Everything's Coming Up Roses

Would you believe cucumbers and radishes and lettuce?

Dianna's developing a real green thumb with her new raised bed garden. The stuff is veritably springing up.

It'll be no time at all and we'll have to approach that area only with a sharp machete to be able to hack our way through.

Veggies Springing Out of the Ground

I hope this is a sign of things to come as far as veggies growing in our garden. If everything comes up like this and keeps growing, why we'll be eating healthier than we ever have. Ewell Gibbons (remember him?) eat your heart out!

I can just see it now… Several varieties of lettuce, and spinach, cucumbers, and this and that and… Lord only knows what else. We may grow enough that we'll have to trade with our neighbors for stuff that we don't grow. What a new (and healthful) experience this all could be.

Cucumbers Sprouting

We might even have to take lessons on carrying our produce from the 'radish lady'. She's a little, elderly lady, who speaks no English but has a nice smile and always says "Buenos Dias" each time we walk by.

She walks to and from her farm south of us just about every day and then she goes from there into town to the market, carrying the produce she's harvested in a large pan balanced on her head. Maybe we'll have to get our own stall at the market.

And More Veggies Popping Up

If you're wondering, the green netting stuff in each of the photos was a well-intentioned but totally ineffective tool to keep April out the the garden beds and to prevent her from doing her own gardening. Thankfully, Regina will be coming back and is bringing a couple packs of bird netting which we'll be able to put to good use, not only to keep April out, but the birds as well.

Well, I guess, before we construct the stall and all that, maybe we should see if we actually get a crop of veggies coming to maturity, or if we just manage to grow a healthy crop of weeds. Time will tell. 

Just A Simple Veggie Patch

Here's an update on our planter boxes.

I've mentioned them in earlier posts. You can see those posts at (http://winjama.blogspot.com/search/label/Planter%20Tables). I called them 'planter tables' then.

So, here they are pretty much done. All that remains is to finish filling them with a nice mix of red or black dirt - always depending on what's available. Right now, it's red dirt. We mix that, more or less 2:1, two buckets dirt to one bucket wood chips.

All Four - Ready to Fill

Here's the first one, filled to the rim. I still have some stuff to do. Like re-routing a water faucet so that there's a handy spigot right there.

First Box Filled

This view just shows the planter box legs.

Showing the Structure

I thought someone was watching us. Sure enough Secret has a new cool spot to hang out in. This was originally discovered by Cindy, but Secret appears to have usurped the shady space.

A New Hidey-Hole

Three of the boxes are about one-foot deep - plenty for most veggie needs. This one, on the other hand, is about twice that depth and is more suited to crops requiring more depth for their roots.

One Deep One - For Root Crops

This photo shows the interior detail. I painted the inside of each box with UGL DRYLOK Basement/Masonry Waterproofer. I've used it before, here and in the States. It does a great job, as long as you don't expect miracles. The reason we put in on is since we were going to paint the outsides, we felt that we needed to waterproof the insides so that the paint would stick to the outsides.

I had part of a gallon of latex Drylok, so used that as far as it went. Then, went to Villa's and got a gallon of Oil-based Drylok. The application was about the same for both products.

You'll notice the little grey squares inside the box. That's nylon screen fabric that I've put over the drain holes in each box. To help (I hope) keep the dirt from escaping from the boxes.

Showing Water-Proofing Paint and Screens

I'm sneaking in a small but related project here. It's a compost bin and a pad for a future cistern. We're going to pour the pad as a single unit for ease. Then, we'll add walls to make the separate bins for the compost area.

Compost Bin & Cistern Pad - Soon Come

And finally, here's Dianna, looking pretty proud of her new garden area. She's taking a break working with Cody to fill the boxes and making sure the mix of dirt and wood chips is right.

I know what she's thinking too. It's time for a shower, some lunch, and then it's... Pool Time!

Dianna Taking A Break During Filling

So, How Are Those Planter Tables?

Just fine, thank you. The first one is now done. It is a slow project, because, remember, Carlos only works on it one day a week. And there are times when we side-track him to work on something else for his workday. Anyway progress is being made.

First Table Is Completed

This first table has a depth of about two feet, so it'll be suited for veggies like carrots and other root crops (we hope). It'll be interesting to see what actually will grow well and what won't.

Second Table Supports Are Completed

Above, you can see the completed supports for the second table. They go one block higher, so the box itself will be one block shorter, making a shallower planting area.

Deeohgee Checking Under The Table

Here you can see the depth of the first planter box. There's also some open area under the table, which we'll try to keep free of weeds and other debris, giving snakes, etc., fewer hiding places in our garden.

Deeohgee Inspecting the Table Support

 Deeohgee is helping me shoot the pictures by pointing out the support detail for the planter box. Notice the texture Carlos applied on the outside - it matches that of the main house downstairs, the guest house and the pool pump house.

Inside of Planter Box

This seems ready made for Halloween. It looks like the interior of Dracula's coffin. Although, once filled with dirt and veggies, it should be far less sinister.

Three of Five Drain Holes

Drainage of the boxes is a concern. I put in five half-inch drain holes in the bottom. I hope it's enough. I had to bail about 5-inches of water before I could start drilling. I'm also going to build a square wood frame on legs to sit in the planter. The box will have half-inch screen on it so we can sieve the black dirt as we put it into the planter, hopefully getting rid of sticks, stones, and other debris as we put the dirt into the planter.

Block Pyramid Waiting To Be Used

 Here's the remaining blocks that will be used for the remaining three planter beds. I hope there's not a lot of blocks left over. They tend to migrate all  over the place and get used as stools and eventually, as they break, just become little debris piles.

A 'Lee' Update

Just a short update on the planter boxes under construction in the shade house. The first  box is now ready to have the floor cast. That'll happen next Friday. Carlos ran out of time this Friday after getting the form constructed and rebar cut, positioned and tied in place.

Almost Done Building Form Bottom

After the floor is cast, the walls will go up two blocks high and will be made from four-inch thick blocks, so there will end up being about a foot of black dirt in each box for the veggies.

First Planter Box Bed Ready to Cast

Back to my 'thick' wallet and the family photos. Here's a couple more of April. As much as she zooms around the place when she's awake, she naps hard too - getting all that training for when she grows up and takes up napping as her full-time occupation.

It's Rough Being A Kitten

It's hard to be so cute, isn't it? Who could resist such a face. She went in to Dr. Sheila's yesterday for her second visit. Oral meds and a shot for something. She must have been a good little kitty. Dr. Sheila gave her a little white mouse toy.

Could She Get Much More Relaxed?

That's it for now. I have to start work to get ready for the Men's Group's Martini Meeting today. See, it's just all work and no play - ever.

One After the Next Step

Here's a couple of shots of the latest in our project. We're ready to start constructing some - five to be exact, concrete raised planter boxes to go under the shade house. It'll still provide enough room for Dianna to be able to have plants in pots, etc.

We started off with the shade cloth I had left over from the pool awning project. There was enough to cover half the length of the shade house (12-feet long by 14-feet wide). It was a bit awkward hanging the stuff at first.

Hanging Shade Cloth

 It actually went quite quickly. I had to make a trip to Lano's Supply to get about 14-feet more shade cloth to cover the other half of the shade house.

Little by Little

 Now, it's beginning to look like what I had imagined.

Taking on the Desired Shape

 I used a heavy monofilament line to tie the shade cloth into place - looping it around the curved bar every couple inches or so. To anchor the line to the bar, I used an arbor knot. You can see an animated example of how to tie that at Animated Knots by Grog (http://www.animatedknots.com/arbor/index.php?Categ=fishing&LogoImage=LogoGrog.jpg&Website=www.animatedknots.com). A pretty cool site that shows you how to tie various knots in an easy to understand animation for each knot.

Here's a shot of the monofilament I used, along with the curved needle I was going to use, which didn't work out. I tried using an awl to expand the eye of the needle in order to thread the needle with the monofilament. It turned out it was too brittle to do that and simply shattered as soon as I stuck the awl in the eye. I didn't need the needle in the end as it was easy to just thread the line directly through the shade cloth.

 And here's some views of the completed shade cloth hanging. I also used cable ties to secure the shade cloth. Hopefully, the mono and the cable ties will last a while before having to be replaced. We'll see.

Long View of the Shade House

A Different Perspective

From Underneath

Back The Other Way

From the Edge

And From Below

Here's a diagram I put together showing the concept for the planter tables. We thought about using hard woods here to make raised beds but cost and longevity are two major factors. We're going to build five tables under the shade house, still providing plenty of space to have room for other containers and taller plants.

Planter Table Diagram