My Bed Is Made

To most gardeners having a small area like this is easy. But up here, at 7,800 feet on rock mountain, there was a lot of work just to get it to this point. This spot is about 6 feet wide by about 4 feet deep. It will be a small vegetable patch for us to enjoy.

Just to give you an idea of what went into getting this area ready, here's the pile of rocks that came out. I put my gardening gloves down so you could get an idea of how much (and how big) these rocks are. My goal was to get a full shovel down in and be able to turn the dirt over. It took getting all these rocks out - just to allow that to happen.

Later this afternoon - if the wind holds back - I'm going to get the seeds in the ground. I'm planting: 2 - 3 Tomato plants, a small patch of Chives, Spinach, Lettuce, a few Radishes, 2 - 3 Basil plants, 2 - 3 Bell Pepper plants, and some Eatable Pod Peas. It will be a blessing just to see some green garden plants coming up.

2 Days of Snow

Mom reminded me that Dad used say it was 'safe' to go up to the mountain after April 15 - No More Snow. NOT THE CASE, this year.

We had near blizzard conditions on Easter Sunday, and it snowed for the next two days as well. True - the ground isn't frozen so its not accumulating large amounts. However, it has been bitter cold and working in a garden area just isn't fun with the white stuff flying around.

Finally, today, the strange weather seems to be over. No more snow predicted, just sunshine - but it will still be cold. Needless to say the garden bed I've been working on WILL get finished today and I want the seeds in the ground.

A Veggie Spot

After a lot of hard work last year, and no green rewards, I decided that I would create a small veggie spot this year. Hopefully I'll get some Wild Flowers in Wild Flower Garden Area #1 - and if I'm lucky I'll get some Veggies in this new spot too.

There's a small area of good dirt behind the workshop. It had been covered with a lot of trash - water barrels, old sinks, plastic and just stuff that blew in. The trash needed to be picked up and the dirt turned for the first time (ever).

My brother helped me move the barrels and the sink out of the way. And my brother suggested hooking this sink up to a water catchment system. Now that would be nice.

So, after picking up the garbage I started turning the dirt over. GUESS WHAT? The area already has WORMS!!! Now I'm REALLY excited. This guy was tucked back into his home after his picture was taken. What this tells me is that the dirt here IS good enough for gardening.

The only bad thing is that I have a nasty cold so my energy level is non-existent. I guess I'll try again tomorrow.

Special Areas Waiting For Spring

All we need is a good rain and a few warm days for Spring to really start popping up here. Maybe the rain will come on Wednesday - I sure hope so. In the mean time there are a lot of areas just waiting for it.

Memorial Flat Spot
The first flat area that my Dad built in around 1980. If it wasn't for the little tufts of green coming up in Wild Flower Garden #1, in front of it, the area looks more like Fall or Winter. I do have to get in there and rake up those leaves. The compost bins need that carbon.

Mushroom Rest
Mushroom Rest is still nothing more than a tree stump. This year it needs to be transformed into the whimsical area.

Scruff Oak Grove
Honestly, this looks like a bunch of dead little trees. I know it will come back, but it sure doesn't look very inviting right now. The good part is that I need to rake up those leaves, for compost, too.

Bonsai Oak
This sit spot also needs a lot of work. I love the fact that this Scruff Oak grew to look kind of like a Bonsai Tree - you can actually see the curve in the truck in this picture. The area overlooks the cliff and beautiful nature below. It will be a wonderful place to just sit and talk with friends.

Spring Is Just Arriving

At 7,800 feet above sea level Spring comes a little later - and that's a good thing because I have my work cut out for me. I arrived on the Mountain late night April 12, spent a few days unpacking, and this morning I had to head out to see how the Mountain Garden Project faired over the winter. The first thing that stuck me were all the deer tracks on the paths. It looks to me like the deer kept to the paths as they walked through. Below is a picture of a small area, but these tracks were totally up and down all the paths.

Also up and down the paths are a lot of plants - mostly Mullein. It looks like I didn't get them out as well as I thought I did.

And this is my first Spring Flower! Actually, I LOVE Dandelions.

This was the BEST find. That's little green plants coming up in Wild Flower Garden #1. If you'd like to see the work that was put into this area click here. Even if it's all weeds, I'm happy because something is actually growing.

Problem #2: Deer

Face it, if I put in yummy vegetation and water I'm going to get a serious number of these guys.

Not to mention the Wild Turkeys, Bear, Rabbits, Squirrels - and all the meat eaters going after them like Coyotes, Cougars, and Bob Cats.

The only solution is fencing - but what kind? At the beginning I will most likely just encircle the few plants out there with supported chicken wire - and take my losses. But I am really going to need a more permanent and secure fencing for the long term. Insert what the land gives me. I have rocks to build secure supports and one of the most amazing kinds of wood - Cedarwood - for in between.

For many Centuries Cedarwood was used as the primary wood in this location for fencing, telegraph poles, home building and much more. It's very resistant to bugs and can stand decades without rot (and that's with nothing put on it). This entire country side is littered with Cedarwood to the point of being able to pick and choose without hurting the forest in any way.

That leaves me with the final question. What to fence in? Honestly, on my own I don't think I could fence the property - and I don't want to. One of the joys of this area is seeing all these animals, followed closely by the feeling of freedom and wide open country. There is no way I want to put a fence around it and block myself in. And one more thing, I WANT the wildlife to visit and enjoy. I am building this for them too.

At this point my thought is simply to fence in the actual 'vegetable' garden area leaving plenty of room for paths and gardening FOR wildlife around it. The actual vegetable garden area is a circle and that part will be fenced in.

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.

Garden Thinking & Florida

I have had the AWESOME pleasure of being in Florida for the winter.

Instead of this: Snow On The Mountain


I got to enjoy this in January: On The Way To Lochloosa


And this in January: Warm Water

As a true addict - while enjoying a FALL garden in Florida ...
November 05, 2010

I was also trying to solve New Mexico garden problems.
(I know - he's ADORABLE - but he also eats gardens.)

Picture Taken by Linda C. while visiting in New Mexico.

The next few posts - before I get back to New Mexico - will be Mountain Garden Project problems, and possible solutions. Boring to some, I know, but important if I want this garden to succeed.