I've been wanting to install some raised beds on our spare lot for quite a while, but never found the time. Thanks to the COVID shutdown, I was able to take some time between teleconferences to get the job done.
Timbers purchased, cut to size, and stained with a weather sealer. Great opportunity for the boys to get some manual labor as a break from their 'school-from-home' routine.
Stained and ready to haul up to the build site.
This is where I had measured out the space for three raised beds, near the bluff's edge on our empty lot. The bluff gets plenty of sunshine during the growing season, even with the few trees I left standing.
Landscaping fabric laid out.
First bed started, ready to drive the rebar spikes.
First bed complete.
Second bed started.
Grayson pre-drilling for the timber-lok fasteners (we had to purchase wet timber, which needed some pre-drilling to prevent binding).
Sinking the fasteners.
Last bed started. Here Landon swings the 16-pound hammer to drive the spikes.
Grayson driving the spikes.
Doing what I do best....telling other people what to do!
Getting ready to drive the last spike.
Did I drive it down with just one swing? Well, there's evidently no photo evidence, so I'll just say, "Yeah, let's go with that."
Beds completed.
I lined the sides with hi-density plastic, to keep the pressure-treated timber from leaching into the soil, but left the bottom open to allow drainage through the landscaping fabric. We trimmed the bottom edges of the plastic just enough to keep soil from pushing out the bottom sides of the bed frame. Then we weighted down the plastic-fabric overlap with a mix of new-cut and old-rotting wood from past trees cut down on the lot. It will provide some decaying matter beneath the soil to help raise the temperature, buffer it from the frozen ground, and reduce the amount of compost/soil we have to add this first year. The beds are 18 inches high, not because we needed 18 inches of soil depth, but because we wanted to be able to sit comfortably on the edge of the beds to work the vegetable plants, without having to stoop over.
Where the boys are standing I plan to build a 2-bay compost bin, or maybe another smaller square raised bed. Haven't decided for sure. The tree behind Landon was one I decided to keep, and it prevented a fourth bed for now.
We used pea gravel as a covering over the fabric around the beds, but didn't get enough, so we'll have to pick some more up or have it delivered in the next few weeks.
Surveying her new gardening area.
One more project down, now we move to the next few projects: Gazebo greenhouse (which will be located just off to the right of this picture), compost bins, then I think I'd like to build a small Alaskan cache, and fill it with a small water tank - which will elevate the water to provide gravity-fed pressure for watering the garden, while also keeping it hidden in the cache so it looks nice. There's no electric or water on this lot, so we'll be either running a hose from the house to the elevated tank, or bringing the water in on the back of a side-by-side (which is a good excuse to finally get a side-by-side, right?). The cache can also be set up to catch/store rainwater, if we go that route.
Standing about where the greenhouse will go. Thought about putting it on the bluff's edge, but believe it or not, this bluff's edge gets a little too hot in the Summer, and I'd rather not need to run the fan in the greenhouse 24/7, especially since it will run off a solar panel - so we'll place the greenhouse back a little ways from the edge where it gets a little shade but will still get plenty of sunlight. Plus, our fire pit is on the bluff's edge, and I don't want the boys (or me) catching the greenhouse on fire! More pics to follow once we get the greenhouse up.
With the virus shutting down all the barber shops, we finally convinced the boys to let us give them a proper shearing.
Heidi perched on the deck to watch the shearing, probably out of concern that she might be next!
With clinics opening back up, Landon got his braces off. He had braces for 2 yrs and 3 months!
Our annual Easter picture. Hope everyone is doing well out there and enjoying Spring. Social distancing is kinda the normal way of life in Alaska, so other than working from home and no school - we feel like not too much has changed here.
No comments:
Post a Comment