Dirt On The Mountain

"Upon my arrival in Los Alamos in the summer of 1947, I stuck a shovel in the ground, broke the handle, and decided the soil here was quite a problem." Quoted from High Altitude Gardening by the Los Alamos Garden Club. The book goes on to share soil sample analysis: Clay - 75% to 84%, Sand - 1%, Humus - to small to measure, Nitrogen - Trace, Phosphorus - Small 1/2 %, Potassium - Small 2%, Iron - Very Little, Acidity - pH 6.4 - 8.5.

Now put that terrible soil on top of this mountain - which is 90% ROCK. I'm actually surprised ANYTHING grew at all.

If a substantial garden is going to grow the dirt needs to be fixed! The things that need to be added are:
Sand - to break up that clay a little and allow water to flow through.
Humus - compost, oak leaves and llama poop. That should also take care of the vitamin deficiency, however some good natural fertilizers will help too.

I'm going to have to dig down - remove the soil that IS there - take out MORE ROCKS - add sand, add humus - give it a nice blanket for the winter (lots more leaves) and hope for a garden next Spring.

Is it worth it? YOU BET IT IS!!!

The Great Thistle Extermination - part 2

I made it to the tree before the bees came out to play. Now I can clearly see what parts of the tree need to be trimmed as well.

This is the grass that I would like to take over the area. I think, with the Thistles gone, it will have room to spread.

Here's the tools of trade for this project. I now have one garbage bag filled so I feel pretty good about what got done.

This will have to wait until tomorrow morning. The bees are pretty thick and I sure don't want them mad at me.

The Great Thistle Extermination - part 1

Not every wild plant can stay in a Mountain Garden. Such is the case with this Thistle Patch.

Pictures can be deceiving - this Thistle Patch is about 20 feet long by about 9 feet wide. The main reason for the extermination - my Mom's allergic to them. As this project begins I find I'm slightly allergic as well. So, I stay out until my nose stuffs up - then go in the house until it clears (this is one of those clearing moments).

These spiny little guys need to be cut at the base - one at a time. I'm using thick rubber gloves and picking them up with the same trimmer I'm cutting them with. Taking no chances.

This little friend came to watch.

I can almost hear them say, "Whatja doin Sandy?"

Well that's part 1 - now we'll see how far I get today.

The Garden Project Went On Hold

On 6/28/2011 this was our air quality. Dense smoke that traveled up here from the Los Alamos fire. We closed ourselves in the house and Mom spent much time on oxygen.

Now - 2 weeks later - we are venturing back outside more and more. With the monsoon rains (clearing the air) and the fire almost contained, life in paradise is returning to normal.

The mountain garden project suffered during this time. The veggie patch was consumed by panicking critters. I wasn't able to water (and we were in the middle of an extreme drought) many other plants didn't do well at all. But these are things we face - gardening at 7,800 feet above sea level.

There is one man that, in my opinion, is the master gardener up here; Jack. He's been working the earth on his property for a few decades. He gave me a tour and TAUGHT me a lot. Then he blessed me with a book - a HOW TO book for gardening at this altitude. The book is, 'High Altitude Gardening, by the Los Alamos Garden Club'.

Here's my favorite quote from the book so far:
"Upon my arrival in Los Alamos in the summer of 1947, I stuck a shovel in the ground, broke the handle, and decided the soil here was quite a problem."
Boy do I UNDERSTAND this!

The conclusion - I have a lot of work to do now and through the fall to get the garden area ready for next year's planting.

I Guess This Was A Learning Year

POOP! The veggie patch has all been eaten, I was able to save 4 radish roots - not even plump. Something also ate ALL the flowers in the wild flower garden. I feel like posting a help wanted ad - Wanted, strong person that's willing to help for NO money and unless the garden works, NO food. LOL.