EDIT: I've obviously got something whacky going on with the font formatting. I don't know what the hell I did nor can I figure out how to fix it. Hopefully all will be back to normal with my next post.
A few important things we learned:
1. Green nylon landscaping mesh (apparently used by idiots during sod installation) is horrible, nasty stuff and a total bitch to dig up.
2. Using a weed whacker through a bunch of succulents is the equivalent of taking a shower with green water.
3. Wire mesh is out for blood.
4. You can have a cheaper alternative to a problem, but sometimes convenience is worth more than what money you would save.
5. Your almost 3-year-old daughter will find a rock, name it "Rocko", and insist that he sleep in her bed at night, forcing you to make a bed for Rocko out of a pop tart box and a wash cloth. True story.
My first order of business was to prep the ground where the first bed was going to go. This turned out much more difficult than it should have been and I freely confess to finally not giving a shit and walking away from that particular task. My thought was I was going to take a garden hoe and just clear out as much of the weeds (we don't really have grass) off the plot as I could. It wasn't absolutely necessary that I do it since I'm taking further precautions against weed invasion from below anyway, but I wanted to do things correctly from the beginning.
What I didn't count on was that whoever laid our sod originally some used green nylon mesh shit to anchor the sod. Now, I have no idea if this is common practice or not. All I know is that it's a pain in the ass to deal with when you're trying to clear some land. I also encountered some scary pieces of glass and the remnants of a tree. Our "soil" (and I use that term very loosely) is also very hard, except where the gophers have been, then it's nice and loose. We also had some type of succulent plant growing through and under our back fence from the neighbors yard. I decided to weed whack that bitch down and was immediately covered in green goo. Fun times.
After half an hour of working with the hoe and making little progress, I finally grabbed a shovel and just started turning the dirt and then leveled it off as best I could. It was a total pain in the ass, but I'm very glad that I was smart enough not to try for an in-ground garden. That would have been nightmarish.
 |
I then turned the project over to Hubby. He decided to reinforce the sides of the bed with an extra support post at the halfway point on the long sides. Then, we went out and marked where the holes needed to go, he dug the holes, and we got the bed in and leveled.
 |
| Little helper! |
Once it was in, Hubby installed some wire mesh at the bottom and stapled it to the inside of the bed. We used a 20-gauge, 1 inch hexagonal mesh weave, galvanized poultry netting. The purpose of this is to hopefully keep our gopher friends from coming up into the garden beds from underneath while still allowing water to drain out. Hubby made several blood sacrifices to the garden during this part. Wire mesh will bite you, people! Be careful!
Once the wire mesh was in, I lined the bottom of the bed with several pieces of cardboard. This will help kill the weeds underneath the bed, but still allow water to drain out. Also, cardboard supposedly attracts worms, which I would love to have in my garden beds.
 |
| Finally a use for all the old Amazon boxes in the garage! |
Now we were ready for the dirt. Originally, I had gotten quotes from several landscaping companies, but they were all very pricey, $200+, for soil and delivery. Then, on the advice of a friend, I checked out the local municipal composting facility and was pleasantly surprised to see I could get a top soil/compost blend for $40 ($20 for each bed). Not too shabby, right?
Except.
Except that 1) It's sold loose, not bagged, 2) We don't have a pick up truck, and 3) Trying to transport 48 cu feet of soil from the driveway to the backyard would be a total pain in the ass. The composting facility would deliver, but it would cost an additional $120 and we'd still have nearly 2 tons of loose dirt sitting in our driveway. We could rent a pick up, but again, we'd be looking at more cost and still the loose dirt in the drive way problem.
After much discussion and calculation, I finally opted to be bad and buy bagged soil from Lowes. This way we would be able to put it in the trunk and then carry it to the back yard. A bit more expensive to be sure, but oh so much easier. I know, I know, I took the slacker way out. I hang my head in shame.
My calculations came out that we would need approximately 48 cu feet of soil total, which worked out to 8 bags per bed (3 cu feet per bag). I opted to get 7 bags of gardening soil and 1 bag of compost, which I would layer on top of the soil. More expensive than the municipal composting facility, but Hubby was able to get enough for 1 bed into the car in one trip and he was able to move them back to the beds without too much hassle. It also made it very easy to get the soil into the beds; a few quick slashes with a blade, dump, and you're done. I had the bed filled in about 20 minutes. And, since I didn't fill the bed to the very top, I had a bag of soil leftover! Woot!
 |
| Pretty! |
Stay tuned for the next installment: The Planting. I got stuff in a couple of days ago and it's touch-and-go at this point; there's some definite transplant shock going on.
Have a great day!
No comments:
Post a Comment