The weather has swung back to unseasonably warm again, and I’ve been out to Terra Nova Gardens on a regular basis this last week. It’s still too wet to start preparing the raised beds for planting, but there are other unfinished things to work on.
Some might remember that last year I started working on a platform to cover my natural spring. I’ve found that it’s best to work on projects a little at a time; sometimes it takes more than one year to complete. But each nice day, the project gets a little more finished.
The bridge supports were found on Craigslist and set in place last spring.
Since the width is over four feet, I decided it might be good to put a couple of joists to help stabilize the platform. These were treated 2x6s.
After many hours of reconstructing a free pallet and sealing the wood with a top-grade water sealant, the first half of the platform is set in place and screwed down to the bridge planks. One step closer. You can see the back half of the platform still needs to be re-engineered and sealed like the front part. When the other half of the platform is finished, railings will be made from free pallets as well. At least one step will be set in front of the platform. It’s all starting to come together after two years of work.
Next up for the day was to begin working on the next, new, raised bed.
This is the spot for the next raised bed. Yes, the weeds are still prolific in this part of Terra Nova Gardens. These are the “Velcro weeds” that will stick like glue if they touch any fabric. I use rubber gloves and boots when I’m trying to eradicate this weed. The sticky part of the weed is at the top, so staying close to the roots of the weed when pulling will help you to not getting covered with the plant.
Well, here one end and one side is complete. Since the weather is going to be very nice for the next few days, this bed may be finished real soon. Once the rock outline of the bed is finished, the old carpet weed barrier that somewhat worked last year will be cut out of the center, leaving the soil exposed to dry out a bit before working over the bed with a spade. All the tools in my garden are hand tools. Well, sometimes I fire up the weed eater to whiz down some weeds, but other than that everything has been muscle power.
The wild turkey bug patrol is already on duty. I couldn’t get them all in the picture, but there must have been about 20 in the flock. They can fly over the fence and get into the garden area, but they don’t do that too often. I have seen them roosting on top of the fence at different times. I figure that if they keep the bugs under control outside of the fence, then there won’t be a problem inside the fence. This will be my sixth year for gardening here, and never have I had a bug problem of any kind. Now raccoons, deer, rabbits, and groundhogs … Well that’s another story. Slowly but surely I’m getting the fences varmint-tight.
So that’s it for this week. Now that spring is here, I’ll have more to share. Have a great spring day wherever you live, and let me know what you’ve been up to!
Nebraska Dave
Urban Farmer
Omaha, NE
