Garden Fencing

     Over the last few months we have been working very hard on our new garden space in the side yard. In previous posts you saw how it went from a crab grass field to a ready garden bed. Well now it is time to see how the fence turned out. We wanted a fence to keep the dog out (or just deter him from wandering in) and to give some definition to the space.Below is a reminder of what the area looked like a couple months ago. (Yes, we do get some sun in Seattle during the winter.)

      This photo shows on the left where we have put the good dark compost for gardening and the light brown sandy dirt on the right where the path extension will be.

      Our first fence design consisted of 36" picket that would be hammered into the ground to make a 24" high fence with slats of wood running horizontally. We spaced the pickets out every 7" or so (a few inches smaller than the width of our dog) and then nailed the slats on. After that we took it over to hammer it into the ground...

      And it failed. The ground is uneven so when we started to hammer on in the slats started to bust and it didn't sit correctly. So we ripped the slats off and pondered what to do next. Somewhere at some point I must have seen something that inspired me but the idea of just putting rope or twine popped into my head.

      So here it is. I got some rolls of thick twine at Lowe's for about $6 each and used about 3 total. Matt got a staple gun and evenly spaced the twine out and stapled it to the pickets (only on the back side so the front facing side looks nice). The pickets themselves cost $24 for a packet and we used to packets. Plus the cost of a staple gun and staples and you have a dog deterrent fence for about $80 and some labor. We already had the rubber mallet that we used to hammer the stakes in. Oh yes, and the gallon of outdoor paint. But I only used about a fourth or less of the gallon so add a few dollars for that too.

      All in all we are very happy with our new fence. At two feet high both Matt and I can easily step over it but it does keep the dog out. And it creates a nice defined space for our garden. You can see the black bark chips that we put down between the fence and the walk way. First I put down special garden fabric that I got at Lowe's for about $15 (one roll was all I need for my entire project) which keeps weeds from growing through the bark chips. Then I spread out the bark chips. Black were the cheapest ones at $3.19 a bag or something like that. I think we used a total of 5 bags.

     In the shadows down the left side next to the original fence is a little walkway that we also bark chipped. We did this so we can walk down the back of the garden to get our veggies without having to walk in mud. And it looks nice.

    He is an example of what the process of mulching looks like. I made the area as flat as I could, put down the black fabric and then spread out the mulch. It really takes very little time and makes the space look finished. And now mud! A huge bonus for here in Seattle.

     Next post I will talk about our two next trees, the hanging basket you can see in an above photo and a couple other little garden projects we have going on.

     And Happy Birthday Banjo who is 2 years old today! At least we decided it is today. Someone found him on the street and the rescue society thinks he was born in early May.

Garden Prep is Hard Work.

     I have been fantasizing for years about having a huge garden in which I can grow whatever I want. I got a taste of that dream last year when we put in two 4 ft by 8ft garden beds in the front yard last year. Below is an awkwardly angled photo of how those two beds turned out last year. So it is with great expectations and excitement that we have been working on the side yard.

    As I may have mentioned earlier we had planned on putting bark chips down in the side yard so that Banjo could play ball. However, he doesn't really like to play ball in our yard so we decide that using it to feed ourselves would be a better idea. Below is a reminder of how the side yard looked last year.

     The black plastic is to kill the "grass". The last owner was older and obviously was not too worried about landscaping or decorating. But after much back breaking labor of ripping up crappy soil and adding bags of compost this is how it looks.

     We didn't go all the way to the walk way because we have plants to (some day) widen it. Right now it is a little narrow and can be hard to navigate with the yard waste bin and even your own feet. In my dream world we will put down nice paving stones or something else pretty. In the real world we are going to add some kind of low fence so the dog doesn't run in there. My seedlings are doing great and we will start planting as early as next weekend.

     I took this photo last week and already everything in there is twice this size. I have a couple different kinds of tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, cauliflower, broccoli, basil and sugar snap peas. The sugar snap peas already busted out of the bottom of their containers.

      So I popped them into one of the beds in the front. Next weekend I plan on putting up a trellis or something for them to grow up. I had this same kind last year and they grew like crazy. They are wonderful to snack on right off the vine.

     There is a lot more to be done as always. Big dreams as usual!

SPRING!

     I love spring! Everything starts to warm up and I can start working on all this projects that I have been dreaming about all winter. Although, here in Seattle, the weather can change quickly so one day I might be out in shorts cutting the grass while the next it is pouring rain and all I can do is read and drink tea. But that is life. Luckily I do have a few little projects to share with you.

     The other day it was really nice out and I wanted to do something in the yard. But I didn't want to start a huge new project. So I found the prefect little forgotten triangle of yard to spruce up.

     This little triangle of space is at the corner of our house where the front and side yards meet. I was going to extend my planting bed into the area but then realized that there was cement under the dirt in the area and that I won't be able to grow anything there. So I decided I could still use the space to grow something but it would have to be in pots rather than in the ground.

     Here is the after shot. Once I got out all the dirt from the area I got a few bricks from Lowe's and made a simple wall just to keep the dirt out. Then I put down a thin layer of gravel which was left over from another project (more on that later). The simple terra cotta pots are also from Lowe's. I could have gotten bigger or fancier ones but I think I might paint these at some point. I could also add more to the area since I do have some space. Later in the spring I will fill these pots with strawberry plants and will try not to nibble on them every time I turn this corner. A fun little project for a warm afternoon.

The Muddy Pit

     We have had some trouble with water getting into our crawl space under the house this winter. A variety of things have been done to counteract this problem. One day I left Matt unsupervised and this is what I found when I got home...

     Matt had dug a french drain along the edge of the cement walk way in the back yard. I don't know what a french drain is or why it is french but it made one big mess that still has not been completely resolved.

     The trench starts out at about a foot deep and then slopes down so the water will flow with it rather than under the house.

     When Matt was done digging he lined the house side of the trench with plastic so it wouldn't seep in.

     Then he lined the trench with some special fabric and put in a perforated drainage pipe.

     After that he filled it with gravel. Why? I don't know. This was Matt's project and as an archaeologist I only want to dig holes if I think I will find something cool.

     But this project is not done yet. There is still a huge pit (now filled with rain water) that needs some kind of pump system and then everything will be finished off with paving stones which will make the ground even so I won't twist my ankle when I go to the back room to do laundry.

    Home improvements always seem to take longer than you think they will.  But you get to be super proud of yourself when you finish...until you start the next one. 

     Next Blog Post:
Homemade Kombucha and the garden finally gets going.