Moving

[Ridgerunner]

Yes, Steve, I made it. We moved down a week ago and have practically all the boxes unpacked. We got internet Wednesday. It's a fun time trying to get email addresses and mailing addresses changed, various services started and stopped, all the fun of moving. We closed on the house in Arkansas yesterday so things are moving along. That was a worry.

I'm back in suburbia. No chickens, no fruit trees. Right now the back yard is mostly concrete which causes drainage issues so a lot of that will come out. There are a few other issues with this 30-year-old house we knew about (and some we did not) so it will be a while before I plant anything. When I do it will probably be a few raised beds, nothing like I had. It will be a while before I get it figured out.

 

[ninnymary]

Ridge, how big is your backyard? I bet it's still bigger than mine. You will be able to plant a lot of different things just not to many of them. Probably just enough for fresh eating but you can always buy the rest if you want to can. For the most part, I'm happy with what I get out of my small space. It's also a lot less work.

Can't wait to see pictures, especially of the garden space.

Mary

 

[baymule]

Its so good to hear from you. Glad that the move has been made and that y'all are settling in. It will take some time to get it the way you want it. But the important thing is that you are close to family. Closing on the Arkansas house is a load off your mind, glad that got done. Take pictures!

 

[flowerbug]

@Ridgerunner glad you made it safe and sound.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I finally got the underground drainage installed. Now maybe I can make progress on the garden. The drainage gets standing water out of a concrete filled area in the back yard in front of that building, along the side of the building under that compost pile, and dumps it in that back corner. There is a drain back there that leads to a canal.

Those flags show where i just finished putting in an underground electric fence to keep my dogs out of that area. You can see where I dug the thatch off of six spots, where the raised beds will go. That thatch is now in the compost bin. You can see how some of those areas are still pretty bare but some have totally grown over. That is nut sedge. I hate that stuff. My next step will be to cover all that area with black plastic to try to kill the nut sedge out, or at least get it manageable. I don't think it will kill out.

Two of those beds aren't bad with nut sedge so I'll frame them up and start filling them with my soil mixture so I can get them planted, the two left ones in the back.

I did a percolation test back there. The top 14" or so drain pretty well, below that it does not drain worth a darn. I'm pretty happy with that, it should not be waterlogged as I was worried about.

I left enough room in the front so I can add two more beds (horizontal instead of vertical) in the future if I want to. I'm sure I will. We've been having frozen green beans, those things are awful. I have to dedicate enough area so I can grow enough green beans to can myself, let alone eat fresh. I may be visiting roadside stands and farmers' markets to get a bunch to can. Real soon.

I don't expect to get much more done until Monday. Granddaughter's birthday is tomorrow and another son is visiting for that. I'll be busy with family which suits me fine.

 

[baymule]

Not even black plastic can kill out nut grass. With the wood chip mulch that we have put in the garden, it makes it easier to pull up, but there is always that one nutlet that is way deep down......so it can send out runners and start the process all over again.

Store bought green beans are just meh. Not terrible, but not great. May your planting season start soon......Christmas? LOL

 

[Ridgerunner]

I know I'll never eliminate the nut sedge but my hope is to cook the stuff in the top few inches of the soil before I fix the beds. Hopefully most of the nuts and seeds are in those top few inches. Even in fairly loose soil you don't pull the nuts out unless they are right at the surface, that stem breaks really easily. They have to be carefully dug out and even then I don't get them all. My hope is that I can sort of control it, but yeah, it will be a pain.

I feel like I'm now in position to make some progress. I did not get anything done out here Monday and Tuesday, a contractor was installing the hardware for my hurricane panels. I'm glad to get that done, I'm as prepared for hurricanes as I can be. I didn't get nearly as much done Wednesday as I'd hoped. I bought what was supposed to be a 10' x 100' roll of black 6 mil plastic but it was only about 70 feet long. I had to go back and get another which was about 100' long.

I have two frames built, which is all I'm doing for now. I still have some minor adjustments but the next big part is getting the various fillings that will go in here. Each frame will take about one cubic yard total of material. So I need the material for a 1:1:1 mixture of sand, loam, and compost. I've spoken to the extension agent and others and I think I know where to get most of it, I just haven't set delivery up yet. I won't get much done today. I need to fix a plumbing problem and then we are picking up the granddaughter after school to take her to her gymnastics class. Fixing old plumbing never goes well for me. It takes more trips to the hardware than it should as I always find things wrong as I get into it.

I'm going to use these two as my learning curve. We often advise newbies to start slow so I'll follow that advice. Eventually I plan to have a third bed on the top right and three more lined up with them further down. I'll have room for beds #7 and 8 horizontally across the bottom but those will be a little later.

 

[ninnymary]

It seems like you will eventually have a good size garden. Maybe not as big as you had but certainly big enough to grow all of your favorites. You can always buy at the farmer's market to supplement your canning goodies.

Mary

 

[Carol Dee]

@Ridgerunner That sounds like a typical week. Always a list of plans that go astray and we do not get much or anything done. Somehow I do not think being retired will improve the odds. DH is about to find out. Like Mary said. You should be able to get a lot of goodies in the space when you are settled. Looking good so far.

 

[baymule]

You will get your garden going. It takes time and work to get a garden established. Looks like you are on your way. I guess a few Asian Ground Parrots are out of the question?