LANDSCAPERS
You know the guys, they come in with a team and throw down some sod, some landscape cloth, a load of bark and a few plants, and think they are done.
If you look under the landscape cloth you will find rock hard dirt that can only support the most pernicious of weeds and pests. So you have to spend money on toxic weed killers and pest killers.
Lift a corner of the sod and you'll find a similar situation; clay or dry dead soil that you have to boost with enormous amounts of water and fertilizers.
GARDENERS on the other hand...
...know that it takes years to build a good garden. They'll check the soil the year before and add what it needs in the way of compost manure, peat moss etc..
They'll till it and finish digging it by hand to break up the hard polished layer that a tiller can leave in some soils.
In England, a gardener will often plant potatoes the first year to break up the soil and produce a fine tilth.
They might only get a small patch done in the first year, but what they have will be a good environment which encourages earth worms and beneficial insects and will not need loads of pesticides.
Mistakes that Bert has made this year
Gardening in Colorado Springs is vastly different from England.
So mistake number one was not nearly enough water. Next year, I'm going to install an irrigation system for the flower and vegetable gardens and I'll try Xeriscaping the other areas.
Mistake number two was the retaining wall.
Next year I plan to set back the top row of blocks so that I can sow the nasturtiums lower down where they won't hide the mums. I also didn't realise how much a retaining wall drys out all the surrounding water. Now I find that giving the wall itself a good soaking helps to keep the soil moist.
3. I also planted some seeds. I was in a hurry and didn't prepare the soil, I just threw them in. Well it turns out that the soil was too hard and the poor little buggers couldn't break through. I won't do that again.
Give us a call if you have any comments or questions.
(719) 287 9748
- email bert@newgatesknocker.com
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