three down, two to go

Well... as of this afternoon, the third of the beds have been set up with Mel's Mix. Two 4x5' that needed all the existing garden soil removed and moved elsewhere to be used in landscaping, and a new 2x8' bed for alliums.
The 4x10' has had the soil removed and is waiting for me to get the supplies to fill it also. The existing tomato "deep bed" in the greenhouse will have soil removed to be used in landscaping (18" of it in a 2x8' bed), a bottom panel installed to decrease the total soil in it to 8-10" and then refilled with the Mel's Mix.
Got the trellis finished on the back bed, and actually got to plant PEAS!!
Oh... also gathered as many earthworms from the soil being moved to add back into the new beds Gotta have those little guys working hard, don't ya know.

You've been busy! Sounds like a lot of work, but in a fun way!

Love love LOVE what you are doing ....makes me wanna get out and get dirty.

You grow girl!

I was quickly becoming afraid the plastic would win the battle. Silly me... I mis-read the size on that huge roll of 6 mil plastic that we have had for several years for the cloches and ground warming ... my feeble brain saw 20 and read 10. :scratch:

Anyway... after a comical hour and a half, (I know the neighbors are convinced I've lost what little of my mind there was)... the cloche has been installed on one of the 4x5' beds, and the remaining huge remnants have been folded (although not very neatly) and stored to be used to warm ground on the open box... or something.

I'm not looking forward to the 4x10' bed that will get a cloche after the MM is added.

The temperature when I went outside was 30 degrees, and I spent all the time outside in the garden walking of ground that was not just frost nipped but FROZEN!! Good thing I covered those peas with black plastic yesterday. Out front, when I got finished, the ground is thawed and all the frost is gone. It is going to be a lovely sunny day, so I'll be picking up more manure and peat moss so I can get working on that other bed this afternoon.

Would it be easier & cheaper to fill that deep bed with sand 7 a wed cloth to bring it to a 6 inch deep bed rather than buy/use wood ? (I think I understood you right ???? )

Curio, you are doing great!. Love that you already have three beds ready and peas planted. woot! woot!

The temperature when I went outside was 30 degrees, and I spent all the time outside in the garden walking of ground that was not just frost nipped but FROZEN!! Good thing I covered those peas with black plastic yesterday

Were you planning to keep the balck plastic there for more than a day or two? My concern is if those peas do sprout under the black plastic, they might either burn up if we get a "relatively" sunny day, or the peas might come up yellow due to no sunlight.

I have to admit, I am rooting for the sun, there has not been enough this winter.

plantoid wrote:Would it be easier & cheaper to fill that deep bed with sand 7 a wed cloth to bring it to a 6 inch deep bed rather than buy/use wood ? (I think I understood you right ???? )

Not really, since the bed is 18" deep and 2'x10'. I already have marine plywood that's not being used for anything, and enough 2x4's and 4x4's to build a small fort, so the cost is time and labor only.

Were you planning to keep the balck plastic there for more than a day or two? My concern is if those peas do sprout under the black plastic, they might either burn up if we get a "relatively" sunny day, or the peas might come up yellow due to no sunlight.
I have to admit, I am rooting for the sun, there has not been enough this winter.

Nope, I plan to take it off each morning after the sun breaks over the treeline enough to thaw the ground if it's below freezing. I was amazed that this morning, the beds were frozen about 2" deep .

I was just checking. Sounds like you have a good plan for using the black plastic.

My MM was about 38 degrees F a week ago. I guess I should use some black plastic too, to warm mine up so I can get some of my cool crop seedlings out in another week or so.

Last Friday, the soil in my beds was 50 degrees, and this morning it was frozen
I usually use clear plastic to heat my beds unless there is a weed issue, especially if there is something planted under it. It enables me to warm the soil gradually, and keep an eye on any sprouts that might pop up. I did the black yesterday, since I hadn't uncovered the box of 6 mil clear in our shed then. That was part of this morning's projects... hahaha

Thanks Deb... I've been looking through garden photos trying to find the one that immediately makes me smile. Every time I see this one, I have to laugh at the look on hubby's face when I pulled up with that old HEAVY washing machine in the back of a friend's pick up truck, and then told him it was going in the veggie garden.
The garlic that is getting ready to bloom in that photo is for the birds and bees. I enjoy using anything I can as pollinator attractants.

the signature line came up when I was talking with some friends on Facebook about being out gardening and doing yardwork in the rain. One of them from Texas said they wanted to plant some of their garden that day but it was "misting". I laughed and told her that if WE didn't work outside in the mist, we'd never get much done. My other friend chimed in with that statement, and it was PERFECT!

curio wrote:

plantoid wrote:Would it be easier & cheaper to fill that deep bed with sand 7 a wed cloth to bring it to a 6 inch deep bed rather than buy/use wood ? (I think I understood you right ???? )

Not really, since the bed is 18" deep and 2'x10'. I already have marine plywood that's not being used for anything, and enough 2x4's and 4x4's to build a small fort, so the cost is time and labor only.

Cue for all envious people to read another post