CAT GARDENING

Plenty of yardwork to be done this weekend. Inside yardwork consisted of starting more seeds. More herbs, a few brassicas, and some sunflowers and nasturtiums. I also repotted the tomato starts. You can see them here sitting uncerimoniously on my kitchen sink.

In the garden there was potato planting - German Butterball, Yellow Finn, and Russet Burbank. J emptied and scrubbed last year's containers before adding new, clean, organic soil. Even containers we didn't use last year were cleaned. Now we wait. Last year a blight killed most of the crop though we managed to eat some small ones. In fact, we are using the old dirt for some lettuces in a new separate bed and I found a few potatoes in it. Whatever had killed the potatoes last year shouldn't bother the greens. It's just a small patch so we aren't betting a large part of the garden on this dirt but it's really beautiful, rich soil and it would be a shame to waste it.

Elsewhere in the yard I sowed more chard, carrots, beets, and planted onion starts. Everything got a good weeding and a dressing of organic soil amendment with chicken manure. We also bought a couple of other products from the same folks. Some natural and organic top soil and some potting soil. We patronized our favorite, locally owned hardware store even though it's not in our neighborhood. Plus, we received 20% off everything we bought because it was organic. This store was running a coupon for organic products.

J completely weeded and cleaned the only flower bed we cultivate. Working in that bed stirred up the lavender and I could smell it several feet away. Weeding never ends. Green growth never ends in the PNW. All that moisture and all those invasive plants. Plus, we are bordered by other yards on two big sides of the garden. We can't make other people weed their yards so we get intruders.

Though we didn't apply any today, we did pick up a big bag of red worm castings. The strawbale bed is full of worms and other areas of the yard are doing better with worms than ever before, but we are very curious to see if the store stuff is any good. Besides, we have plenty of pots we plant in and you can't have too much worm poop, right?

Cats don't garden but they reap the benefits from their owners' gardening. Our cats love to get into our garden projects. Especially Henry. Nothing he likes better than using some freshly cultivated dirt as a litter box, or some recently pulled weeds are a place for a nap. Life is hard for our cats.