Garden Prep

The Samurai Gardener

More warm weather today means more garden preparation work!  I spent much of the day raking and turning the soil in our garden plot, getting it ready for planting in a few weeks.  While I did that, the girls and the animals enjoyed the sunlight, which is something we haven't seen for a few months.

Garden Helper

Skizitz enjoying a good lounge in the stroller basket

Sunbathing

Cuddles take a break on the deck

Spring is Here!

Spring is finally here!  It was warm enough today to kick off our boots, let the critters out to play, start on the garden, and do some spring cleaning!

A Little More Garden Work

Late Fall gardening fun.

The days are getting colder, but Elaina still insists on going outside barefoot.  Today we worked a bit on the garden, digging it down to get it ready for next spring.  At least she decided to wear socks for a change.

We also got the qajaqs put away for the winter.  Since we moved, I've had them stored in the workshop area of the barn, where they take up about 20' of useable space.  This afternoon I moved them to the other side of the barn, tucking them up in the rafters above the animals.

Our hand-built skin-on-frame qajaqs.

Garden Planning & Brush Cutting

Garden layout for Spring 2015?

This afternoon I found a nice website online that helps with vegetable garden planning.  The site, Smart Gardener, allows you to define the space that you have available to plant, configure the size and shape of your garden beds, select plants, and then determine when and where to plant them.

I had made a list the other day of vegetables that we'd like to grow next spring.  I created a layout based on the measurements that I had taken at the beginning of the month, added my desired beds, and selected the plants that were on my list.  You can then configure how many plants you'll need, based on the size of your family, and then allow the site to lay out your garden configuration for you.  I played with it a bit, then rearranged the site's recommendation, into the layout show here.  Most of the site is free, but a few things, such as adding berries to your garden, require a fee.  I do have some berries in mind to grow, so I may look into the pay features later on.

The other small accomplishment for today was clearing out a bit of the front of the house.  Several years ago the main entrance to the house was changed.  A driveway and ramp was added to allow for wheelchair access to the main level of the building.  This second entrance became the one that most people used, and the area along the front of the house, including the double-door entrance, became overgrown.  I spent a half hour on my hands and knees with a pair of hand clippers cutting back the brush.  I didn't get as much finished as I had hoped, but I was able to clear out from in front of the utility boxes.

I found the utility pipes!

It's a bit overgrown.

More Garden Work

Elaina loves her dirt and rocks.

Elaina and I spent a bit of time working some more on the garden retaining wall this afternoon.  The wooden beams that we found around the various barns and sheds on the property are all pretty warped and twisted.  I had hopes that screwing them together, after letting them sit outside in the rain, frost and sun, would help them straighten a bit.

For old wood, what we have hasn't come out looking too bad.  I think, though, that we'll need to buy some good landscaping timbers and redo what we've already done.

Originally my goal was to have the garden base finished before winter, so that it would be ready for us to plant in the spring.  Funding might push the project back for awhile, however.

Cuddles supervises.

Six-inch screws.

Finished for now.

Starting the Garden Wall

Elaina surveys the trench.

Today was dedicated to working on the new garden.  My plan is to build a short retaining wall along the lower slope of the current garden so that I can level the ground before building new garden boxes.  After dropping Kid 2 off at school, I stretched a line between two posts that I had previously measured out, and began trenching.  Digging with the spade went fairly quickly.  Elaina and I dug down between 4 to 6 inches for 30', marking the lower edge of the garden.  Once this was done, I used a 4x4 timber to tamp down the loose dirt.  I then leveled the bottom, digging and filling as needed, and tamped again.

With the trench dug, we took a little break and headed to Home Depot to buy some stone.  The stone ended up being a dollar cheaper than I saw online, so we saved a bit of cash there.  Once home, we added the stone to the trench for drainage, and started the process of tamping, leveling, digging and filling again.

Adding stones.

Once the stone was level, I began laying the base of the retaining wall.  This consisted of putting down a 4x4, leveling it, filling next to and under it, then leveling it again.

Basically our day contained several hours of leveling and tamping.

At first I began laying 4x4s along the entire length that we had dug in the morning.  I decided, however, that I should get at least one corner started so that I could start building up.  The corner waited till after Gabriella was picked up from school.  Once home again the girls helped me align the corner, dig, tamp, level, etc., until we had a nice corner started.

Aligning the corner.

With the corner aligned and leveled, I fixed it in place by drilling through the 4x4s, then pinning them in place with a short length of pipe.   With this done, we move on to finishing the base of the wall along the lower slope.

The final bit for today was to start the second tier.  The 4x4s that I'm using, though, are a bit warped and twisted, being scrap that I found stashed in the sheds and barns around the property.  It looks like I'm going to need some spikes to help hold them in place.

The day's work.

Restoring the Garden

Last year my father-in-law built a small set of garden beds for my mother-in-law to use.  Unfortunately after the original planting, the beds were abandoned and left to grow over.  A few days ago I went out and measured the space, which takes up a roughly 15' x 18' plot just behind the house.  With a bit of planning, I found that if I can extend the plot by 8' on one side and 7' on the other side, I could rebuild the garden with a decent number of beds, including one dedicated to climbing plants.

Proposed Garden Plan

After checking with the in-laws to make sure it was okay to expand the garden, I started mulling over ideas.  My plan right now is to create level beds by building a short retaining wall along the lower slop of the existing plot.  First, though, everything needs to be cleaned out.  That was my chore for today.

Existing Beds

Existing Beds

Existing Plot Cleared

While I was clearing the old garden plot, Elaina entertained herself down by the goat pen.  Eiar seems to have settled in nicely, and is now holding her own with the boys.