Spring Work

Well, another Spring, means more yard work!  Ha Ha! That's O.K. One day, we will have it all figured out and there will not be so much, but I have yet to figure out what works. I have figured out what does NOT work! Like last years garden! I spent so much time weeding it, I never had time to work in other areas of the yard! Not to mention my skin not caring for all the weeds and such! So this year, I not only downsized the garden, (I give up on growing corn or potatoes) but I also tried to make it as maitenance free as possible.

First, I covered the ground with cardboard boxes, then newspaper, then I laid lanscaping fabric down.

Second,  came the mulch (I used the cheap stuff , $2 a bag, as I add to it each year and don't need as much I may buy the more expensive weed control mulch).

Next, I laid out the boxes ( I had already made them a couple years ago, use untreated wood, and if you know what measurements you need, they will cut it for you at the hardware store). I made sure I had them exactly where I wanted them allowing room for growing plants that will grow well over the boxes.

Next,  I filled the boxes with soil I bought at Menards. I got the cheapest kind specifically for vegetables, I think I paid like $2-$3 a bag.

Finally, I planted the tomatoe and green pepper plants I had started from seed a few months ago and then planted the seeds of everything else in each appropriated (big word huh! ) box.

We'll see how this plan works.

OH! I almost forgot, I also had planted a row of peas in the ground there in the far back, I just cut places in the fabric ( I did not use boxes or newspaper here, I just cut up the sod and laid the fabric down and covered with mulch) where I planted the peas. Once they started coming out of the ground and I could see where they were, I placed fencing behind them for them to grow up. I learned last year, that thick plastic trellis does NOT work well for peas!

(yes the garage is in dire need of painting, hoping to get that done either this summer or next)

The future strawberry patch expansion! As you can see, we have a  little more sod to cut up (hopefully done tomorrow) and then we can plant the 120 plants by Wed (well, 75 anyway, waiting on the rest to be shipped.). Here I had to cut the sod up because the runners the plants will put out need to be able to go into the ground. My plan is to cover with straw before I plant the strawberries, then move the straw where the plants will go so that (fingers crossed) it will keep the weeds/grass from growing back. In the far right is the strawberry patch I did a few years ago, much smaller but produced a significant amount. That is why I decided to expand. Once they are in, there is very little maintenance, and homegrown strawberries put the store bought ones to shame!

Where the old garden was....we really need to get some good grass seed and hopefully get some grass back in that big ol' plot!

The trampoline was starting to have some "issues". I got on there the other day,cleaned it up, tied the netting straps up so they would stay up and used pool noodles ($1.98 each at Walmart) to replace the nasty, raggedy, old rotting things that came on the poles to begin with. More colorful and thicker to hopefully last longer .

We still have plenty more work to do, but this is the start of our spring.