This morning while Mark snoozed (after coming home at 1am from a friend's birthday party), I set out for the front yard in hopes of making some progress on the yard before the storm hit. Our forecast for the next 7-10 days only has about 2 days without any chance of rain. While that is fantastic for our rainfall levels, it also means another week of getting nothing accomplished garden-wise.
Broadleaf weeds (like dandelion & such) and grass seedlings (from seed that had blown in from other people's yards) were the first to go. I probably got about 50% of it cleared. Then I spread three bags of compost in an effort to help keep the weeds from returning before the rest of the yard can be planted. I fed the citrus trees and took the lights off the meyer lemon (since the chance of frost this week is pretty low).
To my dismay, the half barrels that had been collecting rainwater had also become breeding tanks for mosquitos. I summarily dumped them and squashed the black widow residing on the underside of one. One of the barrels will become home to a New Zealand tea tree (so it doesn't get too big). The other barrel is going to become a fountain once I can find the right parts. We're going to run a pipe up the side (probably 3 feet or so) to hide the return tube and run that into a watering can that pours into the barrel. Preferably, the pump will be solar powered. I haven't yet decided whether or not to get a plastic liner for the barrel. Hopefully the moving water part of the day will keep the mosquitoes at bay. Otherwise, I will also be looking for some kind of mosquito repellant.
My pineapple sage finally found its home in the ground, despite my inability to find the planting drawings. I am pretty distraught about their disappearance, as they had finally been refined to the point that I felt comfortable sticking plants in the ground. They have to be around here somewhere.
Mark had volunteered to build a planter for me to use for growing peas (and sweet peas!) so I talked him into a trip to the hardware store to get the supplies. The first drops of rain fell as we exited the store. The pea planter was nearly finished the last time I went out to the garage. Woohoo! I guess I know what I'll be doing on those 2 days without a rainy forecast!
