Saturday, February 28, 2009

I Looked Out The Window & What Did I See?

Popcorn popping on the apricot tree! Spring is busting out all over the garden. The espalier trees are all performing better than expected. Buds are bursting out on all of the 6 trees (plum, peach, apple, pear, nectarine, and apricot).

We went to a store in town that specializes in lawns and lawn care. The construction in the backyard has left a pretty big bare spot that needs to be seeded. We picked perennial rye for this shady area under the Chinese Elm. Our soil is mostly clay. In fact, I believe I could mix it with grass clippings and form adobe bricks. We need to rake the area and mix in a bit of compost. Then we broadcast the seed blended especially for the San Joaquin Valley. The sales gal sold us some fertilizer to use at that point. The whole thing then gets covered with more compost. I think that some liquid gypsum should be used; but the sales gal said that wouldn't be necessary. I'll probably be back for liquid gyp this summer. The patch needs to keep moist to encourage the sprouts to grow with the oncoming warm weather. I have a bit extra seed and fertilizer to mix into the existing lawn.

I was tempted to just purchase a couple bags of the pasture blend and get a couple of pygmy goats to manicure the greens. I hope to report here on the progress of the lawn.

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