The Garden -- Part II

I didn't have a lot planned on the garden this past weekend. The weather was supposed to be crappy on Saturday, and today was Easter and we were up in NH for most of the day. The tarp that I put on last weekend only had 1 week to work it's magic (i.e., kill as much grass as possible), so I was skeptical on Saturday morning when I went out in the 45 degree-and-wet day to see what it looked like underneath. What I found was a plot of grass that looked more yellow than green, and when I put spade to earth, I discovered that the grass came right up. I think this was helped by a few things: a week of no sun to loosen up the grass; a wet ground which helped as well; but mostly I just think that the grass's roots just weren't very deep to begin with. So I began the tedious task of ripping up the sod.

Putting my back into my work. Notice the different shade of the grass.

Listening to my iPod so I can't hear Sage yell at me.

After all the sod was dug up, I loaded it all up into the wheelbarrow and dumped it over the fence in the condo's yard. (No, I actually just dumped it along the back of our yard.)

Picking up the grass.

Once that was all done, I tilled up the soil a bit, and raked out as much of the rocks and leftover weeds that were remaining.

And what a fine looking garden plot it is.

I think the soil is pretty good, but not great. As I said, there were lots of rocks in it, but this is New England after all. I did see a few worms along the way, which is usually a good sign, but in my brief experience I've found that the best gardens seem to be where the thickest grass grows. This grass seemed pretty meager, so my doubts about the area are still large.

I had planned on building 12" high beds, but because I don't think the soil is 100% crap (even if it is a bit clay-ey), I decided to build them 8" high instead. In reality, because the plot is on a bit of a hill, they'll be over a foot on one end, and 8" on the low end, but I think it'll be plenty deep enough. But this will allow me to save a bit of money on the lumber and loam.

After this was done, I headed out to Lowes to find some lumber for the beds. I knew I was going to need a lot of 2x8s, 4x4s, 2x2s, and 4x6s, and I didn't think it would all fit in one trip. Turns out that I was able to find most of what I was looking for, and since I wasn't planning on building them until next weekend anyway, anything I bought now was just getting myself ahead. I still need to find some 4x6s -- that seems like a random size, and I might have to create my own with 4x4s and 2x4s.

And that was it for the weekend's garden project. Next weekend looks to be busy. First, I've been calling Russell's all week asking about their seed potatoes, but they still don't have them in. I'm hoping I can pick them up this week, as I need to cut them and let them harden a bit before planting -- and I want them to go in the ground next weekend. I also need to get my loam delivery this week so I'll have it by next weekend as well. My smart shopping skills on the loam is paying off, as the more I call around, the cheaper the prices I'm finding. But the major project will be undertaken on Saturday, when I get the beds built. As I said, because of the slope of the back yard, I'll have to build up one side to make it a level plot. Hopefully there won't be too many problems getting them in place by Sunday, when I can get my first crops sown. And hopefully the weather will improve a bit as well (freezing cold today!) and help out us luckless backyard gardeners.

"I want to plant them in the dark of the moon."
"That's the old ways, isn't it?"
"Is it? Yeah, I suppose it is."
--"Spartan"