Wednesday was the day, and of course, Tim was the one to get her done for me!
We got started early enough, went to the lumber yard and got the necessary materials. We are ultimately going to put in 4 beds, but got the lumber for 3. The last one is going to be two probably, deep beds for potatoes I think.
Tim brought his truck load of tools and such, because he never knows for sure what we’re going to be up for, so he’s ready for just about anything. He brought the trailer as well, since I was going to make sure we got dirt and compost for the beds today, so that we wouldn’t have to make a two day event out of it. I’ve been waiting a good long time for these beauties…
Decided that they would be 6 x 8 beds. Yes, 6 foot is a little deep, but I plan to plant the back half of the bed with sunflowers and pop corn! So they will end up being more like 4 x 8 if you subtract that row of plant life.
The day before I had a monster of a migrane and just could hardly function. Thankfully, those only come around now and then and it seemed like almost a year since the last one. I actually didn’t make it to practice and that was some serious headache. I’ve NEVER missed a practice or a gig, EVER! So you know, that was one mean headache. Sitting outside the next day in the bright sunshine was still a little iffy for me, so I got my shades and a lawn chair to chat and watch. Oh yeah, and some motrin. Ha ha….
It didn’t take Tim long to screw together the beds. He did a lovely job, drilling pilot holes first then sturdy screws… didn’t want to split the wood and all that. And then off we went to the mulch and dirt place. It’s called Future Lawn and they do recycling for the county and have some very good prices on compost, top soil and several kinds of mulch.
There were MOUNTAINS of mulch there, kind of neat to look out at the whole yard and see them. We wanted compost and it was lovely! A rich dark mulchy compost of leaf litter and dirt and good stuff. Nice and steamy.
The first load we got was about 3/4 of a yard. That was what the little trailer could handle. We knew then that we would be making several trips. Thank goodness it was only three miles from the moby, as we ended up with 5 trips! 3 full yards of compost.
It took about a whole trailer load to fill one bed. We used some old leaf piles and other yard waste in the bottoms of the beds and then filled them with the compost. They looked beautiful. I put my shoulder into the job as well, and between Tim and I we actually unloaded 3,600 pounds of dirt!!! Oh boy, did I ache that night, but at least it was a good solid work-related ache!
I’d love to branch out into the neighboring empty lots but alas, it can not be unless I wanted to pay the lot rent for them! We just got a letter throughout the park that people were not allowed to park cars or put stuff on the empty lots. Which was a bit of a bummer as we were parking Jessy’s wagon over on the next lot’s space. Now I had to move hers over to our first spot and part Gunnar in front of our moby, as that is apparently our second spot. So I have decided that these side beds are fine, since everyone has at least a car driveway width on either side of their moby lot and my beds only stick out 6 feet from the concrete slab. I’ve noticed that in a park, the best thing you can be is quiet, tidy and keep to yourself and all is good with the world. Being in the back of the park is nice too, and with empty lots on either side, it’s really pretty dreamy for me.
The last two loads of compost went to dressing up the existing beds. I got only topsoil for the first year’s construction and I wish I had thought to get compost and soil mixed. It would have done better I think. SO this year my plan was to get a good top layer of compost on all the beds. 2-3 inches at least. And we did. Had plenty of the stuff left over after filling the three new beds. Enriching the soil is one the best ways to help increase yield.
All is good with the world… the beds are ready, just really need to get by another week or two by the weather reports. I thought about planting my onion sets today, but it’s really windy and blustery outside today. And we might dip down to 36 degrees tonight. Last frost date here in Toledo is May 15th. I think I’m going to wait two more weeks before starting to plant some of the hardy seeds like peas and beans and such. Just to be safe. My cold frames are doing great, nearly everything is up and growing. Just not the peppers. Not a single one has broke the surface. I have read that peppers really like consistant heat, so I’m just going to be patient. I can’t imagine that with 9 different varieties of seed, that all failed to germinate. It’s got to be just a little too cold for them.
I’m definitely going to plant my strawberries in a few days and probably the new blueberry bush and grape vines that I got. They are outside already and seem pretty hardy and ready to get started. Have it in my mind to grab a few more raspberry canes because out of 9, 6 made it through the first winter and that part of the fruit bed is looking a little thin. I’ll probably wait till the Mother’s Day sale at the Botanical Gardens… it’s one of my favorite times of the year and for a good cause. Can’t wait! This year it’s going to be herbs and raspberries that I favor and of course, perhaps another few iris plants because you can never have too many iris. Just my opinion.
