The New Garden Bed

Some people make new garden beds by marking the edge, tilling the garden and putting in the shrubs and plants. My way is a little more casual.

When we moved  into this house last summer the only flowerbed was little one that was covered with four inches of pink granitic chips, not to mention weeds. While I was dealing with that and building up the shrubs at the back of the bed I was also planning some new Square Foot gardens for veggies.

I was in the hardware store buying wood for the vegetable garden when I saw some red and yellow twigged dogwoods (Cornus stolinifera) at a really good price. I love these shrubs for winter color and shape, so they went into the trolley. Back home I didn’t want to put them into the existing bed because that would obscure the winter view of, and through, the conifers. So they were put onto the porch until I could find time to put them somewhere.

I decided to plant them on the other side of the garden between the pool and the soon to be square foot gardens. They went into the existing grass. Over the year I accumulated more plants as well as some shrubs. This past weekend with a few more things to put in, it was time to ‘join the dots’ to save the plants from the mowing team – who has mowed some of the little ones down a few times.

Rose surrounded by grass

Joining the dots was not an easy job, but after a few hours of hard work I had removed all the grass and got the rough outline of the bed. I used kitty litter buckets to cart the sod over to to the edge of the property. I have learned that filling a wheelbarrow may seem easier but the sod is heavy and wheeling a full barrow is almost impossible on rough ground, smaller containers is easier. It also alternated the muscles used.

The dots are joined - phase 2

Next I was going to put about 4 inches of compost and finish with mulch. That would have given me 2 delivery charges, so the nursery suggested combining the two. Down side was that it is like shifting damp compost and I had planned on 3 yards of each – compost and mulch

- which gave me 6 yards dumped in the garden! That is going to take a few weekends to shift.

So now I have a new garden bed which delineates the pool area from the ‘work’ area of the vegetable gardens and washing line, gas tank etc. It also helps to focus the view toward the meadow at the back rather than an open field all around.

The New Garden Bed

So the bed is finished for now, and will have the outline finalized over the next few weeks – or even next spring when I have more things to fill out the back/edges.

I also dried some seeds from the fuzzy peach tomato. This yellow tomato has a sweet taste and a really fuzzy skin. Sometimes the skin has a hint of red on it making them look just like a real peach!  I soaked the seeds for 48 hrs in warm water then dried them on paper towel. They are now ready to be put into envelopes until spring planting time.

Now time to clean the gardener up!

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Here is the recipe:

This is the recipe (from the booklet included in the pectin) for Sure-Jel Elderberry Jelly
 

In place of the elderberry juice called for in this recipe use beet juice.  Boil 6-8 fresh beets in 10 cups of water.  Remove beets when they are tender, reserve to eat later.  Then strain the juice in the pot and save.

Last night I hit the books and figured out what they were, what the effect would be and when to use them. Put it all on a cheat sheet index card that tells me where the buttons are on the camera!

This morning was foggy and there were some neat cobwebs on the bushes, so I tried my hand at using some of the buttons. 

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Low ISO (100) speed 1/250                    ISO (300) shutter speed 1/125

Everyone knows that I like Fiskars tools as well as folks at the company, but lately I have taken to getting some new orange tools from Black and Decker.
I got the little chain saw a few years ago and didn’t think much about it (love using it though).
Last year I was browsing the garden/yard tools aisle and noticed a bright orange, lightweight trimmer. I am not a big fan of trimming the edges of the lawn and with the old 2-stroke heavy duty knock-a-tree over trimmer, it took longer to start than it did to trim, so I didn’t do it. This new guy works on a little rechargeable battery. It is light, starts with just a touch of a button and does a decent job.Even changing the nylon chord is easy to do – just lift out the empty one, thread the wire through the hole and replace the cap. Yesterday I used it just to trim the heads of the dianthus. 3 minute job with one or two stops along the way.
Then enter, orange tool number two – the blower. This little guy works on the same battery pack so they are interchangeable. Again it starts with just the touch of a button and can be used for dusting leaves off steps, clearing pollen off the patio and diantus debris off the footpath. All little jobs that were major when the old 2-stroke engine machine had to come out. Did I mention the noise that the old machines made? Gone with the new lightweight ones.
The jobs I do are small and these things are handy but they do not do heavy duty clearing of damp wet leaves and the battery pack sometimes needs to be changed halfway through my ‘need to do list’, but or the price, they are terrific.

On the right: This set up uses a kind of hydroponic growing mechanism but the source of water comes from the fish tank below. The theory being that the fish water is enriched with nutirents, and that is sufficient for the plants. I forgot to ask if/what they feed the fish.

                         A Rabbit in the Garden                                 The Fish/Grow System

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I don’t know about its ability to retain heat overnight, so right now the only things in there are the cool weather seedlings (cabbage and lettuces). The basil, tomatoes and peppers that have germinated, will spend the day their but be indoors overnight for a few more weeks.

The Flower House

Until then I am watching my little seedlings.  I finally sowed the first batch last Thursday, and some of them are already showing signs of germination. Mainly the lettuces and basil.  I realised when I was looking at them that I do not have a purple basil.  I will just have to order a bunch more seeds because just one packet, plus postage is a waste.  I wonder what else I will feel compelled to order?

Yesterday on the new radio show (www.radiosandysprings.com Americas  Home Grown Veggie Show ) we talked about sowing seeds, average first frost, and getting way too many seedlings – one of my failings.  The show was great fun, so take a listen when it is online.