Death to Squirrels

Squirrels got my best growing pepper plant.

They dug it up, broke off its roots. They are the bane of this space's existence. Well, that and spider mites, azalea lace bugs, every color of aphid that exists, leafminers, white flies, grubs, and cabbage worms. I'm sure there are others I've forgotten. I'm sure there are others that haven't arrived yet. There was the gross wormy thing that crawled inside some tomatoes last year and ate them inside out, but I only saw it a couple of times and it didn't do much damage. I don't think it was a tomato hornworm. Those are green and as big as a small rodent and I am terrified they will find their way here and turn this space into a living nightmare. I told Chris last year that if we got them it was his job to pick them off by hand because that's the only way to deal with them.

So, so, gross.

I don't hate bugs. I love ladybugs and bees and butterflies and lightning bugs and praying mantis, and I spread lacewings every couple of weeks because they are predators who eat aphids and other bad bugs. I even like orb weaver spiders but the rest of the spiders can go to Hell where they came from. Even the bugs I like are gross when they crawl on you.

Squirrels were fun to watch until they started destroying things. I even have wire covering the pepper bed but they dug in the tiny space I have for the plants to grow, as if they were purposely trying to destroy them. I thought I had them under control but there is no such thing.

the pepper bed

I planted the peppers indoors and too late. I planted five kinds in a space for eight, but I forgot to label them and now I only know the bell pepper plants. There were four bell peppers. I am down to two. I only have two others, but I have no idea if they are jalepeno, pepperoncini, banana, or mini sweet. I was going to plant the mini peppers in a pot and do four bell peppers and one of each of the others. Now I have four empty spaces. I guess I'm going to have to go to the garden center and get one of each and skip the mini peppers this year, unless that's one of the ones that came up. Three bell pepper plants is better than none.

April gardening is enjoyable because everything is new and exciting and there are no bugs. Early May is ok, too, but then the pests start coming and you start pulling your hair out worrying that your plants will be destroyed. I'm very much a beginner gardener despite successes over the last three years in this space. This year I am trying so many new things, from vertical gardening to nematodes to different kinds of vegetables I never thought of growing before. I've never even heard of Malabar spinach but I planted it by the trellis I built last year when I thought nasturtiums were a climbing plant. They aren't. If the Malabar spinach - which isn't a true spinach but more like a climbing chard - grows, it will be a triumph for my amateur carpentry skills. LOL

the putting green

The grass and future putting green is growing now. A day of rain will do that. I am looking forward to having to cut it. (We use a weedwhacker since it is so small.) I really want to uncover it but I still have four days before the standard germination period is over and I don't want the birds to get the seeds. I am terribly impatient. It's like we have this brutal punishment called winter that we suffer four months of every year, and when our sentence ends we expect to resume life as it was, only to have to start all over again. I love to watch things grow but if the plants aren't an inch taller when I come out in the morning I start to wonder if they have a disease that has stunted their growth or if I've over or under watered them or if they are just unhappy in their space. Yes, anxiety extends to the garden, too.

use at will

In the end, it's all worth it, though. There is no greater sense of accomplishment than eating food that you grew yourself after all the hard work and cuts and bruises and pests and diseases and droughts. It's stupid to have to make that statement, because we all should be growing our own food instead of having yards of useless grass and wasted space. We are throwing our money down the proverbial drain. Fruits and vegetables are free if you have the land to grow them or even just a sunny apartment window. You just the need the seeds to start out. I haven't bought herbs in at least three years, and I've probably saved hundreds of dollars in this small space. I've started propagating foods, too. These green onions were store bought. I chop off the green part, keep the roots in water, and they regrow. Same with basil.

We shouldn't allow Monsanto to control a quarter of the world's food supply or other Big Ag corporations to control another quarter. Every day you hear about this food recalled or that and people getting e coli or salmonella. God knows what other diseases we are getting that we haven't yet linked with corporate food. Americans are so unhealthy and so fat because they ceded control of their food to these massive entities that only care about profit for their execs and wealthy shareholders. If I can take back just the tiniest bit of control over my life that these corporations have, that's at least something.

During World War II people were encouraged to grow "victory gardens" because there was a global food shortage. People knew how to grow things then, as processed foods were a relatively new phenomenon and people still did things for themselves. I think there is a trend towards learning to grow food again. All over this city there are people growing foods in small spaces. There's also the insane survivalist/prepper/homesteader "movement" where people actually believe that their gardening is going to save them when the US government starts World War III. The strange thing about that movement is they are doing the right thing for the wrong reasons. Corporations WILL control the food supply. They largely do. Those same corporations control our government through lobbying, campaign contributions, and the stock market. Every time a food safety regulation is lifted, we are less safe. By the way, did you check your egg product number today? There's a huge recall.

Today, the worst Congress in history debates a very cruel Farm Bill that will exacerbate poverty, nutrition insecurity, and community collapse, all to benefit Big Ag. These people have no conscience. Food is a necessity of life. Why is the United States government trying to deny safe food to people? Maybe the preppers are right.

This small plot will never be enough to feed two people, or even one person, for more than a few weeks. But it is a start. If I supplement this meager harvest with food grown by local farmers and avoid grocery store chains as much as possible, I have a fighting chance of control over my own life. But with an HT a block away, no car, a phone app that sends food to my door whenever I want it, and squirrels that destroy whatever they feel like, I'm not going to win this battle.

I'll still enjoy the fight.

One more summer

I rent the bottom floor apartment of a row house with a front yard that is about 24' x 12' with an iris lined walkway that is another 6' across or so. There's another 10' x 2' space on the other side of the sidewalk with a cherry blossom tree squeezed into a patch surrounded by concrete and pavement. We live on the end of the block; an alley sits next to the house that has caused us a certain level of consternation. It's not just that utility and contractor trucks that are too large for an alley that was made when most people didn't even have cars frequently run into or over the yard - it's that they don't care one iota that people live in the building, often starting their work at 7:30am or being loud for hours at a time. There is a sharp right turn at the back of the house that most of them can't even make, though that doesn't stop them from trying. Many have hit the house itself.

To make matters worse, there is an empty lot across the alley that is too small to build anything on due to clearance issues. Alleys surround it on three sides. It is privately owned, or was, but the absentee owner owes so much in back taxes that no one can buy it, even though several neighbors would love to. It has, in my three years in the house, been an illegal auto repair shop, a parking lot, and a contractor base. It currently contains junk car that needs a clutch and an alternator that Chris bought when he had the motivation to work for himself back when he first started feeling better after his transplant surgery and seemed ready to make the most out of his second chance at life. Now I use it to store scrap wood for my various garden projects.

Our house is small; we have filled it to the max with life. It's too small for the both of us when I am working from home and he's working evenings and nights. It's much too small to entertain inside; we don't even have a dining table. I think the place is 600 or 700 square feet total. We were paying $1750 a month for this small space on Capitol Hill, but our landlord increased our rent by $300 on the new lease we just signed. Right now, DC has rent control laws for those who own more than four rental units, but the real estate companies are fighting that and will probably win, since individuals have no rights anymore in America. I rent from small owners because 1) I hate those soulless, massive apartment buildings and 2) until recently I did not have sufficient income or credit to move into one of those buildings, at least one that wasn't infested with roaches and mice. I've been priced out of every neighborhood I've lived in during my 15 years in Washington, which is why I've lived in eight places in those 15 years. I feel like we may eventually be priced out of this one, too.

I love our neighborhood. We know our neighbors and they like us. Except for the stupid triangle and 3:30pm when the kids get out of the school across the street, this is a quiet neighborhood. I wanted to buy the house four doors down after our neighbor died, but it hadn't been maintained since the 1950s and needed to be completely gutted. It sold to a house flipper for $450,000. They're nearly done with the work and the house just sold for $790,000. It's 1300 square feet. There's hardly even a living room. We would have been slaves to the bank for the rest of our lives had we purchased the house. There would have been no more trips to Europe, no more dining out, no more going to baseball games every couple of weeks, no more changing jobs when we were unhappy. That isn't life.

I don't know what's going to happen next year. I don't know if the project I'm working on will still be funded, if our landlords will give us another 17% increase or worse, if Chris will be healthy. Every time I've been happy in life it has been short-lived. It always comes to an end. I'm getting too old to change jobs and houses and lives every few years, but the things that make me happy don't pay the bills. They do for other people, but I have never been able to make it work.

I've decided to make this a summer to remember. Whatever happens next year is out of my control, so I'm going to enjoy the prosperous time while it lasts.

Our future putting green

Which brings me back to that tiny front yard. I've created a space that gives us not only another room, but a place to entertain. It's beautiful. I have flowers and fruits and vegetables and herbs living together in this tiny space that has become a neighborhood favorite. Right now, the irises are at peak bloom, the geraniums shine bright red next to spinach and lettuce, the potato plants have been gorgeous and will soon give us our first harvest. I have basil galore, and parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, oregano, bay laurel, dill, cilantro, three kinds of mint, chives, eucalyptus, curry, and lavender. There are carrots, beets, three kinds of onions, mustard greens, peas, green beans, five kinds of peppers, zucchini, a lemon tree, a banana tree, and the stars of the garden - eight tomato plants. In bloom now are pansies, zinnias, gazania, sweet alyssum, lantanas (my favorites), dianthus, gypsophilia, marigolds, sage, larkspur, and cilantro. I will have milkweed, blue and red salvia, chamomile, hibiscus, daisies, mums, coreopsis, morning glories, and who knows what else?

I've built a vertical planter box and another planter for my zucchini. I built covers for the gas and electric meters and the trash bins. I built a bench and trellises. I built a planter for the space by the street. I've designed it for maximum privacy while still being open to neighbors. I designed it to live in.

Sundays will be Brunch with Chris and Cathie. I've started a Tiny Garden Supper Club. I want to have baseball watching nights and a neighborhood party. My little Weber grill will be working overtime. We encourage anyone to drop in. There will be food and drinks all summer. I will be cooking. You will be eating what you see in this tiny space. We can set up tables in the triangle on occasion.

Let the summer of fun begin.