The big dig!

Whew! That's what I call hard work. So much easier at the old house where I just threw up raised beds and presto garden space. Well it wasn't nearly that easy, but a decade later it seems that way. Boy I miss that garden. This one pales in comparison, but it will work for this year.

Again had the help of one of my sons. The other has a full day of 2 performances. Just enough time after I dropped him off for the matinee to finish digging up the sod.

Along the way I had a marvelous idea. So I think. Instead of putting all the sod on the compost pile, why not turn it over in the garden beds and let it decompose in place?  Sure hope it doesn't take long. Might research that.

Anyway, it sure went faster, instead of brushing all the dirt out of the sod we just left it all in the bed. I think it looks great!

The beds aren't perfect, but they will have to do for now. I need to get planting.

Here is a close up of the bed. What do you think? Good or bad idea with the sod?  Going to have the kids aerate the soil so it is fluffy for planting.

Boy a roto tiller would have come in handy. Oh well, we sure got a good workout.

Couldn't help but notice the blueberry plants leaves starting to grow. Cool but scary since I should really have seeds in the ground. Not sure if I have time to start the seeds indoors this year or if I should just plant them in the beds direct sow.

What project did you tackle this weekend?

Sinfonian

The Gardening Adventure Continues!

With the snow from a few weeks ago a distant memory and the PNW experiencing a few record days of 70 degrees, it got my gardening juices flowing!

So despite this being a very busy show weekend for my youngest and me working back stage, we took some time to dig out the garden area. Didn't get it all finished as the electric tools all broke so we did it all by hand.

Decided on three 4x8 beds with a 3 foot walkway between them so I can sit and garden comfortably. The can of field line spray paint came in handy.

The boys were a big help though it was clear they weren't strong enough to swing the heavy pick axe.

While working it became clear that this area really is the best spot in the yard for a garden. We all worked very hard.

Along the way we ran into a problem as to where to put the sod we took out. If I had a roto tiller I could have mulched it up and made use of it as compost. Instead we had to do it the slow way. Dump the sod in a pile with some browns and let the chemical reaction work its magic! So I started a compost pile. Didn't think I'd be doing that so soon. And since I don't get the paper (well I do electronically) I used lint from the dryer. It has a ton of cat hair in it  Perfect browns!

In the end we decided to call it a day. We were all tired and my youngest was bummed that he was working on his only day off in weeks. The show must go on!

So this is how far we got. Maybe I'll work more on it tomorrow morning before taking him to perform. Not bad progress by hand.

We had a pretty good system down at the end. The slowest part was getting the sod out of the way. It took a while as I wanted the most dirt possible to remain in the beds. It will mean less compost to buy.

I'm happy we got out in the yard and worked in the garden. With theater commitments it has been hard. Ah the life of a father.

Have you been able to work in your garden this Spring? Oh yes, Happy Springtime!

Sinfonian

8 inches of snow and the Territorial Seed catalog

Sitting next to my stove heater reading my new Territorial Seed catalog on a blustery snowy winter winter weekend has got me thinking about gardening this spring. I'm sure I'm not alone. It's been a while so I'm going to cheat and pull out my old seeds and repurchase the ones I like. Maybe I'll try a few new ones. They all look so good.

Unfortunately Mother Nature has put a crimp in my plans to build a garden here. Last week we got 6 inches that tried to kill my mature blueberry plants. I figure they must be 30 years old. The PVC cage and bird netting collapsed under the weight. Thankfully it melted enough for me to dismantle the cage before another storm hit. They look much happier just dealing with 8 inches of new snow.

Stay warm and dry this winter, and plan your own garden.