Weekend update part 2

So then...where was I?
Yesterday I got through most of Saturdays activities but I didn't get a chance to mention what I did with the rest of the compost that we brought in. My garden beds are pretty good this year, and by the time I get ready to plant many of them later this spring, I'll have a lot of my homemade stuff on hand so this load of "black gold" went all over the back yard.It kind of breaks my heart just a little, to use all that compost on lawn, but our back yard needs it desperately. When we moved into this home, all we had was the crappy subsoil that was in our basement hole spread out like a clay-crete blanket over the yard. I couldn't afford at the time to do much of anything about it either so all of our grass is grown on far inferior soils.

Last year, the soil was so compacted that all our water just ran right off and formed a pool along the back edge of the property no matter what we did. This year, I promised A~ that I'd grow her some grass. I figure that's only fair, seeing as how I take a little more of the yard every year for my gardening ventures, so it's a goal that needed a little work early on.

Now, there's the matter of that one last salvage item that I was teasing you with. I'm happy to say that I finished the project today, but sad to say that It was late and I was tired so I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. Here it is just after we picked it up though. a twenty-something foot length of 3 foot high vinyl fencing.As I said I finished installing it tonight, but that was because I spend Sunday picking up all the supplies and Monday and Tuesday digging holes and setting posts so I could put it together. If you look at this picture, you can see the tree and rocks that I was talking about yesterday.This fence will go down along the driveway, cut back over just before the tree and end up next to the existing fence. It should help me to deter neighbor kids that have no boundaries imposed on them, skateboards and the occasional soccer ball from squashing my plants in there.

And speaking of plants, I planted this weekend too. Approximately 600 shelling peas, a couple hundred sugar snap peas and three rows of carrots. Yes you read that right, 600 shelling pea plants. I'm trying a new way of growing them this year by really optimizing the raised beds that they're in. Intense management is after all the hallmark of the small scale grower is it not? I will of course keep you posted.

And there you have it, the big stuff that we accomplished this last weekend of winter. Oh, I just love saying that!! Last weekend of winter! Whoo hoo. sprouts are popping up, ground is thawing and the garden has been launched.

Look out 2009 here we come~
P~