All Dressed Up

 

Here is a little before and after for you~ I love before and afters. This is the island bed on April 29 of this year. I was wanting to edge it and top dress it with pretty bark mulch. Last year when I built this bed, the store where I buy my special bark mulch was out. So I was forced to use some of what I like and a whole bunch of really junky stuff from the big box store. This year I started stocking up on my favorite kind and tonight I used most of it. Time to reload!

  

I edged this whole bed and removed the sod layer to use as filler in another project I have going. It should compost down in that area and I did not want it here. Then I backfilled the area between the lawn and the rocks. I toted tons of this mulch from my garden shed to this bed and started top dressing the inside of the bed around all the plantings. Now it looks so pretty and clean. My edges are somewhat wobbly but they should straiten out soon, some parts the lawn were not as grown in from last years tilling of this area so I seeded those spots and it ought to look great soon.

 

I was thinking of planting some kind of specimen tree in this bed, maybe more than one. I really like dogwood trees but was not sure it would stay alive here. I need to do some research. I also love the American Redbud and with proper pruning it should not overpower this area. Another thing I thought would look nice would be a topiary style dwarf spruce. I do not have a formal garden but those trees are so fun and they don't grow too big for the space. One of my other project plans is to begin perimeter planting but that will require a massive bed outlining this entire yard. I need to finish all the other things we have in progress before I start that one. It will likely have to be one of the only things I have going when that one starts. I am so thankful to all the great folks who commented on how to do this. Even with all the gardening I have done, that is one thing I never knew how to do. Edging is a lot of work but the result is so worth it.

Garden Helpers

This is Emma, my niece. She and her identical twin Elle, helped me in the yard and garden all day yesterday. They are three years old and so fun to be around. When they were born they weighed in at 2 lb 12 oz., and 1 lb 15 oz., but you would never know that now! They have never experienced delays or holdbacks that some children experience after such prematurity. They were true miracles and I love them dearly. I decided to show their pictures today as my daughter is 13 years old and rolls her eyes whenever the camera angles her direction. These two are easier to capture with a smile. Emma watered for a solid hour with only minimal interference from me about raising the hose higher so she didn't bore holes around new seedlings. She did a fabulous job!

 

This is Elle, and she seemed more interested in helping with chicken house construction. She got too cold watering and wanted another job. She got to help me stuff straw mulch around the already growing plants in the raised be veggie garden. She is equally helpful just with different interests. These two work tirelessly. I hope they will have a love of the dirt and gardens too! We are going to try watering less this year and I believe the key to that lies squarely with mulch. We will see.

  

And finally, a little progress on the chicken house. So far no one has turned us into the building inspector. I figure my excuse will be to remind him I still pay taxes for the last several years on the chicken house that used to be here. Can you really need a permit for a chicken coop? Surely not. I am hoping that today we can get the roof up over the chicken house. The framing is almost complete, and we had help. Yeah for progress! (And for good friends who will help you out with building projects!)

I Would Build A Picnic Table

Two days ago, Dave of the The Home Garden blog, offered up a $100 Home Depot Gift Card if you commented on his blog and possibly wrote a post about a project you would build or create in a weekend with a spare $100 bucks. I decided I would build a picnic table to be placed near my new Intimidating Row Garden so that I could ponder (in the shade) how much still needed to be weeded. Or better yet, how little weeding still needed to be done. I like that version more. 

 

Actually, this is the one I really liked. Built-in shade just in case I had to weed at the wrong time of the day! There is a little more lumber involved with this one but I should have some scrap left over from the chicken house project. Isn't this a fun plan? The plans for this can be found here.  I think this could be done in a weekend or less and stained or painted on another.

So thank you, Dave. I enjoyed researching picnic benches and have now added another item to my "To-Do" list. But it should provide much enjoyment over many years so I deem it completely worthwhile.

We Are Officially Chicken Farmers!

 

I ordered our meat chickens, a white cornish cross, from a Central Hatchery in Nebraska and they shipped them evening before last via USPS. The idea that these newly hatched chicks can actually survive a trip from Nebraska to Idaho, alive, is amazing to me. The post office called us at 8:43 this morning to tell us they were there, which we knew would happen any minute, literally. We were ready for them, right down to the proper temperature under the heat lamps (95 degrees). We carefully opened the box, hoping like heck they would all be alive and...... Yeah, we are chicken farmers!

 

I gently took each chick out and dipped their beaks in water so they knew it was available to them and unloaded all 50 of the little cuties. They all arrived safe and sound. Chicks hatch out fed and watered for the first 3 days of life. They absorb the yolk during the hatching phase and can ship immediately as long as they are kept warm. Some hatcheries even ship extras as "packing peanuts" but I ordered the right amount for safe shipping and only got the ones I ordered.

 

They all found the water and food in short order and should double in size by the beginning of next week. These birds are a super fast growing hybrid bird that are bred specifically for eating. They should be ready to process in 6-10 weeks depending on your method of feeding and whether they are male or female. Your size preference also plays into the time frame. I am letting my husband take most care of these little guys as I don't want to become attached to the fuzzy little things. I am still struggling with raising my own chickens for eating so as little contact with them as possible is necessary for me. I do realize their life will be so much better than at Foster Farms but it still bothers me. We are doing this to raise as much healthy and unmedicated food for our family as possible. I know I cannot name them but just a few came to mind as I unpacked them. Darn it!

Birthday Bounty

 

I must say as I age, the longer my birthday week lasts! I was fortunate enough to be born on Cinco 'de Mayo and have always liked that day! Leading up to my 21st birthday, it was great because there were countdowns all over the place. My dad even brought me a life size stand up person holding a tear-off pad of days counting down to the big one! Fun. Well, now on the downhill side of my 30's I am not so in love with the passing of years but I do still like the week. My day started with a ton of wishes from my friends and family on Facebook and on Blotanical! My in-laws called and sang to me. My brother and sister called and my neices sang and life was good. The girls I work with and my boss all took me out to lunch. I got a sombrero to help celebrate. (and a Home Depot gift card which will likely be spent on more wire, or maybe paint!) Good times. I even got to have a wonderful dinner that I did not make or have to clean up. That is wonderful.

 

I am sure my chicken craziness has not escaped anyone who reads this blogs attention. The meat chicks should be here on Friday. I am so nervous. Hope they all show up live. My mom and my in-laws all got me chicken feeders and waterers. In total I got 4 water founts and 2 feeders. These were exactly what I wanted so that mold inside was not an issue. I plan to hang them to help keep them cleaner. That is another post.

 

I got canning jars from our oldest daughter and her family. I love canning jars. They get me so excited about this season to come. Nichole chose several sizes and I must say they made my stash look ready for business!

 

  

Our younger daughter, Maecy, got me this great edger. Isn't she clever since it happens to be exactly what I wanted. I even started edging the Island bed but it is so soggy I need to wait a day or two after rain to get the job done.

My sister and her girls got me a roll of hardware cloth wire to help with the outdoor run on the chicken house. From all my reading, I learned that chicken wire is like plastic to another animals that really want in. Hardware cloth is strong and if installed properly won't allow marauding creatures to enter the coop.

So, I must admit I had a good day in spite of the fact that it marks the passing of another year. That just means it is another year to garden and play in the dirt. And another year to enjoy my family and friends. Thank you all for making my day a wonderful one!

Edging- Idaho Style

Many posts back I asked How on Earth you make a bed look like this one. Not so much the peonies but the edge itself. Clean and neat. I have done everything but this until just recently. Several people commented on how to get this done. Anna from from Flower Garden Girl blog suggested cutting in strait down from the lawn side and angling the cut towards that cut from the bed side. I drew you a picture to illustrate what I think she meant by that. And no, when I say I drew you a picture, I am not being a smart alleck. I really did draw you a picture with the paint program on my computer. Someone really ought to come up with a better program for all my garden drawings, that program is junk. But for today's lesson it will suffice.

The dark black lines indicate the angles of the shovel or edger you use to cut into this area. I did this on several of my beds so far and it works like a dream. It looks nice and clean and I can't wait to see how it holds up and how often I will have to redo it. I also plan to back fill the area a little with my super fine bark mulch just to give it a completed look. I did some research today on edgers themselves. Flowrgirl1 from Live To Garden suggested a tool she found at Kmart several years back. It is a half-moon shaped edger with a T-bar handle that she says works very well. The one she uses is made my Martha Stewart. I also found a huge assortment of them on Amazon and the one I think I will order has a foot shaped top that you step on with your whole foot and not just your toes.Kind of like taking a big step with a built in spine on the sole. It seems less likely I will hurt myself with that kind than the traditional. You can also cut your main edge with a power edger and go back for your second, angled cut with a shovel. I used a shovel for the whole thing. It worked fine. I still have the island bed to do but the rain won't seem to let up long enough to get that done. Maybe tomorrow morning.

This is similar to what I mean by a step-on edger. This one was sold by Gardener's Supply but is no longer available. Don't know why but I like the idea. I will have to go in search of just the right one and let you all know what I find.

This one is an example of a Half-Moon shaped edger. I thing it looks wide enough to do the job without breaking the arch of your foot if your lawn is like mine. Very dense and hard to dig in. This one has a round handle as opposed to a T-bar handle but it ought to work the same way. Funny how garden tools are finally starting to be designed with ergonomics in mind. Took them long enough.

Island Bed- Year Two

Last year I decided that the south side of my yard around the house was a problem area. No matter how much water I poured on this spot, it never looked as good as the grass around it. So I thought I would add a small island bed to this part of my yard. See THIS post. I used hose to outline it and after a week of playing with the shape I outlined it with marking paint an begged my husband to till it up for me. I removed all the sod pieces and started adding compost. Lots of compost. I then added rocks to the border, weed cloth and bark mulch.

 

Then, because I can never wait to do things at the appropriate time, I started planting it. I found that a lot of mail order catalog companies also sell on Ebay under a different name for a lot less. A lot less. I also found that lots of people with big gardens also will sell their divisions on Ebay for pennies on the dollar. I started ordering and planting in the heat of the summer. I figured that if I could get 75% of it to come back this year I was golden. 

 

I would say 'Mission Accomplished'. I think I lost a few things. A Honeycomb Butterfly Bush, which blooms yellow and I am sorry about that. A rose bush and a few others. I planted so many things I will have to consult my planting map to be sure of what did not make it. I had put all the hoses away in the fall and then it dried out long before it ever got wet again, I am pretty sure most of the casualties were my fault. I just know I have some holes where there is nothing and I will plant these from seed.  I planted more shrubby type things in the middle of the bed and tried to graduate the sizes to the edges all the way around. As soon as the rain lets up for a minute I will head out and edge this bed with the technique you all suggested. I have already done this to several other beds and it looks very nice. Wish I had known this sooner. Live and learn!