Doing Some Gardening ~

Yep - Doing some gardening here! Okay, still learning the desert gardening thing and I'm happy to say that everything, that was supposed to - and some, made it over the winter.  I'm pleased.  :)  Having a milder winter this year helped.  Especially when I wasn't out there as much as I would have liked.   You know that there is always a before and after?  In gardening, as most everything, you don't always share the before pics - only the after "prettier" pics.   Here are some before(s) for you.

Weeding the soil from grass runners is the worst!

Some herb growth past couple years~

If you've left a tatter or two~

Of course, the pictures aren't the pre-before, before(s) lol :)

In front are strawberries I separated and rescued.

The strawberries were planted two seasons ago.  Last August was soooo hot!  I couldn't get out early enough in the morning to do any thing and way to hot in the day; you'd just say forget it.  I pretty much left it except to water and harvest what was ready.   So the "milder winter" allowed me to go out and weed (de-grass) the strawberries.  I literally had to dig them out to remove the roots (long runners) of the grass!  This well give you an idea what it was like.

This bit here took most of the day :(

As you can see roots of grass down below.

There are strawberries in there!

Bermuda Grass root!

Each time they break they make more!

The collapsible garden container at the top and the plastic (10-15 gal) is full of the stuff!  What a job :/ to say the least.  I know there are easier ways of dealing with unwanted weeds and mostly grass however, I don't want to use anything that wouldn't keep our garden organic.  I also wasn't sure how well the strawberries would do after separation and they did have some blossoms on the plants before I took all the grass out and as irritating as the grass was it kept the plant safe through the winter.   How funny is that!  lol   We also had a slight freeze and lost the blossoms but the plants over all are doing well.   Here is a picture of last years growth and I'm hoping this year they will produce as well.

2011 strawberries - you can see the grass coming through.

I took so many pictures of last years gardening adventure though I was so busy I didn't get to post any.   I'm hoping this year I'll be able to share more of what I'd been doing.   

Sophie still loves the garden!

 I still have many things to plant and a long hot summer ahead.  The boots I bought sure have had a work out and are the easiest things to deal with.  Slip them on and off as I come through the door.  I'm still hoping to put my feet up soon ~

Just to let you know we have some grass that I do leave ~

FYI

Bermuda Grass or Wire Grass
Types of Grass / for lawns
Burnout Organic Weed Control  Just saw this and I'll have to check into it.

If you are a gardener and as you are taking care of your garden remember to take care of you. 

And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.  Isaiah 58:11 ESV