The Things I Do Now to Make it Easier Next Year!

Yesterday, I had Doug go to the Home Depot and buy 12 more bags of the top soil that was on sale this weekend and 5 more bags of the mushroom compost, each bag to fill one cubid foot.  Each bed received 6 bags of the top soil and two bags of the compost.  It had been raining again and the clay soil was still moist so I didn't want to go too aggressive on the beds and disturb all the clay.  I just opened up each bag and spread the mix over the clumps of clay that were my beds.  I then just lightly tilled the amendments in but not much. 

I am anticipating a delivery of wood mulch tomorrow, Tuesday.  The Ashley's are getting it for us and of course they have first dibs on it.  Whatever is left over I'll just use as a top dressing to what I have now.  It'll be interesting to see how we can get it into the backyard.  We might be able to go through our next door neighbor's yard as that would be easier to pull into and out of. 

So after I laid out the bagged soil I then measured out segments along the timbers.  Theoretically, if I had squared beds and they were each, 8' x 4' INTERIOR, then I would be able to easily mark off one foot segments along each timber and mark those segments with a nail.  But unfortunately, the world is not flat and my beds are not squared, so I just marked 11 inches off from center and tapped in a roofing nail at each segment.  The plan is to tie string from each opposing nail, making a grid within the beds.  It is within those grids that I will plant my seeds or seedlings.  I could probably plant 9-12 radish and beet seeds, but kohlrabi can only take 4 within a square.   Cauliflower is low yield so only one plant per square.  I plan on doing a lot of vertical planting so I need to investigate trellises to install now. 

This is all very hard work.  I might be doing more than need be but my goal is to be prepared and to actually make gardening simpler.  All the hard work is for now but the following years, we won't be messing with timbers and having to fill in the beds from the bottom up.  We'll just amend at the beginning and end of each season, maybe plant rye grass and cover with leaf mulch over winter.  Easy!  And in the early spring, we'll pull out our ready made trellises and just pop in our seeds.  I'm looking forward to those years!

Last weekend was "it".  I had recently posted that it was all or nothing for us Millers and Laniers to finally catch up with the Ashleys.  The timber frames were bolted into place and the toil was "tilled" as best as it could be.  So here are a few photos of the gardeners getting it done.

Almost near the end but not quite.

                                                                Doug and Joe are hard at work while Terry looks on.  She had been up all night long but she joined us later in the day and helped get the garden ready.

   Our other neighbor, Cindy, just came around to see how we were doing.

 

Where's Phil?

We've Made our Beds, Now What?

So today was the day we all hauled ass.  The Ashley's had a two week head start on us, the Lanier's and Miller's, so today was the day us slow pokes got caught up and made our garden beds.  It was a beautiful day this first day of spring, and since the threat of rain is at 70% for Sunday, we knew this was our last shot.  All three gardeners had the tender plant seeds started in pellets, a few had even sprouted.  We are also getting anxious since we need to direct sow seeds usually a minimum of 6 weeks before the first frost which means NOW.   So this morning at 10am Phil comes over and starts laying out his bed.  Then Doug and I joined in, soon followed by Judy Ashley and later in the day, her husband, Joe, and then Phil's wife, Terry. 

 

 This is how our beds are laid out.  I wanted smaller beds while Phil and Judy wanted larger beds for their plots.

It's a community effort, getting all of our beds made.  It started several weeks ago, when Judy and I laid out the initial plots then Judy borrowed her neighbors large tiller and fluffed up the soil.  Doug and Joe will cut and measure and Phil contributes to the construction of the beds.  Phil's wife, Terry, joined the "chain gang" this afternoon and helped to till our beds.  Unfortunately, we didn't have access to the large tiller and the Ashley's small tiller died halfway in to fluffing up the Lanier's bed.  I had two forks and a hoe so with old fashioned reserve, we worked up the soil.  Boy!  There sure is a lot of clay in this soil and our backs ache! 

 Phil working on my beds while Doug and Joe are getting more timber

It was an all day effort so I thought I'd clean out my refrigerator and freezer and invite my gardening friends and next door neighbors to a nosh and drink.  It was a community effort getting the food and drink on the table.  We even had help cleaning up afterward!  The food tasted great maybe better after a hard day of labor.  The kids were playing in the front and back yards, usually tacklling someone.  There were dogs running underfoot and in the case of Skipper, over our feet too! 

All I wanted to do was use up the space we had in the back.  But in the end, I'm getting the best of friends!

Sow the seeds

Two days ago, I soaked my Jiffy peat pellets and dropped in the first seeds.  In a few days, I'll drop a few more as back-up then in a few weeks, maybe two, I'll do more.  My thought is to have a progressive garden, one that gives continually as opposed to the "all at once garden".  We have long, hot summers in Georgia and I'm pretty sure I can drag out the growing season until November.

I'm starting these seeds now:

• Tomatoes: San Marzano, Beefmaster, Brandywine, Sweetie and Beefsteak.  All are indeterminate, (What was I thinking?!)
• Eggplant
• Leeks
• Parsley
• Basil
• Kohlrabi
• Peppers: Poblanos and Sweet Banana

The rest of the seeds that I have to sow can go directly into the soil.  That means I had better get the raised beds going if I want to get them in before the first frost, (mid-April).  I have 16 landscape timbers to lay down in roughly 2, 8x4 beds, about 6 inches high.  I would also like to have a smaller raised bed, maybe made from an old sandbox, to use as a strawberry patch.  I've grown strawberries before and I know what to expect from them.  If not checked, they can take over a garden.  But they do need their own space so why not use what space I have.

Oh, I've shared that large open lot with my backyard neighbors and another family.  Both don't have the yards that get full sun or any sun for that matter.  So I thought I'd share what we have with them.  We each have a plot about 8x24 feet although I've told my friends that they can use more space if need be.  My backyard neighbor and our other friends have good gardening backgrounds so perhaps we can pull off a successful garden this year!

I eagerly await the first cotyledons to push up out of the pellets.  I might celebrate with just a large sigh of relief.   

Oh, and it's raining.  AGAIN!  That means the loose soil that I have in the backyard is too soft to work.  Actually, the backyard neighbor was gracious to lend us use of his tiller and my friend tilled the garden plots several weeks ago.  One bed is already laid out with the timbers and is ready to go.  That means I need to hustle, or rather, Doug needs to hustle getting the timbers up.  We'll get there.