I Have Some Work Left to do in the Garden

I made a list of things that I still need to plant in the garden this year:  More green beans, more corn, sunflower seeds, buckwheat, luffa gourds, birdhouse gourds, zinnias, black-eyed peas, cantaloupes, spaghetti squash, butternut squash, and watermelons.  It sounds like a lot.  Due to long hours at work and rain, the rest of the garden has been delayed.  A lot of what was planted in the spring has suffered with the weather.

No worries, though.  We'll get it done.  The southernmost part of the garden has grown up in weeds.  I put some "metal mulch" (tin) down, but I didn't have enough to cover the rest of the garden.  The remaining weeds are tall and lush.  It all has to come down before planting.  Well, all except for the sugar cane you see growing in the top left-hand side of the photo.  We'll make syrup with that this fall.

Without a tiller, you might think that is a tough job, but if you get the weeds off, the ground is soft and rich and arable.  The metal mulch stops a lot of the weeds.  Once you remove the tin, it can be turned over with a shovel, worked with a hoe and planted in one day with a little elbow grease.  Here's my plan.  I'll let the goats and cows mow the grass down.  I don't want them eating what's growing in the other three-quarters of the garden, so I put up an electric netting fence you see below.  I don't have it electrified, but the animals have been shocked by it before, so they respect it, even if it's not "hot."

Then I put the animals in the garden.  First, Annie the goat, and then Clarabelle.  They've both most recently had babies, so they'll appreciate the fresh grass and be able to convert it all to milk for their babies... and us!  Here is Annie hard at work working the garden.

Of course I'll only let them in the garden to eat while I am working in the other side of the garden.  If they intend on testing the non-electrified fencing and realize they can go right through it, I want to be nearby to stop them before they cause damage.  I see them longingly eyeing the vegetables.  Those are for us!  I'll be sure to post a photo to show their work in cutting the grass and preparing the remaining land for planting.  With their help, I still have time to get everything else planting and it is truly an win-win situation for all involved.