Updates and Plans

The Veronica Red Fox finally bloomed. There is a lot of grass growing throughout this bed. This has created more work for me than weeds. It's difficult to pull grass out by the roots when they grow in stubborn clay. It's a constant struggle.

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current irrigation system

So many projects on my list, it’s tough to decide where to start. This morning, as I climbed out of bed, way too early I might add, the first thing on my mind was to work some more on the irrigation system. My current irrigation ‘system’ consists of two faucets running directly from the city’s irrigation canal system. From those two faucets I have a garden hose attached to a twenty foot long pvc pipe with an irrigation sprinkler head attached to each end. Nothing fancy but it gets the job done. Still, dragging this thing around the yard is getting old.

timer and two gates

The only thing automatic about it is a timer set to run for one hour (or whatever limit I tell it) whenever I decide to turn it on.

A week ago I decided that six years of dragging this thing around was enough. It would be easy to rent a trench digger but being frugal – okay cheap – I am digging trenches as I need them. The first part of my new irrigation system is to run a main water line to several positions around the entire yard from where will run drip irrigation and soaker hoses. No more overhead watering, yeah! No more dragging the DIY portable irrigation system around, yeah!

I had already connected pipe and ran it the length of the west fence and buried it. This photo shows grass clippings I have been saving along the fence for a couple of years now in hopes of protecting the pipe from the weather so I would not have to bury it. But in the end I decided to bury it anyway.

This will connect to another faucet at the garden shed. I cannot hook it up yet until I get to the end of the whole thing, i.e., all faucets must be on line before I tap into the currently working system. As I was burying the pipe that will connect the working faucet to the rest of the yard I got the bright idea to expand the Deck Side Garden across the two gates (shown in the photo above) and permanently anchor the largest of the two gates. That gate never gets used except to mow the grass under it so it was a very easy decision to lock it down and turn the grassy area into another garden bed, namely an extention of the existing neighboring bed. Any time I can cut down on grass to cut I am all for it.

Why not put a gravel and stepping stone path under the working gate? Sure, why not indeed. So that is just what I did today. Shown here is as far as I got today. I really can't complete the stepping stones until the pipe is hooked up to this faucet and then buried.

The thermometer hit 93 and the call of a couple of fans and the tall cold glass of iced tea won me over. I’ll finish tomorrow morning. Or maybe the next day.

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End of Season is Here Already

You know the growing season here in Utah is winding down when the city turns off your access to secondary water. You see, here in Utah we refer to our water as either Domestic or Secondary. Domestic water is treated and plumbed into our homes and Secondary water (here at the south end of the valley) comes from Utah Lake, straight, totally adulterated. And it stinks. Smelly, I mean. You really don’t want this stuff in your house.

There are plans, and construction is under way, for a treatment plant large enough to treat both domestic and secondary water. Our water better be improved because our water rates went up a couple of years ago on the promise of ‘improving’ the quality of both water types.

I went out this morning to turn on my irrigation system and learned the water had been turned off for the season. We have a canal system that carries water from Utah Lake northwards to the Great Salt Lake. All along that canal, cities and towns are tapping into it to give the local residents access to water by which we irrigate our properties. As the end of season nears the secondary water begins to take on its characteristic odor of a polluted water system. The smell comes from bacteria that has been allowed to build up because the water is not treated.

Anyway, I began the process of winterizing my ‘system’ by disconnecting all three of my garden hoses from my battery powered timer. I don’t have underground tubing to distribute water so my plants depend on me to remember to move a DIY sprinkler system around the yard. I carry a kitchen timer around with me throughout the day when I water. This way of watering my garden plots and lawn becomes ‘tedious’ (yes, I believe that is the accurate term) near the end of the season. So I view this inevitable shutdown each year with both relief and sadness.

After disconnecting the garden hoses I need to run domestic water through them in an attempt to flush out any bacteria. I'm sure my method is far from 100% effective. If there was an efficient way in which I could run vinegar through them I would. Next, I drain the hoses as completely as possible and lay them out in the sun to soften them enough in order to roll them up and store them in one of the sheds over winter.

The plants that are coldframe bound, such as lettuce, radish, chard, etc need to depend on me to carry a watering can out to them filled with domestic water. I am getting better about this, I really am. Witnessing plants turn brown and wilt away creates a certain level of incentive to remember. I’m sure they appreciate finally being given the cleaner water. Since lettuce is made up of such a high percent of water, I appreciate the cleaner water too.

This whole process also triggers the annual purchase of winter mulch to help protect my charges with a temperature-stable environment in which to survive our sometimes harsh winters. Some sources I have consulted place my garden in zone 5. I can believe this assessment in winter. However, summer comes rolling around and I swear we have shifted to zone 8 or 9.

Now that the water has been turned off I can scratch off one more duty I need to remember to keep track of and begin thinking about regularly placing suet and peanut butter out for the birds. It’s always something.

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My ‘to do’ list is burying me

Over this spring and summer I have been making a list of all the cool ideas I have seen in magazines, books, blogs, websites, etc that I would like to put into my yard and garden.

Last week, I took a look at that list. Then, after stepping back, taking a deep breath, and developing a very skeptical frown, said to myself "There is no way you are going to get all of that done!" I may have created a monster. One that will most assuredly demand every free minute of my time. I know me well enough to know that I won’t do all of this. Hmmm, maybe if I break it down into smaller pieces so it doesn’t look so overwhelming, I can get it done. I am a hopeless optimist. Time management will definitely play a huge roll if this list is going to be completed.

Projects:
1-Replace grass under the fruit trees with groundcover so I don’t have to mow under them.
2-fill low areas in lawn with top soil
3-replace west gate with new gate, trellis and plant bed
4-replace grassy area at east gate, next to garage/shed with brick pavers in a lattice design (with thyme growing in the open areas)
5-build a cover over the deck, to block out sun, and to hang plants from
6-build trellis over B3 perennial bed to provide some relief from the intense sun
7-build a ladder trellis for containers to set on back deck
8-build shelves in back shed to store pots, plant trays, etc
9-lay a flagstone walkway to back shed
10-install walkway lights along driveway and front/back walkways
11-design an herbal bed and make herbal vinegars, potpourris, teas, etc
12-design and build a row cover system to extend growing season
13-design and build a cold frame
14-paint bird bath and shed doors deep blue?
15-make edging more permanent with bricks or stone
16-make hose guides for garden hoses until irrigation system is installed
17-build another tower for runner beans
18-build a better trellis for tomatoes, those wire jobs are just not strong enough
19-install irrigation system, tired of dragging garden hose around, timer would be a life saver
20-design a trellis for front of house to grow clematis and or honeysuckle

I am sure the list will get longer before it gets shorter. I find so many great ideas from reading garden blogs, etc that I can't help but want to try them myself. Maybe I should just learn to restrict myself a little. Oh, where's the fun in that?

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