Hi Friends! 😊
How is your weekend going? Today it's raining and we are taking it easy! Friday was a busy, hard working day for Alex and me. We had our garden soil/compost delivered.
With our rocky/gravelly terrain, we figured our best bet would be raised beds. I found a local farm that sold this mix of soil by the cubic yard. I ordered 3 cubic yards. I thought that would be a good amount for my six planned raised beds.
Alex put together the wheel barrow and we got to work transferring the soil to the beds.
Before adding soil, we lined the bottoms of the beds with cardboard boxes. This is to hopefully prevent weeds from growing in the beds. Those packing boxes sure came in handy!
Not much to see right now! When we got everything finished and planted, we covered the beds with some row covers in anticipation of heavy rain all day yesterday. I got lots planted though!
1. Asparagus
2. Two types of tomatoes
3. Herbs and lettuces
4. Strawberries
5. Potatoes
6. Broccoli, cauliflower, yellow beans and green beans
This is how I water my garden. We don't have an outside spigot, so it's in and out of the house to fill the watering can.
I'll be interested to see what grows here! Oh, and that dirt pile? I still have about a 1/3 of it left!!! I over-estimated what I needed, which is a good thing because now I can plant more! We just have to find the lumber to make more raised beds and I'll get my pumpkin patch and squash bed growing! I'd like to plant a lot of onions too.
I planted seeds only this year, no seedlings - I really hope the growing season is long enough here that I'll have a good harvest in the fall.
My sweet Jack. 💕
I managed to get 15 jars of spaghetti sauce pressure-canned as well. That big giant fridge we bought second hand needed a very intense deep cleaning and we haven't gotten it put back together yet; so we're still eating non-refrigerated meals. Hopefully we'll have our fridge up and running this week so I can do a proper shopping trip!
We installed some yellow "bug" lights around the house. I don't know how well they work with an army of mosquitoes at the ready for attack lol...but they sure look cozy! We heard coyotes the other night. They were closer than we expected so we have to make sure we are always with the dogs when they're outside, we need to keep them safe! See you on Thursday for our art date! The theme is "Summer Plans"!!
Looks like a lot of very hard work, well done for getting through it. Hope your fridge will soon be up and running. Hope your harvest will be a good one. Take care of yourself, hugs, Valerie
ReplyDeleteIt's so exciting reading your adventures at your new home Rain, I am in suburbia with a little woodland beside me and the airport 3 miles away! London a 45 minute train journey so find it hard to imagine the isolation you are in and the chances of coyotes and other wild things roaming around! I hope you can rig up some water irrigation, maybe from capturing rainwater to your raised beds as that is very hard work with a watering can. I got a new fridge this week and am so grateful as mine had failed for a week - so appreciate how much harder it is for you in the middle of nowhere without the luxuries I have! I love seeing your pets - I bet they are loving the new freedom of space. Good luck in your new home. xxx Betty
ReplyDeletewonderful. Love your pile of dirt. I think it is good to manually water the planted boxes. The water have time to sink and will not take dirt with it when it "floods" away from the boxes.
ReplyDeleteTake care. Good to see your progress. :)
You have been SUPER busy AND productive. Your lights do indeed look very cosy and I hope they keep the bugs at bay.
ReplyDeleteRest up. You totally deserve it.
Thanks for the update, I was thinking of you. Great going on the garden.
ReplyDeletei've planted most of my stuff from seed this year too. a sign of the times! you need an outdoor spigot! that's a lot of watering to do with a watering can. can you run a hose from the inside when you need to water?
ReplyDeleteYou are such hard workers! All the best with your gardens. You've done so well. Gone are the days when I could schlep dirt around. I'm so tired.
ReplyDeleteWhat a journey. He are amazing.
Rain, Wishing great luck with those bug lights. You and your Alex are hard workers. It will pay off. I like those raised beds. Blessings, stay safe and strong, xoxo, Susie
ReplyDeleteI love that you have garden beds up and going already. What a sweet looking place, Rain. I am SO happy for you! I hope you can get an outside water source at some point. That is a lot of toting water! Have a blessed Sunday-xo Diana
ReplyDeleteWOW....making it your own! Love it. Yet you are dealing with coyotes and I am dealing skunk. So far its not been an issue it just makes me uneasy since I have never had to deal with anything like that. Chey however should be good since she only goes in the fence. Lily Bit should be ok on the deck. You are right, raised beds will probably be the best. Oh my watering like that would wear me out. I think I would see if I could locate an attachment to attach to the sink faucet that I could connect the hose to. Not even sure they make them but there you go....a subject to look up and see!! haha....The house looks so comfy and nice. I am glad it is at the beginning of planting season so you could get things out. Me....so full of adventure, I planted TWO tomato plants!!! haha . But I do have my rosemary, oregano, basil, cilantro and my lemon sage that I have never cooked with but have grown for 20 years are more since it was given to me and it apparently never dies!! I did plant flowers of course....you know I did. Congrats again on the house. Oh yes, I do cardboard in my flowerbeds....works great.
ReplyDeleteYou must be exhausted from all that hard work!
ReplyDeleteFabulous plant day, Rain!!!! Looks like the extra dirt is really going to come in handy! I am planting my hard squash, watermelon and cantaloupe this coming week as well! Sending best to you both! Have a fantastic week, and thanks for the update!
ReplyDeleteHi Rain. Your garden looks fantastic. Good use for the boxes. You two sure have done a lot of work. It will all pay off. Jack looks happy.
ReplyDeleteYay! Excellent first steps. I love the look of your place and your house is so cute!
ReplyDeleteAmazing how much you are accomplishing right when you move in! I am impressed. That soil looks great. My soil is clay, it would need to be enhanced, for sure.
ReplyDeleteWhat a clever use for the packing boxes!!
ReplyDeleteHow much different in elevation/climate is your new home from where you used to live?
Your dreams are all coming true. Your home looks so cozy with those yellow lights. We use a bug zapper in our yard to control mosquitoes but......we don't have near the property you do.
ReplyDeleteIt's great that you are starting your garden now rather than later in the year. The weather is better.
ReplyDeleteHow fun to have a new climate and new garden to play in. I hope your season is long and fruitful.
ReplyDeleteOh, you look so happy, Rain! What a joyful period for you. Makes my heart sing. I love that last image of the front of your home. Looks so cozy! There's so much love in that house ❤
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see how your garden grows there, Rain! I am so impressed with you two. I hope you are rewarded with a good harvest. The picture of your house at night looks so cool.
ReplyDeleteYou two are hard workers. I can't believe how much you've gotten done already. Building raised beds, the rich soil, and now have the vegetables planted...and all that spaghetti sauce! It looks delicious! The yellow lights do make the house look cozy. Kinda scary about the coyotes. We have them here but not too close. I've never seen or heard one. Take care.
ReplyDeleteI used cardboard for years to keep weeds down in my garden. Last year, when my outside pipe and spigot broke, I no longer had a way to water my plants, so I let it go to "seed," so to speak.
ReplyDeleteI must wash my hands forty times a day. I refuse to let the water just run down the drain, so I collect it in buckets and put it on my herbs that are in pots on my back patio. Both economical and the buckets are ready when it's time to water.
You truly HAVE been busy. I hope you didn't get blisters from all that shoveling. You and Alex were smart and wore gloves, at least.
For some reason, I thought the next prompt was Your Vacation. Summer Plans works, too.
Hi Rain my you have both worked so hard to get those beds filled with soil and now seeded, I hope those coyotes don't come snuffling round when it all starts to grow. You should get yourself some water butts outside to gather up the rain fall, i'm sure it will save your legs back and forth filling up that watering can. Your house looks extra pretty at night, I hope those lights keep them pesky mosquito's at bay. Thanks for sharing all your hard work.. Well done!
ReplyDeleteHugs Tracey xx
P.S Jack looks such a loyal companion x
Great photos of you, Alex and adorable Jack! How hard you worked but I'm sure your veggie garden will pay off - then you can share more of your delicious recipes dear Rain!
ReplyDeleteThe spaghetti sauce looks fantastic!
Have good week.
Mary -
Wow! You are really making progress! I wish you a bountiful harvest, Rain. It's amazing to me how coyotes spread from arriving in New Brunswick in the late 50s all the way to Newfoundland in the late 80s. They have managed quite well in proximity to humans. Yes, watch your animals. Your house is really cute. You will likely have to put high fences around your garden beds. I suspect the deer are every bit as persistent as the mosquitoes. Just saying ... 😱
ReplyDeleteOh, wow. You did some heavy work there. Looking forward to seeing how everything grows!
ReplyDeleteCoyotes (California) are rampant here. Lots of elderly people in our community are always missing a pet who sneaks out their houses.
You have both been so busy, but well done on all the planting.
ReplyDeleteI hope all grows well and the harvest from all of your labours will be good :)
I like the lights around your house.
Enjoy your week.
All the best Jan
Looks great! We are ripping out two of our raised beds. They were not tall enough, and we didn't leave enough room to mow between them. We'll put new ones up next year or this fall.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great there but you have accomplished a lot and I hope with you that a rich harvest will come out. You could also help with the sauce in the glass. What a country with
ReplyDeletecoyotes too and sweetly watch your house from the front in the spotlight. How he looks your cute Jack, de rhat has pretty pretty loyal eyes
I wish you a good week and that everything will work out!
Greetings Elke
Rain,
ReplyDeleteLooks like things are coming together. Your new home looks so cozy and I can't believe all you've done so far. At this rate, your summer will come and go before you blink an eye. I'm sorry for being so late to visit. I've been dragging about it seems. Have a good day!
I enjoyed these photos of the yard and the house - ..I know it's hard work but it must be so rewarding to get these things done. And yet with all that work you are still canning. I kind of admire you.
ReplyDeleteWONDERFUL, Rain! What a glorious sight to see a load full of good, rich soil arrive! You've both been so busy and it will yield great results I'm sure. Your new home looks lovely with the lights around it. Exciting times for you, I'm so pleased that everything is going well.
ReplyDeleteWe used newspaper to try and prevent weeds from intruding in some of our beds, so the cardboard should be a stronger barrier to those intrusive growths, Rain. You and Alex certainly did a lot of work in a short time, but watering by making lots of trips back and froth may get draining once the veggies start growing. Another person commented on possibly using rainwater runoff and so I wondered if you do et a good amount. Hope the lights held fend off those annoying flying critters, my least favorite neighbors. Thanks for taking time to comment on my recent post, appreciated the visit in the midst of all your projects.
ReplyDeleteOh boy coyotes? They come around in our urban areas time to time. My uncle said he saw one with a kitten in its mouth near our old apartment.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your raised beds. Hope to have those one day once we get the front and backyards done.