I finally feel like something is happening with that ol' patch of land. I've received I-don't-know-how-many seed catalogues in the mail, and I've pored over those wondering what I should get. There are lot of exciting-sounding plants that are probably completely useless and uninteresting, and it's hard to tell which is which!
My friend Marçel, who is an orchardist, came and pruned my cherry tree for me last week. He explained a lot of the basics to me: what happens when you prune a tree in the winter, what happens when you prune above or below a certain spot, etc. It really is fascinating; you begin to appreciate the amazing intricate beauty of all the hormones and stuff that control how a tree grows.
Anyway, it's a fair bit more open, and a little bit shorter too, which will help the plants underneath get some sun.
I went to a seed swap on Saturday. Boy, was that fun! It's so cool to discover all these varieties of yer average plants that aren't sold in big catalogues because they're a secret family variety brought over from Siberia seventy years ago. I bought some seeds, chatted with my friend Thomas about mixing permaculture and theatre together, and talked with the worm-crap lady about how to amend my horrible soil (which doesn't even grow weeds). Lots of wonderfully unusual people there, all very excited to talk with you about growing.
And last night I stole the dead leaves from all my neighbours' yards, under the cover of darkness. I even wore a headlamp to make it feel more clandestine. So now I have about eight bags ready to dig into my soil. I was gonna just put down sheet mulch, but I don't have much time before spring, so I think I'm going to opt for heavy soilwork this year and a slower, more permaculture-style, process next year.
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