photo credit: Nessa Land
Yesterday I bought a shovel.
There’s something empowering about walking through a huge Lowe’s, carrying a shovel that’s nearly as big as I am. Slung over my shoulder, the shovel started whispering in my ear that I needed power tools and one of the big wheelbarrows outside. Somehow I managed to escape with only the shovel.
In my front yard, next to the porch, there is an old garden plot marked off with bricks. Weeds have taken over, along with some sort of small tree grouping. I spent the afternoon digging out roots and tiny tree stumps, which is not quite as easy as it seems. Those roots can travel down for what feels like miles and are tough as leather. At one point I had to get my garden sheers and try cutting through roots so that I could get the rest of the stump out. Slowly I cleared it, making it ready for my coming vegetable garden.
Once I get the plot cleared I’m going to turn it over, cover it in mulch, and let it rest all winter. The weeds and fallen leaves are filling a big barrel that I’m using for a compost bin. When spring comes I’ll mix the compost into the area and start planting. Carrots and onions are on top of my list, along with tomatoes and peppers in containers. I’m also thinking of some kind of berries, though I haven’t decided which yet. The back fence would be a great place for some vines.
Right now my focus is digging in the soon-to-be garden. Feeling the mud on my hands, carefully moving the worms out of harms way, and the satisfying crunch of weeds being chopped into pieces. Every time I work the shovel into the dirt I feel less small, less weak, less less. I don’t have a thing grown to show for my work yet, and yet I’m ready to take on the world with my super gardening powers.
I just might get those power tools after all.
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Tags: gardening, growing food, urban gardening
