Saturday, March 31, 2018

Earthworm Massacre


Yesterday was one of those "rain, rain, go away" days. I took Olga for an early-morning walk, but otherwise we stayed inside almost all day. I'd hoped to go to Homebase to buy some gardening stuff but Dave wasn't feeling great, so we put that off until later.

I got outside long enough to shoot some photos of the rain on the patio (above). See how our forget-me-nots are already in bloom?


This was my major achievement for the day. We've been talking about turning the back corner of the garden into a wildflower patch. So yesterday morning, before the drizzle began, I got out there with a shovel and removed the sod, undoubtedly one of the dirtiest jobs I've undertaken in the garden ever. I killed or traumatized about a hundred thousand earthworms in the process, which I felt bad about, and I kept trying to move them out of the way, but our lawn is so thick with them that they couldn't be avoided.

(If earthworms are the sign of healthy soil, as is often said, then our soil must be supercharged.)

As you can see, I left the borage around the edges of the patch -- we like it, especially when the blue flowers emerge and the bees buzz around it in droves.

The challenge is going to be keeping Olga out of this zone. I think we may buy some garden fencing, as much as I hate it, to discourage her. We still need to get some wildflower seeds -- I'm hoping that slugs won't be drawn to them, since they survive in the wild, after all.

I also salvaged a couple of clay flowerpots from a pile of discarded construction debris in front of a neighbor's house. (There's always at least one house under renovation on our street. It's crazy.) One of the pots had some bulbs growing in it -- I think they're bluebells. More bulbs for the garden!

12 comments:

  1. I'd jokingly refer to you as Mr. Greenjeans, but I'd be giving away my age if I did so. I can't wait to see these gardening endeavors reach fruition.

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  2. PS: I hope Dave feels better soon...

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  3. EARTHWORM NEWS BULLETIN
    Reports are coming in of a massacre in a West Hampstead garden. In a ruthless attack, reminiscent of Israeli army behaviour in Gaza, an estimated forty three earthworms including children were brutally murdered by a blood-crazed librarian. Prime Minister Willy Worm has warned that a military response is "inevitable".

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  4. So next time you dig in the garden you'll pick a day when it's not raining!

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  5. Is there anyway you could get a shot of your entire garden so that I can envision better what it looks like? Maybe you already have and I've forgotten.
    What a lot of work you're doing! And I am a bit jealous of the finds on your street. Also the huge number of earth worms you have.
    Or had.
    Just kidding. I'm sure there are trillions more.

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  6. well, you probably just multiplied them is all. I always heard that when you chopped one in half then they both grew into a whole worm.

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  7. Looking forward to seeing your wildflower patch bloom this summer. Seed-planting is such a fun part of the rainy spring.

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  8. Love the pattern of the raindrops in the puddle.
    Briony
    x

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  9. The wildflowers should be very pretty. I'm looking forward to seeing them.

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  10. Maybe you should put a sign in front of your house, "Worms for Sale"! Are there any fishermen or women on your block?

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  11. Further to what ellen said, the head will grow a new tail, depending on where the worm is cut, but the tail will always die. But in gardening, it really can't be helped!

    The land our house was built on had quite a lot of fill from an unknown source dumped on it. The first few years there were NO worms in the dirt at all. Now there are all kinds. They are patient, persistent little guys, and so good for your earth.

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  12. Mike took pictures of our tiny little wildflower seedlings - so cute. I'm getting excited!

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