tis the season to get started

[Dirtmechanic]

being a wonderful bluebird sky day and 59* decided to get motivated on a few gardening chores
trimmed up the muscadine grapes..
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cleaned out all the birdhouses dang they were full
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cleaned out the asparagus bed..
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not much i can do at this point till the ground dries up a wee bit in the main garden, so the weeds have a chance to grow a little more..
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and then there is the raised bed area..
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all the wood is rotted in every bed, have decided not to go back to wood rather going to make them out of cinder blocks. plus going to reduce the size of the area, going to have 5 12x4 beds and a couple smaller ones for herbs and reduce the fencing as well...

it was fun having all those beds but as i get older it's just a little overwhelming.....

having thought about going back to pine, but that only last 2-3 years, the other option was pressure treated lumber yes that lasts longer, but cost is out of the question plus still to this day i dont feel comfortable using it in a veggie garden even though they say it's safe.

so going with cinder blocks and caps of course there made with fly ash from the power plants, but i can handle the lesser of the evils since they only use a small percentage into making them, the only draw back of using block it would be harder to do a winter garden if i wanted to that again. but the block will never need replacing.

Just judging it from a distance but I am guessing you have about 2 months worth of casual projects in front of you! Good Luck! Take Aspirin!

 

[thistlebloom]

Look at that sky!
You have a lot of projects on your plate Major. Cinder blocks are a good idea for once and done garden beds. We made ours out of redwood and they were still in great condition six years later when we moved, but they weren't cheap.

Since the snow is not too deep and it can be walked on without snowshoes I am planning on pruning all the apple trees this month. (didn't want you thinking you could out do me )

 

[henless]

I love my cinder block beds. They can be a pain to put in, if you want them all level and such, but well worth it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

My son asked for some Purple Hull black-eyed peas seeds I saved from last year so I thought I'd do a germination test. I started these Tuesday night and this is Friday afternoon. I think the quality is good enough so I can give them to him with some confidence. 6 out of 6 works for me.

I have a lot if anyone is interested, just let me know.

 

[flowerbug]

My son asked for some Purple Hull black-eyed peas seeds I saved from last year so I thought I'd do a germination test. I started these Tuesday night and this is Friday afternoon. I think the quality is good enough so I can give them to him with some confidence. 6 out of 6 works for me.

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I have a lot if anyone is interested, just let me know.

pea picker babies!

 

[majorcatfish]

ordered seeds yesterday, picked up a bag of black gold this morning from my favorite hippie store,

while there talked to them about differences in neem oils he recommended using bee safe....it's made with sesame oil and even safer than neem okay will give it a whirl once the bugs are out will report back on how it worked...

 

[so lucky]

I will be interested to hear your report on the sesame oil. Hopefully it will work great.

 

[majorcatfish]

since today will be sunny figure it's time to clean all the 4x4 pots and trays. count all the sturdy stakes on hand order as needed...
double count how many blocks and caps going to be used in the raised bed area....

 

[majorcatfish]

did my good deed for the day.... all washed just waiting for them to dry

 

[Dirtmechanic]

did my good deed for the day.... all washed just waiting for them to dry
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Cool setup! Are those 4 bulb lights?