Sunday, April 11, 2010
There Has Been Gardening
Or pre-gardening. The hot, sweaty, dirty hard work part of the gardening deal, that is.
....wait...
That's ALL the parts of the gardening deal, isn't it?
Somehow I always manage to forget that.
We tilled. Or rather the Boy part of we tilled.
We hauled and cut and bolted.
We dug. Or mostly, the Boy part of we dug.
We cursed. Our hard, heavy clay soil, yikes.
That Boy, he is SUCH a trooper. This is probably weekend #674 that I have roped him into hard labor for one of MY projects, and he has never complained or gotten cranky or impatient. It's one of the 674,000 reasons why I adore him.
Anyway, voila! We have garden beds!
That weekends' worth of effort is six 4'x 6' semi-raised beds. I think the worst part is done, but I'm sure I'm kidding myself, because there is a LOT more digging and soil prep left to do. I'm guessing at least a couple of loads of compost and some other stinky good stuff plus lots more tossing and turning and churning and I should be all set to start feeding the wildlife.
Because what you don't see is the fence part of the show, and that's because I'm still on the fence about the fence. What to use for posts? I wanted big, 3" diameter bamboo poles but they are proving a pain in the butt and expensive to get here so I might have to settle for plain old wood posts. And do I need to dig the fencing material down into the dirt a ways to keep out the little critters? Is 4' tall enough to keep the deer out?
Do I really have to dig more holes? It seems like the defining event of summers around here ever since we arrived has been digging holes in dirt that doesn't want to be dug. Ugh.
....wait...
That's ALL the parts of the gardening deal, isn't it?
Somehow I always manage to forget that.
We tilled. Or rather the Boy part of we tilled.
We hauled and cut and bolted.
We dug. Or mostly, the Boy part of we dug.
We cursed. Our hard, heavy clay soil, yikes.
That Boy, he is SUCH a trooper. This is probably weekend #674 that I have roped him into hard labor for one of MY projects, and he has never complained or gotten cranky or impatient. It's one of the 674,000 reasons why I adore him.
Anyway, voila! We have garden beds!
That weekends' worth of effort is six 4'x 6' semi-raised beds. I think the worst part is done, but I'm sure I'm kidding myself, because there is a LOT more digging and soil prep left to do. I'm guessing at least a couple of loads of compost and some other stinky good stuff plus lots more tossing and turning and churning and I should be all set to start feeding the wildlife.
Because what you don't see is the fence part of the show, and that's because I'm still on the fence about the fence. What to use for posts? I wanted big, 3" diameter bamboo poles but they are proving a pain in the butt and expensive to get here so I might have to settle for plain old wood posts. And do I need to dig the fencing material down into the dirt a ways to keep out the little critters? Is 4' tall enough to keep the deer out?
Do I really have to dig more holes? It seems like the defining event of summers around here ever since we arrived has been digging holes in dirt that doesn't want to be dug. Ugh.
Comments:
<< Home
Wow, looks great. But 4' is not tall enough to keep out deer. I'm not sure how tall is tall enough, but I've seen deer jump a 4' fence with no trouble.
Aaorn
Aaorn
WAHOOO! Not necessarily for your garden but because I have located splatgirl creates. I have been reading your Modern in MN and love it. And so, I came across a link to here so, thanks!
Looking forward to reading more!
Looking forward to reading more!
# posted by 
: 4:11 PM
: 4:11 PM
Is there a fence tall enough to keep out determined critters? 4 feet is not enough by half, ten feet is more realistic and probably frowned upon in populated areas.
I live on a deer superhighway with marmots for neighbors so I use hoops made of white plastic irrigation pipe staked to the ground with re-bar and clipped with plastic deer netting over each bed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rammedearth/4455401767/
Shown here with plastic to get a jump on the season.
I live on a deer superhighway with marmots for neighbors so I use hoops made of white plastic irrigation pipe staked to the ground with re-bar and clipped with plastic deer netting over each bed.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rammedearth/4455401767/
Shown here with plastic to get a jump on the season.
Hi Splatgirl. I wrote last week, but don't think it came through, or else you didn't like the idea...one of the two! Anyway, in case it got lost in cyberspace, check out www.purrfectfence.com for your fencing. I know it's an odd idea, but watch the video and see if you get some ideas.
# posted by : 8:48 PM
: 8:48 PM
http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s2701762.htm
you need a vegie net - a big one -see the link for some ideas on how to do this with simple materials - like plastic irrigation pipes and star pickets...
Post a Comment
you need a vegie net - a big one -see the link for some ideas on how to do this with simple materials - like plastic irrigation pipes and star pickets...
# posted by : 10:26 PM
: 10:26 PM << Home
