quote: Texture more than anything else tells me whether the soil is too sandy, or has too much clay, or if it's just right.
I'm going to make you an honorary geotechnical engineer. I've won interoffice contests estimating how much silt and/or clay was in a soil sample.
Posts: 4625 | Registered: Jul 2002
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm so bad about wearing gloves that I even forget to put them on when pulling weeds. My hands were not happy with me a couple weeks ago after pulling out tons of small tumbleweeds - man, do those hurt!
I will definitely try that soap trick out this weekend. I already bought the two new plants to put in on Saturday - a Texas Mountain Laurel and a Chinese Pistach tree (last week was an Arizona Cypress and a volunteer palm tree we dug up from our old house). Posts: 5879 | Registered: Apr 2001
| IP: Logged |
posted
"Don't all you glove-wearers and grass-avoiders feel totally disconnected from the earth, never enjoying being in contact with it?"
Well, yes. But frankly, I don't consider being connected to the Earth to be a virtue in itself. It's a means to an end.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I was a gardener for about 7 years. I found it deeply satisfying. There was something about shaping the earth or pruning trees or planting that filled a very deep need. I only wore gloves when trimming roses or when trimming trees (and not always then- and I have a number of scars on my hands and arms to prove it), and loved the tactile sensations.
Soil that didn't have too much clay but that was cool and loose was great to just stick your hands in. And I love the smells (I don't have any allergies, so they don't bother me)- the freshly mown grass, the soil, the flowers. With a cool breeze in the trees, the sun on your back and neck, the birds singing. The look of a yard where the trees are beautifully pruned and healthy, the roses shapely and blooming, the grass cut with a nice pattern and the edges all nicely cut. A bed with freshly planted shrubs, shallow burms around them, and the soil lightly raked and clean and damp.
It was great and wonderful work and I never minded getting dirty (except for the smell of gasoline and exhaust from some of the equipment.) I truly loved it. Didn't pay well so I eventually had to do something else to support my family. Now I sit at a desk. But it was nice and when I get a yard of my own, I think I will enjoy working in it.
The only thing was, though I have a *very* good memory for near anything I learn or hear, including many useless or fictional 'facts', I could never, for the life of me, remember any plant names. I was at one point working on getting certified to spray herbicide, but for the life of me, could never remember the different types of weeds and what was effective on them. Go figure.
Posts: 1346 | Registered: Jun 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I wish to apologize to KarlEd and everyone else. Sometimes I post before I think and this mornings post on this thread was an example. What I thought was funny at the time proved, upon further deliberation, to be not only crass but demeaning as well. I've deleted the post and I'll spend more time contemplating my contributions in the future. Posts: 2022 | Registered: Mar 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
The weather finally tuned into proper autumn weather last weekend so we had major gardening spree.
All the roses are out of their pots and in the ground. The ashes of our first dog are under a beautiful yellow rose - while sad, a definite improvement on their temporary resting place in my study. The chilli plant and day lillies also got homes in the ground.
I started off with gloves but abandoned them when it came to planting the herbs. I felt too clumsy with the littler root bundles.
And now I have lemongrass, chives, thai basil, normal basil, parsley, arugala, oregano, lemon thyme, tarragon, sage, coriander and dill.
All are flourishing - I like to think because of my naked planting.
Posts: 4393 | Registered: Aug 2003
| IP: Logged |
posted
I wear my dirty nails and green thumbs with pride. No better way to proclaim to the world, "I am a Gardener!" I've been tickled recently to find that many people of my acquaintance now seek me out for gardening advice. I really truly know next to nothing, but I always try to encourage people.
Posts: 3141 | Registered: Apr 2000
| IP: Logged |
posted
I'm thankful that you weren't offended, KarlEd. Rereading it yesterday afternoon I got the feeling it could have been interpreted as laughing at you instead of with you and I felt like I should delete it.
Astaril, you've never done this? I enjoy fingerpainting with my eyes shut.
Mowing can be pretty satisfying, although I detested the activity in high school when my parents made me mow every week. If I was doing it of my own free will, or mowing my own yard, I think I would like it.
Posts: 486 | Registered: Feb 2005
| IP: Logged |
Well, you *can* paint with your eyes shut, sure. It's like my still wearing gloves to weed thistles. I meant that generally the visual sense is highly involved in fine art, even non-realistic types, and it's pretty hard to get the feel for its aesthetics when you can't see it. But yes, in fact, I have done it. Quite fun, really. But the end product never satisfies me nearly as much as one where I watch what I'm doing...
quote: But frankly, I don't consider being connected to the Earth to be a virtue in itself.
Tom, you know, it never occurred to me that a connection with the earth wouldn't be a virtue to someone. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but... it's so foreign to me! Well, if I lived anywhere near you, I'd offer to do all your gardening for you. Posts: 624 | Registered: Mar 2005
| IP: Logged |
posted
Well, Tom, I discovered this weekend that Chris is on your side in the sacred/icky debate. I asked him to spread some mulch around the base of a new bush and when the rake he was using was clearly not going to work without banging around and damaging the bush I said, "Just use your hands". From the look he gave me you'd have thought I'd just asked him to clean the litter box Fear Factor style. Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
posted
I just want to state, for the record, that I personally pulled live, wriggling worms from our pond pump motor yesterday. By hand. Without gloves.
I did not enjoy it, but I did it anyway. Yay me. *shudder*
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
| IP: Logged |
just kidding. We have a fruit/vegetable garden where I live. Because its cold here in Quebec we plant Siberian tomatos. They're stubburn tomatos its in their slavic nature.
Also where I live is Ant Citah, ant hills EVERYWHERE. However its of he itty bitty brown ant kind so trying to nab their queen isn't worth it. I want to nabb me a black ant queen and a few workers and BAAM! I have my very own Black Ant colony. And then soon I'll have an army f black ants at me beck and call.
Posts: 1567 | Registered: Oct 2004
| IP: Logged |
posted
Meanwhile, I'm still pulling splinters out of my knuckles because of a particularly nasty weed that was hiding in a pile of debris I was cleaning up (without gloves). So I'll freely admit they do have their place. Posts: 6394 | Registered: Dec 1999
| IP: Logged |
Printer-friendly view of this topic
![[ROFL]](graemlins/rofl.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
![[Blushing]](graemlins/blushing.gif)
![[Dont Know]](graemlins/dontknow.gif)
![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Razz]](tongue.gif)
![[Roll Eyes]](rolleyes.gif)
![[Evil Laugh]](graemlins/evillaugh.gif)
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
