Still Hoeing

It’s October, and I’m still wielding the hoe. I’m planting at a frenzied pace only comparable to last spring. The plants and bulbs I ordered during the summer months began arriving in mid-September and the last package (fragrant lilies!) showed up on Saturday. I was also seduced by a few late season sales at the local nurseries. Finally, two of my coworkers have delighted me with sacks full of plants from their gardens. I am digging almost every day.

Planting takes me a very long time because I am still developing my beds from cheesy clay to friable, compost-rich soil. Nearly every week, I go to buy more “bags of poop” (i.e. composted manure). Mike finds it absolutely hilarious that my Subaru is perpetually filled with sacks of shit. I go through my supply quickly because every hole I dig requires that I chop up the clay with a hoe and work in humus, manure, and/or peat moss. This constant soil working keeps my planting rate at about 20 minutes per plant. After arriving home from work, I can only get about 5 plants in the ground before it is simply too dark to see.

I’ll admit it; I’m exhausted! Our weather is staying unseasonably mild, so the planting season has been extended. I’m almost praying for a frost to end things. Just when I think I have nothing but a few bulbs left, Margie brings me a bounty of green growing things (including my first peony!) and I’m out digging again.