1 2008-07-16T18:42:32-05:00 false This is currently the description for my Victory & Spicewall Garden, but as I'm about to update the description, I figured I'd archive what I already have in a journal entry. Enjoy! New journal entry and description of the garden to come soon. This is the garden overall. Early on I had nice tilled rows, clean soil, and paths between them, etc. I found out two things really quick: almost everything died or failed to sprout from seed, and the one thing besides the pumpkin patch that flourished was lawn grass. When I let the grass in, and stopped fighting it, things started to live. When I started using the grass as mulch, starting two weeks ago, stuff just started to thrive. I guess mother nature just likes a little bit of a mess sometimes. To enclose the garden, I've started a Spice Wall, which is basically taking cinderblocks and turning them with the holes up and down, and using it as both a border and a flower pot. Pictured is a section of the spice wall that I have set up. On either end are marigolds, which keep rabbits and other pests at bay, and the petals of the marigold can be used as a colorful additive to salads. Between them, from left to right, there's Sweet Basil, Foxtail Rosemary, African Blue Basil, more Foxtail Rosemary, more African Blue Basil, and Tuscan Blue Rosemary. Against the fence, from middle to right is Wild Mint. In the upper left is part of the "main" pumpkin patch. Other herbs in the garden include Sweet Marjoram, Italian Oregano, Greek Oregano, Spanish Lavender, Stevia, Curled Parsley, Italian Parsley, Dill, Chives, Chili Pegquins, Sage, and Garlic. The most thriving part of the garden is the Jack-O-Lantern pumpkin patch, which was a total accident. I had a mature compost heap that I threw last year's old, uncarved, unopened jacks into when spring came around and they got soft and rotty. A few weeks later, I had a sprout. Curious, I moved the composting box over a few feet to start a new heap. Within days, the growth exploded out, and now I'm already yielding Jack-O-Lantern's right and left. The photo with me in it is from a few weeks ago, holding the first yield of my whole garden. The wife snapped that photo in the middle of me saying "Oh Yeah!" like Joe from Family Guy. That pumpkin went to Mr. and Mrs. J, as a thank you for all they taught me. They turned it into three of the best pumpkin pies I've ever had, a large serving bowl for beef soup, and some very fertile seeds for their own garden. 0 false 23254 false false false Entry 3222 Garden 2008-07-15T19:00:00-05:00 DMY 25191 Public 2008-07-16T18:42:33-05:00 3667 Overcast 95 F