Gardener’s Diary

Projects this week include planting a small (6 bushes) blueberry patch in the area destroyed by the idiot with the bobcat and possibly crushed bluestone and pavers for the front walkway. Think the latter will look nice with the blue-gray composite stairs.
Still have some mulching to do and another week and two days of heavy grass watering.
I’m tired.

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Gardener’s Diary

Start of week 3 with the new grass. Yesterday, I overseeded the bare areas, fewer than I thought would be needed, with some seed that has been in the basement here for years. It’ll be interesting if it “takes”. If it doesn’t, I still have time to use something else.
Spent a good part of the day at nurseries: the East Sandwich Agway, who were participating in a multi-business Route 6A open house, and Mahoney’s, who were running gardening seminars. Got a lot of excellent info on composting, bulbs, lawns and winter prep.

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Gardener’s Diary – Hydroseeding

The back yard was hydroseeded last Saturday, September 5.
I didn’t realize how many thousands of tiny rocks were in the soil.
The yard was quite a mess afterwards, green gunk on the deck, stairs, trees, shed, etc.
Watering has been a challenge. The four-part faucet attachment fell apart almost immediately, and not all of the sprinklers are working. I need to make replacements and adjustments to prevent pooling of water.

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Gardener’s Diary

I dug up – at least as much as I could – and threw away the hateful fairy rose that used to occupy the right side of the front fence.
Good riddance.
I’ve injured myself dozens of times on that plant’s nasty thorns – either tiny ones that embedded painful, almost invisible fragments in your hands, or gigantic quarter inch long scimitar-like monstrosities.

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Gardener’s Diary

Spent most of Friday on the grass and blue plantings, finished up yesterday morning during a brief shower.
While Robert had his sailing lesson, got mulch for about 1/3 the cost of buying it in bags, at Cape Cod Recycling; spread about half.
Raining this morning, looks like it’ll stop around noon.
Hoping to get a glimpse of Air Force One when it lands at Otis today around 2:55.

Thanks, But No Thanks

Keeping in touch with what the enemy is thinking notwithstanding, I finally had enough and removed my name from an email list for an outfit called, perhaps with intended irony, “Progressive Business Publications”.
This organization was founded by one Ed Satell, a weathy Republican entrepreneur known for his charitable work in the greater Philadelphia area.
Last year, the Connecticut AG launched an investigation into this company for “deceptively market(ing) and sell(ing) state compliance posters to employers–posters that are already available from the state, free of charge”.
Progressive Business Publications’ catalog has dozens of audio conferences on practical subjects like energy compliance, finance and accounting.
Sprinkled in among these, though, are a few sinister titles that suggest that they advocate sadistic management practices for “difficult” employees.
Some examples: “Managing Employees from Hell: Discipline That Gets Results”, “Take a Stand Today: Squash Negative Attitudes in the Workplace”, “Stop Hiring Losers: How to Read People Like a Book”, “Stopping Difficult People from Sucking the Life Out of Your Organization”.

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Gardener’s Diary

All in all, there are 87 perennials in the new gardens in the back.
I picked up some more today. This is a sickness, but I’m keen to get in on discounts early enough that the plants can get established before the first freeze.
I’m disgusted with the crabgrass, though, and the fact that it’s there at all is partially the fault of the stupid shed people, who refused to book my installation when they first promised.

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