moved our beds

sanderson wrote:Jimmy,  Is it an Insect growth regulator?  Where it affects the larva?  That would be great!

I've been using a Co. called  Ehlrich.
First a bait station is installed, consists of a tube with delicious looking termite wood inserted.
Inspections were once a month,  when any termite activity is noticed these pieces are removed and other material is added.
This other material that is also eaten by termite's will keep termite's  from shedding.
It does not kill them, however they will die a natural death when not able to shed.

(note) it's my understanding, anything that kills a termite will only serve to keep the colony away from that area.

I've had 2 episodes in the past 30 years with termites.
The 1st was a barrier, 1 foot holes drilled inside and outside of one's home.
If you think that's a blast, that was an absolute nightmare.
2nd was with these bait stations, and they worked...

Remember a barrier will only keep them away from a specific area, (they can find areas that were not treated)
The bait stations will in time eliminate the entire colony....it has worked for me..

If I had a termite problem in a garden area I'd look into these self serving bait stations.
I have seen them at lowe's, and their sold on amazon also.

Your garden is great looking!  Nice work.  I'm looking to add maybe add some beds around our deck (tearing out some ugly bushes) and I'm leaning toward wood (I use tan cinder blocks for my main garden, but think wood would look better by the deck.).  What dimensions and types of lumber did you use, what kind of screws (stainless?) and how do you anchor the boxes into the ground?

Thanks!

jmsieglaff wrote:Your garden is great looking!  Nice work.  I'm looking to add maybe add some beds around our deck (tearing out some ugly bushes) and I'm leaning toward wood (I use tan cinder blocks for my main garden, but think wood would look better by the deck.).  What dimensions and types of lumber did you use, what kind of screws (stainless?) and how do you anchor the boxes into the ground?

Thanks!

Thank you jmsieglaff. My hubby did them as I am unable to do it , but hey at least they're done!! The lumber is 2x6 on the bottom layer and 2x8 on the top layer. We are in the process of covering our soil with wood chips/mulch, so we added another layer to hold the chips. They are made of just the inexpensive pine at Home Depot. May not last forever, but we've had some for years with not much problem. Most of our beds are 2x8. The screws are black and about 2 1/2 inches long? I think he said drywall screws?? Not sure, lol. We did not anchor the boxes to the ground, they are plenty heavy enough. He did, however, screw the top boxes to the bottom boxes to keep them on top of each other, but I think they are heavy enough they wouldn't move, but my hubby likes to make things strong! Hope this helps!! Post some pics of your progress when you can!

another little update. We harvested a bunch of carrots and beets, and my grandson who's 5, amended the soil with fresh compost, then planted carrots, beets, radishes and turnips. Then watered everything well, and then was admiring his work. I love the fact that he really likes to garden. It's amazing how easily kids "get it". What a sweetie pie

That's wonderful!

Awesome! How cool that he's really getting into it. Great that he gets to do it himself and own the results, which is so much more satisfying than just being an unpaid helper.

My sweet hubby got me some Adirondack chairs for Christmas!!  I wanted a royal blue color, and I LOVE them! You can also see our garden growing in the background. We have lots of stuff growing, and are eating just about daily out of it too!  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I'm going to go sit in my chair, and have another cup of coffee  It's about 75 degrees here today in sunny Southern California!!

SG, I. Am. So. Jealous. Such a wonderful spot to have your coffee. I absolutely love the size and design of your garden.

It's beautiful! All your hard work and initial frustration is paying off!   

boffer wrote:It's beautiful!  All your hard work and initial frustration is paying off!   

Thanks Boffer..yes, it's been a long haul, for sure! We have done things a lot differently and are having much better results. I think as time goes on, it'll continue to get better. Sure do love the chairs tho, they're soooo comfy! Sat and had coffee this am while "watching the garden grow" Happy New year!!

I am looking at your netting and wondering how you made it do what it is doing? It has boxed corners.

melanielundin wrote:I am looking at your netting and wondering how you made it do what it is doing? It has boxed corners.

I would guess it's hardware cloth... is that right SG?

Also, in the All New Square Foot Gardening book, there are photos on how to make a frame with chicken wire.

I am waiting for my book to arrive. Hope it does tell how to make as beautiful a cover as SG.

Hi there melanielundin, our covers are made of hardware cloth...the same stuff you use on the bottom of a rabbit cage. We made some of chicken wire, but they always caved in, and the frames looked "ugly" to us. These are free standing and will last a LONG time. We are really happy with them. You can water right through them and also see "what's going on" under them. I will try and take a couple of close up pics and post so you can see how we made them. They were easy once you get your "template" made. Feel free to message me if you have any specific questions God bless!!

OK..it's dark, but I went out and snapped a few pics. I'll try and explain and post pics too. The hardware cloth is  1 foot wider and longer than the area you want to cover. This allows you to bend 6" "sides". Make a 6" cut in the ends to allow an end to fold around, sort of like wrapping a present. You will make 2 cuts on each end and "fold" the ends. We clipped them together with "hog rings". We have some beds that are 4' wide, so made 2 covers for those beds, but MOST of our beds are 2' wide and 8' long, so a 3' wide and 9' long piece of hardware cloth works perfectly for ours.

Here are the pics. I hope I described it OK!!

SG, Excellent photos to show how they're made. Much nicer looking than chicken wire.

sanderson wrote:SG,  Excellent photos to show how they're made.  Much nicer looking than chicken wire.

Thank you sanderson. I like that they're free standing. We put shade film over the top and pin with clothes pins for protection to plants in the summer, easy peeezy!
We have small birds here that actually fit THROUGH the chicken wire! They devour the seedlings. I don't know why we have so many of them in our yard. Our neighbors don't have a problem, but we sure do, and these have really helped.
The hardware cloth is sort of pricey, but it's a one time investment really. We've had some of these for years, and they look just like the day we made them!
Happy new year everyone!!

I am so glad SG that your reply posted to my email. Wonderful clear pic's. My husband appreciated that. I just bought 16 bags of sfg soil. We will probably do beds like you have. Will work on finding out about seeds which looks like a popular subject right now. Thank you for going out in your garden in the dark, though my sister in law in Ramona says the weather is beautiful.

melanielundin wrote:I am so glad SG that your reply posted to my email. Wonderful clear pic's. My husband appreciated that. I just bought 16 bags of sfg soil. We will probably do beds like you have. Will work on finding out about seeds which looks like a popular subject right now. Thank you for going out in your garden in the dark, though my sister in law in Ramona says the weather is beautiful.

Oh, you are quite welcome. I know when I want to do something, I wanna do it "now" lol. Yes, we have beautiful weather most of the time here. Had a few nights of frost a few weeks ago, but now, it's been really nice for days! Little windy, but can't complain. Would REALLY like some rain tho! Please let me know if you need more pics or explanation, but it's pretty simple really, just make your sides as tall as you want, we used 6" side because that's how it worked out. Did you buy the pre made Mel's Mix or bags of compost etc?

Hi there, I was wondering if you ever got your covers made for your beds? If so how did they turn out?

thanks for sending me this way SG   some how I have missed this thread   

love the covers on your beds!! and    your garden is beautiful!

the hardware cloth is what hubby has been trying to find.....we want to use it for our chicken run and for some critter protection in some of our beds along with using it as a chicken play pen in our garden beds.....then cover it for fall plantings and early spring......what you did with covering your beds is exactly what we want to do.....love it!

hubby cant find any at places like home D and L'os but...he has only been looking online we have not been to the store yet to check it out.....

is the stuff you used called just hardware cloth? and where should we be looking for it?....and please tell me its not toooo spendy..  ...eeek.....we really need it for the chickens!....hubby said if we are going to have chickens then nothing is going to get them.....we have lots of problems with raccoons, opossums and rats   

happy gardening
rose

I got mine at Lowes. In the same area as the chicken wire. And yes, it does cost more.

Kay

thanks Kay....we will go check it out   

happy gardening
rose

FamilyGardening wrote:thanks for sending me this way SG   some how I have missed this thread   

love the covers on your beds!! and    your garden is beautiful!

the hardware cloth is what hubby has been trying to find.....we want to use it for our chicken run and for some critter protection in some of our beds along with using it as a chicken play pen in our garden beds.....then cover it for fall plantings and early spring......what you did with covering your beds is exactly what we want to do.....love it!

hubby cant find any at places like home D and L'os but...he has only been looking online we have not been to the store yet to check it out.....

is the stuff you used called just hardware cloth? and where should we be looking for it?....and please tell me its not toooo spendy..  ...eeek.....we really need it for the chickens!....hubby said if we are going to have chickens then nothing is going to get them.....we have lots of problems with raccoons, opossums and rats   

happy gardening
rose

..

Glad you found it Rose. They sell it on Amazon in larger rolls. It is sort of expensive, but it works!! And, as I said it really lasts. A 100 foot roll 3' wide is about $120, so not CRAZY expensive. We like it because it stands up all by itself, and looks nice and neat  As far as your chickens, SOMETHING has killed all of our chickens for the SIXTH time! We are in the midst of re-doing our pen AGAIN. We think it was raccoons but are not sure?? So frustrating.  
Below is the link for Amazon, and honestly it's cheaper than Home Depot, at least around here, and it was free shipping a while back. All we could find at the big box local stores were shorter rolls, and Amazon has the BIG rolls. We did find a hardware store that carried the big rolls, like at Amazon and ended up buying it there, but paid more, but we wanted it right away

Here's the link http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=hardware+cloth&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ahardware+cloth

Thank you for the kind comments on our garden. We are getting excited about the results with the BTE method. It's a lot better than it was, but not "great"....yet  Our garden out front with the pig manure is "great"  lol!!  God bless and keep us updated!!