Well, it's becoming clearer by the day that I will never remember all the things I want to do in the garden next year, all the seeds I've ordered or want to order, and the plants or methods I want to try. Since it's way too blasted hot to spend much time in the garden other than the absolutely necessary watering, I've decided I need to get busy and start making some lists for next year. There are so many things I'd like to do out there, but I'm afraid I'll just need to take my losses and move on to the next season.

I'm already working on a list for the big projects that I can't personally do, like the new beds, cattle panel trellises, swapping out the mulch in the flower bed and so on, but all the rest of the new information flies in one ear and right on out the other. I've begun to copy and paste some of the good clips or suggestions I'm finding in the various posts, and now it's time to begin thinking of organizing my plant lists.

I've been doing a lot of reading from the Southern Gardener's Book of Lists, and pairing that information with what I see growing naturally around here, to try to avoid making too many huge mistakes. The results of the soil analysis should be even more help.

I'm one of the worst people in the world when it comes to buying new or more seeds, saving seeds from plants I see growing, starting new things from cuttings, or ordering new plants. The time has clearly come when I need to make some sort of order out of this chaos; try to write down lists of the tops on the 'must-haves' and do a lot of homework on things I'm not familiar with, such as the ornamental grasses.

I've decided that, with the truly awful clay patch in the sun next to the house, I'm just going to cut it close and then pile on a thick mat of newspaper and grass clippings and let it sit over the winter. At least I won't have to look at the Bermuda growing there, I don't mind looking at the mulch, and it might just give it a start towards something that more closely resembles a workable soil for next year.

There was a time when I had visions of turning our huge old chicken barn into a lot of raised benches and transparent panels for a greenhouse. It was a vision, and not something I'm ever going to be able to tackle now, but it's a shame that it can't be done. There's enough room in there for a dozen people to have space for starting plants. The thing is 24' W by about 100' L and is fully wired for lighting. There's a working water line about 20' away. The east wall (at least) is double, with solid removable metal panels on the outside and fully enclosed with chickenwire on the inside, so no critters can get in when it's opened up. What a waste of what could be a good useable space. So many people have no space at all for starting things and I have this huge one that's going to waste. Sigh. I've decided to take on a much more moderate size and use a couple of the smaller chicken pens that are walled on the north but open to the southern exposure. They are also fully enclosed, including over the top, and all the sides are buried deep in the ground to prevent unwanted critters. Each pen is about 6'W x 12'L and I have water right there. I think we'll just put some raised benches in there. I can put shade cloth over the top if necessary, and it should work out pretty well, as long as the ram doesn't decide he's going to try to knock down the door to get in. With any luck at all, we'll have pasture coming back by then and the pens won't look quite so attractive.

I've rambled on a whole lot more than I had intended, so I'd better post this before it turns into a book.

Pat