Cutting off the Head of the Hydra

This was one of the twelve labors of Hercules. Each time he cut off one head two would grow back in it’s place. This is the way greens work in the garden. The more you pick them the more you have. Notice the pictures of the arugula and the mustard and turnips. They were all picked down to almost nothing on Sunday. The picture was taken on Monday afternoon. Another of the labors of Hercules was cleaning the Augean Stables. What kind of garden could you have with all that manure?

You may notice that the Arugula is in a raised bed. The bed was full to within an inch of the top when the arugula was planted. It has settled some since then. When the arugula is pulled off or dies from cold or heat, the bed will be topped up with compost and spaded with a spading fork to fluff it back up.

The scrap lumber from an old deck that was torn up several years ago is becoming raised beds now. Some of it went into the greenhouse. The lumber is of course being supplemented by regular scavenging. The garden thrives on recycled vegetable material, why should it not save old building materials from the landfill as well?

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com/ , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/