Project day two: beginning the dirt work
Today started like any amazing day should start. With a trip to Home Depot.
Of course, we were back at the house today. We needed tools and such for working. Rake, hoe and shovel to start. And a ladder and painting supplies. Then we got distracted.
I'm listening to a singing lightbulb right now. It's so cool. And the sound is even decent. The new house is gonna be connected to everything. Wife wants a singing lightbulb in the bathroom. At only $13, that's really not bad.
LED bulbs just make sense. They're cheaper to run and are really getting into the realm of affordability. Home Depot had some three pcks that used to be $20 for like $4 today. We bought a few.
We bought more seeds too, as well as a new faucet. I'm really happy with the work we're being able to do here.
@brockolopolis, check out what I put in the compost!
Two days of coffee grounds and nine farm fresh egg shells. I mixed in some topsoil and leaves of various stages of decomposition. Nothing fancy, but it's where I'm starting.
Then I got to work digging our first bed. Here's what I ended up with:
Just one bed yet. It's about 5x5 feet, tilled and turned a foot deep. I think I'll add two more tomorrow in a row with little walkways between them. The last people left a few bags of mulch, so I'll probably use that on the walkways.
There's tons of sticker plants over there, that's what makes everything look dug up. I spent a few hours with the two younger kiddos digging up weeds. I noticed a pattern of there being a dog turd near many of them. I bet this is where the last folks dogs went poop the most and the weeds liked whatever nutrients that offered.
Need recommendations for safe natural weed killers. I used to use gas, but this is a new chapter for me.
The soil here is unbelievable. So fluffy and dark. It was super easy to turn it all over. And so many earthworms. Digging down a foot deep with the pitchfork was a breeze.
We decided to give the kids a spot by the apartment for digging. It didn't take long for Sam to have a two foot deep hole dug. That kid is a beast with the shovel. Takes after his old man.
Kinda hard to tell, but there's a bunch of logs, leaves, and bricks stacked up beside the apartment. It was a big job getting it all out, but we made it fun for the kids by making a wall of it.
There's the wall. A lot of wood over there. I'll have to find a use for it. Maybe biochar for the compost.
My baby clover seeds are sprouting already! That was really exciting to find!
So cute and fluffy and green!
That's my update for today, April 8th. Tomorrow should see some planting depending on what I find in my morning reading.
Stay relevant y'all
Nate
Looks like you are having a real motivated employee out there!
Oh yeah! All three of em were surprisingly helpful. We filled up a giant trash bin full of weeds. It's cool seeing the kids enjoy themselves like that while they work.
Wowy, that's some coffee! I thought i produced a lot of grounds!!?! Ah man i wish i could be there to help with your developments!!
Lol that's two pots. Roughly a third of a cup of grounds a day. You're a huge help with all this man, you basically are here!
I remember reading there that the nitrogen in the coffee grounds isn't plant available the first year. Mixing in the shells and giving it a year to brew (compost) I believe makes both the nitrogen and calcium available. IT IS POSSIBLE that I'm completely wrong, but i'm sure about bits and pieces there. I suspect that the grounds will compliment your peppers really well with where you're located. Looks like some decent soil? - like at the new home?
Oh yes. The soil where I'm planting is incredible! The first two beds we're super soft and fluffy dirt. Dark with a great smell. It was barely even work to turn the dirt. The 3rd bed had a bit of gravel and clay, but still nice and dark. In the clay area, the weeds were more prevalent, which added a lot to the labor. I've been digging up the weeds in the area before digging a bed. Not sure if that's the right way, but that's how I did it lol
Makes sense that the goodness of the grounds and shells would take a while. It's gotta work it's way in there.
We are going to do no-dig gardening all over our place... tilling destroys the nutrients in the soil i guess.
One of our friends raises goats, and another friends dad has some two year old rotting straw that he needs to get rid of. This will be the foundation for our expanded garden for next year- that we will prepare this year.
Dang, I should have researched more! I just did it like we did when I was a kid. I'm gonna look into that now. It'll sure make it easier to plant if I didn't have to dig!
Yeah, i have a client who does his whole farm no-dig style. He says it decreases his yield slightly, but also greatly decreases the time it takes to farm!
Not to mention, it sounds easier! Digging beds, however much fun it is, is hard lol
Got your SBI shares bought bro :)
Should get you a couple cents extra per main post.