From Jamie: The Biggest Thing to Happen to Me in 2 Years!
  
I get it, this photo looks pretty boring. An area of dying grass with a flat patch of gravel and another of... just dirt? Why is this something I am bothering to share with you? The reason is very personal.
Something I have not shared with my most of our clients is my recent health challenge. In May of last year I had a disc replaced in my neck. My C6-7 to be exact. The lead up to that surgery was a year of awful pain and stress. The year that followed was a very slow recovery fraught with ups and downs. I still deal with daily pain, a bad muscle spasm in my neck, a limitation on how many hours I can work at my desk, and a complete transformation of my body as I have been unable to lift more than 10 pounds for 2 years.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and this picture proves it! These flat patches of gravel and dirt used to be 5 cubic yards of gravel and 3 cubic yards of soil. Total weight of 18,300 pounds or 9.15 tons. It took me 5 weeks to move it and I finished it on Sunday. Not a bad improvement over lifting only 10 pounds at at time!
From Michelle: Garden 2023
Oh the joys of having a big home garden! Having fresh veggies available all summer, canning and freezing all that bounty in the fall and then being able to enjoy the literal fruits of your labour all year long. Plus, there's all that money to be saved, considering the price of groceries these days!
It is, however, a whole lot of work. So, this year, in an attempt to save some time and automate some of the work, I installed a drip irrigation system! It took days and days of toiling in the beating sun, (coming perilously close to sunburn and attaining some deeply unattractive tan lines), attaching little sprinkler heads to 1/4 inch tubing, which then connected to 1/2 inch tubing, that then attaches to the garden hose. Then undoing all of that to add more 1/2 inch tubing to increase the flow, then changing it all again... It really was a process, but it would save us hours every week!
Finally, all was set up and I proudly took Jamie out to the garden for a demonstration. I designed it all to turn on with just a single lever on a hose splitter, rather brilliant, I thought. It was beautiful! And completely ineffective. Sigh. Turns out we don't have nearly enough water pressure to operate the system.
So, not being a quitter, I purchased more attachments and reworked the system, then attached a water pump to try and increase the pressure. Nope! The pump wasn't strong enough to even bother bringing electricity out to the garden. I had no choice but to admit defeat, for now.
So, it looks like we will not be saving hours of watering time a week, and our home will be getting a water pump upgrade at some point. Next year the garden WILL be automatically watered and running at a several thousand dollar deficit... Oh the joys of having a large home garden!
The Ultimate Guide to Gardening for Beginners
Just a few years ago, we were gardening novices. Now, the season starts in March with seeds and a bunch of grow lights. Here are some of our plant babies before they made there way out to the garden. There is so much to learn that it can seem overwhelming at first.
Fortunately, Canadian Living has produced a wonderful guide for gardeners who are just starting out. From how to grow vegetables in a garden to container planting and tips and tricks for harvesting at the right time.
Check it out here....
|
