to flower soon, I'll post pictures, but it is a trade, I'd like to see others gardens. Even just a pot with tomatoes.

Thomas was 18 and had a good life as a cat, a lot of freedom and went through all nine lives before this final one. I patched him up a few times, and he never complained. Much like my life. I don't think he ever thought he was a cat. I know sometimes I didn't think of him as one. Many people don't like cats because they are too independent. They are and that is how I'd like to be.

Davit

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Therapeutic Effects of Gardening