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.

New Mexico #1 Driest State w/ Fires Burning

I know its been a while since I posted here. The Mountain Garden Project is sort of at a stand still. I'm watering twice a day, just to try and keep a few things alive as New Mexico has been rated the #1 driest State. I have to say, plants are not doing well.

On top of that the no-see-ums are fierce this year. Last year they hardly touched me, this year I'm covered in bites just from watering. I did some study on the little buggers and am now armed with an herbal repellent, but the dry, dry air still makes it hard for humans to work.

We are all praying for the Monsoon season to start and bring rain. The rain will help the fire fighters battling several fires in the State. The rain will bring plants to life again. The rain will send the No-See-Ums back down into the dirt until next year.

Problem #1: Water

Yes, I know, I live a mile away from this big, beautiful lake.
How could I have a water problem?

First: Heron Lake is a man made lake. It's proper name is Heron Reservoir - so named after an engineer from the early 1900s, Kenneth A. Heron, who was said to have realized that water could be 'tanked' and held from the wetter areas of the north, to help the arid regions of the south. Heron Dam, finished about 1971, is what creates this beautiful, 5,900 acre lake. The key word in the sentence above is "arid". Heron Reservoir / Lake is located in the High Mountain (arid) Desert of New Mexico. This lake is primarily filled by snow melt from the north. Our lake / reservoir feeds into several others many miles to the south.  Ranchers and Farmers buy allotments of water, from these reservoirs, so they don't deplete the ground water tables.

Second: On our property we have a well. The water is nasty, smelling strongly of sulfur, and is filled with iron. The water is filtered to the house and one stop is a water softener that uses water softener salts. From the water softener is connected the outdoor hose. Beyond that is a reverse osmosis system to provide drinking water. So - what happens to plants when you water them with salt water?

The water, directly from the well, needs to out gas before it's used. At first I had wild ideas that involved buying storage tanks to out gas - and rain water catchment systems. Both ideas were very costly and not practical, just to build a Mountain Garden.

Then a little while ago I had an idea. Instead of trying to build something 'new' why not use something 'old' that already works (duh)? Around this area Rangers and Farmers build great systems of water holding that they call 'tanks'. Many of these connected by little streams to move the water where they want it. They look like beautiful little ponds to me. These are filled with their allotment of water, rain and snow water, and in some cases well water.

I need to build something like this - on a MUCH smaller scale. A series of little (but deep), connected ponds would not only out gas the well water, but catch rain and snow. Planting around the ponds and little connecting streams would allow me to water the garden by putting a hose in an upper pond - using the natural grade of the land (which until this idea I cursed - now I realize my blessing) to move the water through the entire garden area - without a pump!

Another advantage is that the dirt that comes out of a pond area - to make it - can be moved to an area I want to level out. So now all I have to figure out is how one 54 year old woman, a wheelbarrow, and a shovel are going to get this done, ha ha.

2010 Comes To An End

When I think about the harsh land and the amount of work that went into this Mountain Garden Project I am proud. The garden will flourish in this country. It will never be easy and there will be many things that need to be overcome, but views like this one are the biggest reward.

Sun Rise over the Brazos.
As seen from the East Deck at our home.

Soon, winter will again set into the sleepy little town of Los Ojos, New Mexico. And, all gardening will have to come to a stop until Spring.

In October of 2010 the garden area was cleaned up. All tools were brought in. Seeds that needed to be planted, to rest over the winter, was done. And, a prayer of Good Night was said. I look forward to Spring.

A Very Harsh Area

The Rocky Mountains got their name, well, because they're built out of rock. That's the mountain range I live in.

The problems I face are:
1. The land is mostly rock with very little dirt. Dirt will have to be brought in and heavy duty mulching and composting will need to be done.
2. The growing season (because of altitude) is shorter. Things that take a long time to germinate will have to be started indoors.
3. Water is not easily come by. This area is called the High Mountain Desert. Yes, we live by a lake but that doesn't mean the area is moist or lush. The lake is formed by a dam to hold water for lower areas. The lake's water primarily comes from snow melt from higher up in the mountains. We do have a well so 'home' water isn't a problem, but there are water problems I'll talk about in a later post.
4. The local animals (mostly the deer) will eat EVERYTHING eatable in sight. Food's not plentiful so I don't blame them.

Here's what I'm working with:

I would guess that I'm working with about a quarter acre or less
of the total 2.5 acres of land. Nothings been done with this
area. As you can see it's rough and there's debris laying around.
I see a path right here.


On the North side of the area there's a pretty substantial cliff.


Here's the actual garden area (looking North). Yes, I'm holding my
camera straight. That's the grade of the land (and this is a flat spot).
So I'm going to have to work with this situation too.

Now realize I'm not hoping for a 'botanical garden' sort of affair, but my Mama would like some garden tomatoes. Yes, there will be more than tomatoes, but honestly - if I get anything to grow I'm going to feel good. I know, full well, that this year all I'll be doing is working.

Going To Garden in New Mexico

Around the beginning of July, 2010 I decided I wanted to build a garden. I knew full well it was beyond planting season, but I also knew that my work was going to be cut out for me and there was no better time than the present to get started.

The beauty of this area is breathtaking, but the land is harsh. This land was first purchased by my Mother and Father around 1980. It's high (7,800 feet above sea level) in the Northern New Mexico Mountains, almost into Colorado.

My Mother and Father - literally - built this home,
and it's where we now live.


This is the view off that front deck you see in the above picture.

So this is the story of the Mountain Garden Project, the work as it's being done, problems and solutions, and some day I hope to share harvests as well.