March 2017, Los Angeles

For better or worse, I started this blog a few weeks ago. It seems like so much has changed since then. Instead of being the 1^st of March, it is now mid-March, the sun is finally up when my alarm goes off at 6:15 am PT. Why is it so much harder to crawl out of bed when it’s dark outside? I’m much more motivated to get up and get going in the light, and then add to it the fact that the sun is going down later too? I can go walk the Rosebowl or hike with the dogs, or hit the gym, as long as it’s still not sunset.

I’ve spent a series of the latest sunny days, after all that rain we had here in Los Angeles, weeding. I know that we needed the rain desperately, but I’ll include some photos so you can see just how much the wild ones have grown. In some empty lots near me, they are well over my head already. As of today, I’m done with the pulling, yes I still hand pull weeds. It was however, imperative that I get out there while my very clay soil was still soft enough to pull the whole plants out. Once it gets too dry, it’s like trying to extract something from a solid mass.

The very weedy beginning

Finally progress

I needed to weed wack the wild grasses, and do some pruning, for this I enlisted some help. All this so that I can start with the fun part, putting seeds in the soil. I have made an appointment with a friend to help me rework my drip system, another appointment with another friend to help me/show me how to clean out and restart the worm compost bin etc. I’m already seeing lots of buds on the Satsuma Plum, new leaves on the Honey Fig and lots of self-starters in the Marigold family.

You could say I’m trying to develop a garden that reseeds itself, and is based on edibles and pollinator attractors. So far, the marigolds have really surprised me.  My goal is to have a large garden that mostly repopulates itself, and provides lots of food for me and as many people as I am able.

You might still have time to get into the seed giving away from Baker Creek, subscribe to the new YouTube channel https://youtu.be/vIgcKN7UClk

I’m still learning and practicing. I gain so much joy from my garden, that the work is part of the pleasure.

As in all things, I am a work in progress, and an ongoing experiment. Keep an eye out.. I will write more on the garden soon.

#UrbanGardenLove #ReconnectToTheEarth #GrowthTakesExperimentation