a place to grow ..small plot

the sun was very hot..i got a sunburn..in MARCH for cryin out loud...things are changing..so this is an experiment
but the food will be closer to the house..

don't be afraid to try this..or to loosely use the info to do your own stuff..i was leaving the forums
and just going to go with the earth..it was calling me
and as i worked the whisper was..you are starting over..share what you are doing
so..
here goes... i sure hope this info will be usefull to someone
some pics with this will help me explain

i do have some wonderful dirt that has been worked for years..
adding compost every year so that it is rich
composting is another story
the dirt we are using here is from the big garden
we used to garden about an acre and a half
but as the years are piling up we are getting more selective of what we grow
and smaller amounts also

we are going to smaller plots closer to the house for several reasons
only one of which is deer
we will also be fencing in the yard for the dogs and these growing areas will be inside the fence
no ..critters and easier care...
and something is telling me this is the way to go ..closer to the house

thes two forms were part of a strawberry pryamid growing thing..that didn't work out so well
hubby made it from pressurized lumber some years ago
there are only four sides and a corner brace for strength

the big one is about 10 feet square and the smaller one about 8 ft square...nothing special..just a shape
you can do any size or shape
the big one is for my potatoes and the smaller one for garlic and onions

right onto the grass...
the key to this is the newspaper on the ground ..
it was a bit windy today so i wet it down to hold it before dumping the dirt in
we have crab grass here..no nice lawn and that stuff can grow thru concrete
sooooooooooo the newspaper before the dirt will smother it...

i have some bricks that i got for nothing ..they were tearing down a building
i had to clean most of them..but i plan to use them for a walk way
i had some pieces handy so i used them side by side for how much room i wanted in between the forms
8 bricks apart
i gotta tell ya that hubby has to do everything with a tape measure and a square
i just eye-ball it
so you can hear the discussion..i am sure..

ok.. well as most good projects go.. i had just recycled the dang newspapres on thursday..kept em since christmas..very annoyed
about the space they were taking so off they went
wouldn't ya know i could have used em today...welllllllllllllll..becasue of the crab grass here i wanted a nice heavy something under the
forms..so i used my seed catalogs
and newspaper in the middle..ran out of that too and had to use some old pizza boxes from the cardboard recycling
that gets recycled at a different place so i had cardboard...
see..use what you have

the paper and cardboard will kill the grass and turn into nice dirt..so whatever you use it has to be biodegradable
weed cloth is NOT the thing for this

ok...now just fill with dirt....yeah i picked out as much as i could of the little pieces of weeds and grass
hubby had rototilled the plot where it came from...and of course just chopped em up..
grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..yet another discussion..but we do have a solution for that too

finally done..mounded the dirt cause it will settle


ok..we're letting it sit overnight and then tomorrow we will put a cover on it..that will solarize the dirt...killing the bad stuff
and hopefully it will also cook those weed bits that i couldn't get out

doesn't look so great..does it...don't worry..it'll be a whole lot different when we're done


to be continued...

Looks great!

It has been nice up here but our grass isn't green yet.

I see the snow has melted.

I'll be keeping a close eye on your developments sky, I feel I can learn a thing or two off you.

ok here it is..all covered up and ready for the sun..but seems we are being forecast rain..

yeah we are holding it down with whatever is at hand..and since i want to kill the grass around and inbetween cause i want to do my brick thing we used a great big piece of plastic

we have lots of stuff here..things most folks toss ...my point being..use what you have
gardening is work and messy
if you aren't flexable or can't handle change..stop here and just go to the grocery store..

but in my opinion..the rewards are worth it

Fantastic Sky!