April 2008: Finally, carve abstract shapes into the lawn to make way for the plants.

I don't have any way to depict the brute force involved, but never one to underemphasize my sacrifices, I don't want to gloss over the labor required to create these beds. I'd estimate they added up to about 200-300 square feet . . . all I had was a hoe to scrape and chisel the grass off out of the dry black clay. Pretty primitive stuff; it took me several days, but I will say this: there's no better way to unleash countercultural angst than with a violent affront to lawndom.

If you squint your eyes enough, you can see some tomatoes and chile peppers in the bed to the right. For the most part, the rest of the beds were planted with seeds that had yet to emerge from the soil.