Casualties of War

So the invasion begins.

Bluebirds have started attacking my corn plant seedlings. The strange thing is, these particular plants haven't even broken the surface yet and now I have little cornstalk bodies laying broken next to freshly dug holes. And the worst part is they aren't even eating them, they just spit them out.

Last year they didn't even give them a second glance, even when there was actually corn growing on them. Another odd thing is that we have strawberries, I mean actual berries, growing less then 10 feet away in the dresser and they don't even look in their direction. I guess I should be grateful for that but I'm not. They killed my babies.

So now the war is on. If it were legal, I'd consider getting a pellet gun and having a little target practice. Then I could do a little research and post a review for bluebird pie or something. As it is I have to be content with a high powered hose and the satisfaction of a well aimed shot.

Of course that isn't all I have to do because I can't be sitting here watching the plants all day. That would go against most peoples concept of common sense as well as my own form of lazy square foot gardening so as fun as it sounds, that idea is out the window.

So instead I have to relocate the frames I used to hold the peas last year, which of course I had planned to do anyway, I was just trying to see how long I could put that particular task off. See what a lifetime of procrastination has gotten me? Well, enough of my complaining, I've got work to do.

Planting the boxes

Well I finally planted the first stage of my two boxes today. I was putting it off so I could set up a self watering system but was unable to get the things I needed to make it work soon enough. I will keep collecting what I need and set it up for next year. We have also been having some odd days of hail rain and snow that had me worried about it being too cold.

So far I have planted corn, carrots and tomatoes as you can see mapped in the pictures. In about two weeks I will plant peas in with the corn as well as some zucchini or possibly even pumpkins. That is a lot of stuff, but I am confident they will grow. I will just have to be sure to put in some more compost and miracle grow which, according to the label is organic too.

I am direct sowing everything which as far as I can tell is sure to doom the entire garden anyway. The way I figure it, farmers don't plant thousands of corn plants and start them above their fridge, so why should I? This is my lazy square foot garden and I am supposed to let nature do the work with minimal input from me, not the other way around. That's what I keep telling myself anyway, and if Mr. Fukuoka can just toss his seeds out every year, why can't I?

So keep your fingers crossed with me and let's hope for the best.

Photos taken with Canon Powershot A570is