This weekend I've been working on my garden beds. Here’s a pic of retaining walls in progress. Definitely they are not like the awesome rock walls built by early settlers in this area. Some are on this property, too. Those walls were built just to have somewhere to put rocks cleared from fields. They helped contain sheep, as well.
As water moves down the hill, it carries sand and small pebbles with it. When it reaches the wall, it’ll leave that behind and the ground gradually will build up behind them. As this happens, I’ll raise the wall higher until the slope is almost level on each terrace.
This will take years, of course, perhaps most of my life. My gardens, as are almost everything else I do, lifetime projects.
As water moves down the hill, it carries sand and small pebbles with it. When it reaches the wall, it’ll leave that behind and the ground gradually will build up behind them. As this happens, I’ll raise the wall higher until the slope is almost level on each terrace.
This will take years, of course, perhaps most of my life. My gardens, as are almost everything else I do, lifetime projects.
My grandparents down in Louisiana would be amused to see how far behind we are in gardening here in NW Arkansas. His tomatoes have probably already given ripe fruit and mine is just putting on the first flower!
6 comments:
I'm behind on tomatoes too. Got some blooms but don't think we'll get a ripe tomato for the 4th of July. Gosh I still got tomatos to plant yet. it will be almost 400 plants.
I love rocks and looks like a nice project your doing and letting the nature of things do the work too. Couple of good rains might make the job go faster for the land to build up. Could you do some compost in back of them to build up land? maybe some annuals in back of the rock and let them break down
We work hard moving our rocks and dirt around but those folks back then, well there just hard to beat.
tc linda
Right now my few chickens are loose and would scratch compost out. As soon as I'm finished with my fence, though, that is part of the plan ;)
Annuals are a good idea, I hadn't thought of that. Thanks!
I love rock work! It is so inspiring to see someone tackling a work that will take some time and works with the forces of nature.
Duane, it's definitely a different kind of tired. My job wears me out sometimes too, but it's more a mental tiredness than physical. Much better :)
Hi Ien - great to see you here :) Yep, it's a lifelong project...or until I can't move a rock anymore. I like that, too.
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