Has It Really Been 2 1/2 Years?

What can I say? Once my friend Connie turned up conspicuously late to work and I asked her why. She said "I was busy". That's my answer too. I was busy. Now we are in a new house starting a new garden. It is both exciting and daunting to start over. The first task was to decide what trees and shrubs to keep and what to remove. With the help of arborist Rebecca Latta we identified 16 trees to be removed. These were not always easy decisions, because some trees I would have loved to have in my garden were damaged or infested with borers. Many trees had been topped, or girdled and some were intertwined with a chain link fence in such a way as they would never be healthy. After checking to see that the chips from these trees would not spread any disease, I had the workers grind the branches for wood chip mulch. Many big chunks of a large Ash tree made a circle of stumps like the one we so enjoyed in our last home. I also removed about 100 shrubs that had been placed in random rows were very congested.

Once your garden space is cleared of unwanted plants the next step is to start the soil on the road to health and vibrancy. My soil was generally of good structure, a little too rocky, but lacking any signs of life. While using the stump grinder it became apparent that the whole back yard was mulched about 6 inches down with black plastic. Every time the grinder was lifted it pulled up a ragged black volcano. This would explain why the soil was dead. I couldn't find a single worm or sign of fungal life. No air. The water must have been running off and only seeping through the odd tear. I wondered, would the worms return on there own or would I have to bring some in? We started by spreading 10 truckloads of Craptonite (horse manure and wood shavings) from Zeke the Sheik the Guru of Poopoo. The wood chips from the tree removal were spread in the front yard where there is a beautiful old olive and a magnificent Deodar. Then came an alfalfa cover crop in the back. Warning: there are perennial and annual versions of alfalfa. I bought annual, but was sent perennial. This is going to take work to cut back because each deeply rooted plant will have to be cut below the growth point or it will keep coming back.

This is my first time dealing with gophers and I have a lot to learn. I am not opposed to trapping but finding the tunnels and setting the traps is an art. I purchased many "gopher baskets". These 1 and 5 gallon stainless steel baskets are made in such a way that the mesh will spread as the tree roots grow. This is a problem when using chicken wire as a gopher barrier, because the twisted wires of poultry mesh can be unyielding to growing roots. I recommend the web site "Gophers Limited" for wire, baskets, traps and information. Here I can see that my basket has kept the gopher from my newly planted Saijo Persimmon. Kazi, 1. Gopher, 0.

Now, after 4 days of gentle rain that soaked well into the ground worms have returned, along with a rainbow of bizarre and beautiful fungal life. The soil is coming alive again and I can see the long white strands of Mycelium when I turn any soil. It's just a beginning on the long road to vibrant and healthy soil, but it is very satisfying to see. Here are some examples: