Post MLK day

Classes begin today though I have only two online courses that I can begin to labor on. Both look interesting and work intensive, so the semester should be busy.

I did not get down to Ft. Worth over the weekend. Saturday I toured garden places and box stores looking for supplies for summer gardening. Sunday I went to Lowe's bright and early and picked up the wood and 1/2 inch PVC tubes necessary to build the frames. Monday I cruised around picking up the stuff to create my own soil to fill the boxes, and today I finished them off.

I decided to go with a variant of Mel's Square Foot Garden (link to be added later). I made some changes due to being a cheap/poor student. However, the basic idea is still his. My raised frames are 4x4 squares made out of 2x6 studs. I put in a variety of peat moss, compost, mineral sand, and soil mix to fill the boxes. After putting them together, I planted some onion sets, though I suspect it is still too early to plant anything. But, having played in the dirt all weekend, I could not resist, and besides, it was only 16 of the little fellers.

Right now the boxes are covered with plastic, and are, I suppose, a cheap mans green house. I am very curious to see how well they can grow veggies. Given the alternative, it was relatively low cost. The space out back is limited, the soil is extremely hard, and there is very little space in which to bring in any kind of motorized earth working equipment. A small toro type tiller might fight round back, but I don't know how effective it would be in chiseling through the clay. And given the soil quality, it would have taken a great deal of amendments to produce anything other than crab grass. Later today I hope to have a cost estimate for the boxes and such like, though I may not share that price with anyone. :)

I will put a link to some photos of the boxes later today.

Right now I am sitting outside on our back cement pad soaking in some sun before I have to go in to begin my virtual ref desk session. The weather has been great the past few days and is responsible for my desire to play in the dirt. It feels too spring-like to stay cooped up in the house. I am sure we will get some nasty winter stuff yet, but this is awesome. It reminds me of one winter as a kid, mid January, walking down the lane from the house to the road with Mom and Barb watching the water run along side the piles of snow. If I work hard I can forget that spell of white stuff we had a few weeks back. Denial comes easy to me.

The photos as promised

January 2010