Yard map in 2006
It was supposed to rain on Wednesday and my intern was coming. So I figured it would be a good time to map the entire yard. I’d last done it in 2006 when it was .6 acre. I’d done the front quarter where the New Herb garden was going in 2015. And I had the map drawn by the engineer for the septic system.
So I collected all the maps from 1992 forward, rulers, pencils, erasers and tape, and my trusty graph paper and set about creating a map for what is now .71 of an acre, nearly ¾ acre. One ¼” block would be 1’.
The first map is hanging on the back of the chair, above.
My intern and I went out and took measurements of lots of places in the new yard. It had turned sunny and warm by 10:30 but we’d had so much rain in the night it was too wet to work in gardens. Once the measuring was done we went inside and started laying out what we had.
I had also started laying it out in my garden planner (https://www.growveg.com) before she arrived and had started with the northwest corner where the wood pile was. So because I already had that bit figured out, we started there.
Once we got the house and addition drawn on, it became apparent someone (who will go unnamed) hadn’t added correctly and we needed a LOT more paper. So we added 1½ more sheets to the east end and were able to make it to the pasture fence on the east side.
This is a rainy day project and for over the winter. The reason for it is I now have many new areas I can (and can’t) plant, many new micro climates and the much larger area.
The impetuous was an e-mail from High Mowing Seeds regarding their Community Supported Seeds Share. It ends December 20th and I need to have gardens planned by then so I can get my order in. Before that I had marked up Fedco’s Trees catalog with stuff I might like to plant. I have until January 17th to get that order in.
To make these orders, I needed a garden plan and to figure out what would do well where. With ¾ of an acre, it would take a while.
I had finally gotten the living room cleaned out and it was looking really nice again. My intern and I were discussing how lovely it would be in a month or so with the Christmas lights, tree, and music.
The windows to move
But my bubble was popped later on Wednesday when my husband reminded me that we HAD to move his bedroom into the living room, as he had to remove the 2 big windows in his bedroom and put in 2 smaller awning windows. So we plan to start that project on Saturday morning.
Thursday my helper friend and I were to start planting garlic as he had finished the Small garden area on Tuesday. But he’s really sick so it looks like I will be doing it myself, probably on Friday also. I doubt I’ll finish and if he’s well enough by next Tuesday we’ll finish it off with mulch and a tarp to catch acorns and oak leaves.
Once that’s done, I’ll start taking down and repairing the pasture pen. I might not get the Big garden work done this year….
Source: https://www.facebook.com/fedcotrees/photos/pcb.2619734798078572/2619725914746127/?type=3&theater