Filling Up the Bed

This week Ginnie and I dragged Lucy and Jack to the stables to get manure.



Actually, the stables are only about 0.5 miles from our house, so it wasn't far.  It's funny to see so many horses in the middle of suburbia.  



We didn't get very close to the horses though.



The manure, mixed with hay and other organic matter, was waiting for us.



Aren't these baskets great?  Ginnie got them at Walmart.



We filled up 5 buckets and were on our way back home within 10 minutes.



At the house, we layered in the manure and then 2 bags of soil.



We sectioned off the garden every 12 inches to make a "square foot garden," which sort of helps keep things organized and separate.



Can you believe I ever bought yarn this color?



After a puke-green scarf, I've had no use for it.  Until today!



Here's what we planted today:

The asparagus and the mint are sort of aggressive and will eventually grow into that empty square.





And now, as my SIL Heather and I always say...  all we have to do is not kill any of it! 

Another Chance for Gardening... DIY: A Raised Garden

Here is your sneak peak at the garden frame. I'll tell you how to make it in a second.  



It's difficult for me to write a post without a few pictures of Lucy. 



She is so darn cute. 



She and her cousin Jack played the other day, while my sister and I worked in the back yard.



Do you remember my first attempt at gardening?  It was 1 rosemary plant, 2 basil plants, and 2 tomato plants. 

I'm happy to say the rosemary plant is still going strong.  Turns out it's a tough little plant, and good thing, too.  The basil and tomato plants didn't make it.  Sad deal, but life goes on.  Gotta get started on this year's bigger and better garden! 



This raised garden was my sister's idea.  For about $50, you too can build this simple, raised garden. 



Start with 6 cedar fence posts, 1"x6"x6', 4 corner brackets, and some screws. 



Cut 2 of the 6' boards in half, and screw the resulting 3' pieces together, stacked on top of each other.  Do the same for the 6' pieces. 



The result will be 2 double 6' boards and 2 double 3' boards.  The "double" feature acts to fortify the garden bed walls, while keeping the costs much lower than they would be if you bought 2" thick boards instead of 1" thick.



Screw the boards into a rectangle, using the brackets.



Now you have your raised garden bed frame!  Three feet across by six feet long gives you 18 square feet of planting possibilities! 



In my garden I plan to grow a bunch of herbs and a few of the more expensive produce vegetables, like bell peppers, fennel, and onions.   



The bed is currently empty, but I'm going to acquire some free horse manure from a stable down the road, and that will be the base of my planting bed.



On top of that, I plan to layer in this organic landscaper mix, and that way the manure will have some time to mellow out under the soil before the roots reach it.  I'll update with more photos once I get the bed filled in. 

 

Big thanks to Ginnie for doing most of the work on this, while I took pictures!  And big thanks to Jack for keeping Lucy entertained and letting her pull his hair! 



Enjoy your weekend!

Starting Small (or... Please Don't Die)

I started a garden today.



Actually--Daniel did as much as I did--so we started a garden today.  Gardens are extremely intimidating to me.



The most miserable I remember being as a child was when we weeded the garden... a seemingly endless, tedious task for which I could see no real point or benefit and which always seemed to take place when it was 300 degrees outside.



Actually, it wasn't until we went to Portland this past summer that I even considered starting a garden.  In Portland, things want to grow.  The weather is beautiful there, and the grass is lush and bright green.  Hydrangea bushes seemed to grow on every corner - huge and perfect.  It was amazing.



Anyways, I would like to have a garden.  And as with every project that's intimidating, I thought it was important to start small.



So we're starting with 3 plants.  I'd really like to not have to pay $2 for every fresh herb I buy from the grocery store, so to be specific--we are starting with 2 basil plants and a rosemary plant.



My goal is simple: to keep them alive... at least long enough to get two uses out of each plant as fresh herbs in recipes.



That will have justified the expense of the plants, at least.



If they live until next year, all the better - but it's important to have goals that are attainable.  So I am starting small.

On a related note, we are trying the house plant thing again.  The last house plant had a sad, miserably slow death that we couldn't seem to stop.  Everything we did made it die more quickly.



So this is a fresh start for us.  I am trying very hard not to think of this plant as doomed.  My hypnobabies "joyful pregnancy affirmations" cd has got me thinking positively about all things pregnancy-related.



Maybe I should start speaking affirmations to the plant as well.  Something like, "You are healthy and have a strong will to live."  Or maybe I'll just make sure I know how often a Sanseveria plant needs to be watered and set reminders on my calendar.