I love technology

I love modern technology.  When it works it can make things so much easier!  You can now carry a smart phone to the garden center so that you can go on-line and check out the plant before you buy it.  You can blog about your garden and share pictures.  You can read other peoples' blogs to find out what works for them.  It's easy to check multiple sources for information.  No more needing a shelf full of book.  No more depending on a relative or neighbor for advice that may or may not be any good.

Lately I've started using technology to document the progression in my garden.  During the winter when it was time to order plants I was trying to go back and remember what the garden looked like, where there were empty spots, what blooms together.  Of course I've never made a map.  That would be too useful.  

I'm going out every two week to a month and photographing every inch of my garden.  I start at my driveway and take a photo of that end of the garden.  Then I take a big step to the left and repeat.  And repeat.  It takes about 100 photos.  Way too cost prohibitive in the old days of developing film.  Now?  Cheap and easy.  And I can find what I'm looking for if I organize it well on the hard drive.  Next winter I'll have a better guide to where I might be able to squeeze in just one more....

I love technology.

PS.  The end of the semester is in sight!  In about two weeks I'll have more free time and will try to get back to blogging regularly, I promise!

Gardening Advice for Zombies

[In some (relatively obscure) corners of the internet today is Zombie Day.  I thought I should bring this concept to The Edge.  Why?  Pshh, Zombies!  Who needs a reason?]

So now you're undead.  Your primary goal is brains (wait, wait, come back, there's more, you can eat later, really) but you still enjoy a good garden.  Good news.  Just because you're undead doesn't mean you can't garden!

Plant vegetables.  Now that the Zombie Apocalypse is nigh food will become scarce for the living.  A nice vegetable garden will work wonders to attract them.  All you have to do is wait and your dinner will come to you.

While the living don't like to put meat in their compost bins because of smell and disease you're undead!  You won't notice the smell of rotting meat over the smell of your own rotting flesh and you certainly don't have to worry about disease anymore.  What's the worst that can happen?  You've already died.  So go ahead, once you've removed the brains from your (hey, where are you going?  come back, quit thinking with your stomach for just a little while longer!), once you've removed... well the remaining parts of your victims you can be put right in the ol' compost bin.

Being a Gardener Zombie you are familiar with a great many long handled implements like shovels and hoes.  These can be useful to you in your new undead life.  They can be used to cripple your prey (the living) or to defend yourself against the Mobs of the Living.  Since you're already dead you just have to keep The Mobs from hacking you into pieces.  A good sturdy hoe will block most swings of the axe (aim for the shaft of the axe).  And a good pitchfork  in experienced hands can be very frightening!

So go on out there and start planting!  Be sure to put in some Cauliflower.  They look kind of like brains.

Darn.  I've lost you completely now, haven't I?