sassmuffin's Blog
sassmuffin's Blog
Last Post 36 days, 9 hours Ago
Sep 7, 2008 | 8:32 PM PST
Today I moved a yard and 1/2 of top soil by myself as the boys were off somewhere doing something. The beds are now complete. Pictures are in the forums under garden pictures. 8 hours of shoveling, pulling, dumping, smoothing has taken it's toll. time for a HOT bath and a soft bed not filled with dirt to lie down in.
Aug 10, 2008 | 10:41 AM PST
I'll try to explain without sounding to anal..
First, the idea behind the veggie garden was my DH's. His idea of a veggie bed it a long wide rectangle, with chicken wire (or similar fencing), that you walk down the rows and weed, weed, weed.
1) I hate fences
2) All vegetables and no flowers? ARE YOU NUTS???
All of this lead me to start reading up on companion planting, also how to build a better mouse trap, oops! vegetable garden.
Since I had already tilled the plot out, and the weeds started growing back, this was a perfect excuse to try lasagna beds. Which is basically no till gardening. I'mm tilling out the trenches because our soil in so hard.
You soak newspapers in water and lay them down thick (6,7,8 pages) over your proposed site, this kills the weeds. Then cover it in layers of your organics, peat, manure, humus, leaves...now you have built a raised bed, without the building.
You can use this method in Spring to quick jump your beds, or in my case Fall, and the beds will be good to go in Spring. I'll use Fall clean up to help build the beds up and add the top layer in Spring. Instead of fencing, I am going to try to use different flowers and herbs as pest and animal repellants (I am keeping fencing by JIC)Again, I will find out in Spring if this works too. DH thinks I'm nuts anyway, he doesn't quite get the idea. What I like about doing this in Fall, is I can take a little more time in buying and hauling peat, compost and manure, I'd rather spend 10-15 bucks a week than all at once in Spring. We don't get the paper delivered, so I can go to my mom's and take the ones she saves again at my lesuire. And it's also become quite the conversation piece.
What I did was break the original bed up into 8 sections (5 1/2 x7 1/2 apprx.)
and tilled out trenches around each section so I can comfortable walk around each bed and not have to step in it and compact the soil. You use the dirt from the trenches and pull it up into the individual beds to make the "raised" part. I will use recycled boards for the trenches so I am not walking in mud after it rains. Also the hope is with obvious paths, no one will walk through the beds since the paths are so close.
It's also suppose to make crop rotation easier, I guess I will find out.
May 19, 2008 | 4:56 PM PST
Finally go the south yard started, It took 3 hours with the tiller to clear out the overgrown weed bed over there. I had really wanted to enlarge it, but it took way to much out of me. CB and I are going to work on it over the next month or so, that way in September I can divide the Irises and a couple of the peonies and move them over. I did order a few more roses to put in though. I haven't gotten to the shade garden yet either. I'm thinking of just plowing that under with manure and putting pots down this year. Maybe adding a couple of things??? I just took somemore pictures and will have them posted ASAP.
Apr 30, 2008 | 7:45 PM PST
I was able to get some work in today. Re raked the North end and the East slope, even got under the deck and the whole south yard finished. 4 hours of raking and hauling. Just have to do a little leaf blowing and the bottem yard is finito! Next on the list is cleaning the deck and all the containers up there, the gutters and the little porch.
Cody is going to dig the holes for the last few roses, and help me get the tiller fired up. We are looking at some rain so I won't be able to till until Sunday or Monday.
Monday I will call the guy to come and haul this years debris away. I will post pictures tomorrow to show you what I mean.
Apr 25, 2008 | 11:27 PM PST
I realized today that I join the "original" GG back in 2002. Col was not quiet 12 and CB not quiet 10. They wanted to grow "Tommytoes and Pepperers". All we had was containers at that time. We made it work!!! We also grew herbs and some strawberries. Some of the strawberries now live in our REAL garden.
Alas. the boys have grown. Col is almost 18! He is graduating this year, and is planning on moving Up North (5 hours by car). He has some jobs lined up and will be doing well. CB is starting Jr. year, with a chance to graduate early, He is also looking at moving, college out of state.
I realized also, that for the first time, in 20 years I will be alone..............I know that every family has experienced the Empty Nest Syndrome. But it hit me hard this week. This past week, the boys have dug holes, cut branches, moved mini mountains...........and next garden season they won't be here. I never gave a thought to what would happen when they grew up. I'll stop now, I didn't mean to get maudlin. Just don't know if I can garden alone.
Apr 24, 2008 | 12:05 PM PST
Started the week out well. The weather ws gorgeous, managed to get the North boundry and East slope raked and uncovered all the little green friends waiting to come a live. I was actually a day or 2 ahead of what I had planned for.........Then, the weather changed!
Tuesday I didn't do much except hang out on the sofa, body wasn't working to well even though I paced myself pretty well.
Wednesday I was repotting geraniums, marigolds and petunias to move them out to the greenhouse since they can handle temperature changes the best. I was able to move one whole flat out of the house! One less grow light to pay for.
Today, I spent planting roses, I managed to get 9 in today, only 5 left to go. Those will have to wait until the weather clears up, next Tuesday or Wednesday. I also looked around the yard today, and I will have to rake and leaf blow again, the stupid Cottonwood trees in the back yard are dropping seed pods like crazy. High winds today and for the next few days will set me back again. I will post new pictures of the clean yard when weather permits.
