Relocating challenges

Last year when we moved into our house we had massive issues when planting. Of course, first we really didn't have the money to invest a whole lot in a garden.
But also we knew the soil was pretty bad but we didn't really know HOW BAD it was.
I've been working with veggies, fruits and flowers for some time now but I don't think I ever recall having the challenges that we had here in Northern Maryland. Almost completely infertile soil, heavy clay consistency, it would NOT drain water. At all. A small amount of rain would turn our backyard into a pond.

Fast forward to now.
We have three raised beds now put together and then the front one put together somewhat.
The front will be home to twice as nice melon and watermelon. My only worry there is it only gets a small amount of sun. Not good for any sort of melon.
Thanks to Veterans Compost we now also have two beds almost completely filled with soil and compost. One of those this upcoming weekend will be filled with spinach, cabbage, arugula, swiss chard, baby romaine and possibly broccoli rabe. (one of our favorites that is super expensive at the grocery store)

And thanks to my Dad. He had a really good idea for the tents that we need to put on the beds where we're starting seeds currently.
At first we were thinking of using hoop like metal rods that would stretch across the bed.
The only negative with this approach is we need the frame itself. We have the cloth, just not the frame.
My husband, Edward suggested that maybe we get some metal hangers and bend them to the shape we need but I don't know how sturdy that would be.
So, after speaking to my Dad on the phone this weekend he said that maybe we should put some stakes up on each end and each side and make more of a rectangular like tent.
I'm going to try to work on this idea tomorrow night and see how it turns out. The sawing will have to be done in the carport. Pictures will follow. The neat thing with this idea is I have loads of broken wood pieces that are just about the right size for all of this.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Compost Tea = MASSIVE GROWTH

Image
I've been looking at photos from the past few weeks, especially since I found some recently on my Facebook page from last year at almost exactly this time, and well....I really have to pat my husband and I on the back. This is what really made the impact. The left side was from last year.  No compost, no raised beds, No compost tea, no extra soil. Nothing. This year we've added raised beds, extra soil, extra compost, compost tea, vermicompost and bonemeal along with loads and loads of backbreaking work. So I guess I cannot attribute all of our success to the compost tea.  However, the tomato plants in our planters are doing awesome ! We have diligently been following a schedule of compost tea one week, miracle grow fertilizer the next. The end result? Can you believe this!?  What amazing growth! Next is our tomato and eggplant/pepper beds.  Again just really awesome growth here.  We've been out here almost nightly now so it's easy to miss how the plan
Read more

Oh my, where to start!

Image
It's now been, what? Almost a month and maybe even a week since I've written.  I kept having the best intentions to write and then.....something always got in my way. First I injured my left foot while walking through the garden, next, was my laptop which decided right now was a perfect time for an epic fail.  Then next hubby having yet another TDY, while my son and I were sick. Nice, real nice. Hell, as it stands right now we're in the middle of a Severe Thunderstorm Warning and watch (thank God it's not a T---ado watch or warning!).  Thunder is rumbling outside and the sky is lighting up as if someone has thrown fireworks up into the clouds. So with all that happening I still rush to hurry and write. My God, where do I start? First, we had a few successes.  Our battle with the slugs is going well, thanks to about 4 beer traps we set weekly. My hope is that when I put in our second seeding of mesclun, arugula, romaine, and other mixed greens the slugs will be far
Read more

Negative 36 with chickens in our garage

The past couple of weeks have been interesting to say the least.  Our temperatures here in Interior Alaska have gone from positive temperatures in the teens to lows of -40.  While the house is hanging in there, of course, no surprise there. This place was built to last, we have lost a couple of animals and now as of today, the 5th of January, we are housing three chickens in our garage.  Unfortunately two of these girls had the bad luck to start molting late Autumn.  Little Ms. Toriel started molting first in late November.  Chloe came right behind her in mid December.  By the morning of Christmas Eve it became apparent, we had to house poor little Toriel in the garage as first and foremost she had very little feathers on her poor body.  She's also lower in the pecking order which means others are picking on her and she is not allowed to share their heat.  As my husband brought her in to show me it was apparent, she was on deaths doorstep. Her eyes were frozen shut, her foot looked
Read more