The three boys had a fun morning going shopping to store after store to find a new wide-brim hat for my eldest. He had been wearing an 18-24 month hat and we didn't realize it was that small. Thankfully it fits my youngest perfectly because he grew out of the infant one he was wearing. Gotta keep the kids from burning. Anyhow, remember how I said yesterday that my father-in-law found all this hardware to help build my deck, trellis and compost pile? Well this afternoon we threw together my trellis posts.
Well, only 4 2x4s worth since that's all I had. Thankfully he had amazing gold-plated lag screws because apparently it's not sturdy to attach 1 foot to a bed and leave the next 7 feet unsupported. Note in the pic above we had to install the 2x4 such that the netting will hook on the back side of the board because the roofline over the door kept us from moving the board where we wanted it. Anyway, here's what it looks like all done...
I'd like a few more 2x4s to provide more support, but we'll see if I get any more. Oh, and I had to move the SWC a bit to get the 2x4 in there after removing the 2x2 trellis I had built. I sure hope the netting shows up tomorrow because the peas want something to grab hold of.
I've got to say, working in the hot sun in my garden area, it was HOT today. I hated it but the plants sure loved it! The tomatoes, beans corn and peas all showed noticable growth in the last three days! Sure all the plants loved it, but it's no coincidence that all my warm-weather crops faired incredibly well in the heat. Go figure.
What I noticed working in the garden on such a hot day was that the garage reflected so much sun into the garden area that it dries out really quickly. I need to mulch. But I don't really want beauty bark which is so prevalent here because I want to be able to either brush it aside or remove it to plant. I really like what Judy uses (Cyprus mulch I think she calls it). We don't have it here so I'm still on the lookout for he perfect mulch.
But I think I have some time before it's truely needed because after three days in the mid 80s next week it's dropping to highs of 58 and rain. Again. Haven't we had enough of this for a season? Well at least I won't have to water as much. hehe. I just hope Mother Nature doesn't shock the plants to much.
After the garage sale was done and everything put away, I finally got a chance to mow my back yard. I had been talking to my mother and aunt about my compost and pulling stuff out of the recycle bin to compost, mostly cardboard. I want to use it to line the bottom of my bin because the newspaper's not stopping the weeds from growing up into my bin. Maybe a layer of cardboard will do the trick. Eventually it will break down. Anyway, when talking to my folks, they thought I was wierd to be composting everything I have been. They didn't think cardboard could be composted. I should send them the link to 163 things you can compost. What they don't understand from their years of cold composting is that green without brown is cold composting and takes years longer than hot composting. I'll take months over years any day if I can swing it, and if the last few weeks is any indication, we go through enough brown household waste to make it work! So here's a pic of my compost bin after mowing both the front and back yards today.
Another thing that happened at the end of the sale is that my mother took all but the last 5 of our mature radishes, and would have taken all of them had I not stopped her. Hehe I've got about 4 SF worth of radishs planted around the garden to get us more, but who knows how much longer it will be until they're ready. Let's hope they mature much faster than the one's we've been eating. hehe I just wonder if I can replant radishes in the same squares I had radishes previously. I know you're not supposed to do it with other plants but radishes take so little time. Hmm?
Oh yeah, another crop that really liked the heat were the potatoes. Last week I finally needed to add dirt and bury some leaves. Now look at them!
Looks like not only do I need to add more dirt but at least the Butte bin needs another layer of boards. So the last thing I did for the evening was to cut more boards for the Build-As-You-Grow bins. Unfortunately I got quite a surprise when I went to cut the 2x6s. They were leaning up against the house in the fenced garden area waiting to be cut. When I got everything ready and went to grab one of the dozen left I found only one there.
My first thought was that we were robbed. This is a good neighborhood and the wood was behind a fence. Of course the ten foot boards stuck up over the height, but why would someone leave just one board. It's not the money, I got a screaming deal on the boards and could get more, but it was the point of the matter. So I cut the one remaining board (over a tarp so I could catch the untreated saw dust and shake it out over the compost bin, hehe I'm getting into this!). When I went in to tell my wife, I started with "bad news, looks like we've been robbed..." She had the same reaction I did. But when I explained the details, she informed me that her father had used the 2x6s to set on his saw horses to make tables for the garage sale. Hehe. I had no idea. Whew.
So despite having to do a garage sale this weekend, I got my to-do list completed. I didn't get the door put on the compost bin though. I have the hardware for it. Mostly I ran out of time, but also I'm thinking about moving it over so that the legs of the swing set don't stop the door of the compost bin from opening. If I did that though, I wouldn't have the room to build the second bin. I don't really need two bins because it seems I really don't make that much compostable waste, but as Joe said, it helps to mix it up.
Well, I hope everyone got out in their gardens this fine weekend, and if it was as sunny where you are as it was here, I hope you wore a hat and used tons of sunblock in between drinking water to remain hydrated. Enjoy your garden!
Yes, I need to build trellises as well. The tomato plants below are starting to look a lot greener, that is a good sign.
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