In the Garden—Diary

marigold seeds

May 31

I sprayed my strawberries with a mixture of lemon juice and water and made a border of cinnamon in the hope of deterring ants from eating my strawberries. It may yet be too soon to see if it works. But in the muggy rain, my yard smells like cinnamon.

June 3

It's the last day of the new moon and we're finally past our estimated last frost date, so I got busy in the garden today. I removed the layer of leaves from a new section of the garden, added compost, and planted a row of marigolds and a row of sunflowers. The marigold seeds are light and dry as straw, but look like little arrows.

I planted cilantro seeds from last year; we'll see if they come up.

I planted nasturtiums in the garden by the backdoor. I love this shady little section of garden, and am mostly content to let it grow wild. Lemon balm, plants with seed pods like little lanterns, feathery plants, and cherry-tree saplings already grow there. When I removed the leaf cover I found the remains of a pomegranate I put there on Samhain, and it made me happy, and reminded me of the seasons of the year. I added just a touch of compost, because the soil was so clay-y and clumpy, and sprinkled compost over the jack-o-lantern carcas I also put there last fall, hoping it'll grow me more pumpkins. I think some messy nasturtiums that do well in poor soil will fit in nicely here.
I ate the first strawberry out of my garden.

June 4—Full moon

I planted a dahlia bulb and three pixie lily bulbs. Brought my largest reddest strawberry to Ian.

June 6

I've planted last year's seeds in little plantable pots. Three Thai basil, three regular basil, three oregano, and three calendula. If in a couple weeks they sprout, I'll plant more. Oregano seeds are tiny, smaller than poppy seeds. I'm not sure how to plant basil and oregano—just an 1/8th inch and a 1/16th inch deep, respectively. I also planted six little pots of marigolds, so when I decide it's warm enough for tomatoes I'll have pest-resistant marigolds ready to put next to them.