The “east” beds…

From most recent to spring…

SO..  this area has been the home to critters as long as I remember.  Ari and Kobie would race here to hunt!  Why did I think that changed!  The area has a raised bed made with concrete blocks for a tomato plant and I thought for carrots but they never got planted.  There is also a pallet box where peppers are planted.. red and yellow and purple.. oh my!!  I started out with 2 trellis put together thinking I could also use it to cover the bed in case of an insect, bird or hail event.   After the dogs nearly demolished the bed I reevaluated and decided to attach plastic fencing to the trellis and create a barrier hoping the dogs (although Jake is shown checking it out!) would get the picture which I think they have.  I rebuilt the concrete bed adding more blocks, added more dirt to both beds and then topped off with straw.  We’ll see!  We were being watched by a cardinal in August!

To see the carnage, click here!l
And here…

Progress through June and July….

May 30th – planted..

Can you say raspberries!!

I just couldn’t decide where to plant raspberries.  Then I thought.. near the house so I can munch on them on nice mornings!  Between the house and this patch will be a patio…  I envision breakfast on the patio within reach of the raspberry bushes!  yum!

Ready for blueberry bushes….

Well …. not exactly..  there is the matter of wire to keep rabbits and voles out and
Oh yes..  dirt and straw and once I’ve gathered all that,
THEN the bushes can be transplanted there and I won’t have to watch Jake and Brita crash through them where they are!  What was I thinking!!  ! 

Do you notice it?

The fence was up and there are yet more blocks moved around!  I guess I need to SECURE the fence also to keep K9 critters out!!

ok… can you see it?

….the fence…  and do you notice that the concrete blocks are arranged differently than they were?  WELL…  regularly there is a critter behind that bed and the other next to it.  Since Jake and Brita are 2 dogs who love critters and occasionally often hunt them down and “prey” upon them, they really visit this particular part of the yard.   What you see is the way it looks after I put back some of the blocks… need I say more.  So..  I will need to secure the fence over time but for now… it’s simply propped up to deter the little rascals!  Good news is that the tomato plant was not affected!

Do over…

At first I though that the concrete blocks on the wire would be enough but now I realize that expensive 1/4” wire is useless if the blocks are 1/2”  apart..  Guess I’ll have to start cutting now…

All I was going to do…

was to plant some tomatoes in dirt…  of course that would be too easy.  So I put the weed barrier down and space the tomato cages (look carefully there are 6).  Then I thought…  concrete blocks!

   

Another deal!!

TWO dollars – St. Vinnies…  Do you see a raised bed??  I do!  Apparently Brita did also!

The “Long Bed”

I think that’s what I’ll call it.  Every raised bed should have a name so I can keep them straight.  Here’s my goal…  by Sunday – ALL my plants will be in the ground!!!!!!!!!   (Or in the straw as the case may be…)  The tomato plant is the first plant that I’ve grown from seed that I’ve planted!!!  Ta DA!!!

     

From June 2nd..

Progress….

5/20… grass and leaf clippings

5/19  sticks

4/27 Cardboard and 1/4 inch wire to keep critters out!

      

4/20 ….

  

Another raised bed…

It’s December 16th….

……and I’m working outside!  I need to put blocks along the back of the raised bed and
I thought maybe dividing it in parts would be a good thing…. 
In case I forget what it was like I included a picture of it with all the tomatoes last year….
and a picture of how I want it eventually!

     

Concrete block art

Check it out…  Concrete block raised garden beds decorated with tile or broker glass, dishes, etc.   How cool is this!!  I think it’s going on my project list which will get it done sometime in 2015!  I can get started by saving broken glass! 

 

   

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OMG! 5 cent cement blocks!

Got the weekly email from ReStore on Friday… Concrete blocks – 5 cents!  I’m there… NO they won’t sell them to me Friday night.  Saturday morning… thunderstorm and pouring rain.  Didn’t matter – off I go.   Just what I wanted – 4 x 8 x 16 – brand new and with a design on the one side.  Yep..  I’ll take them all.  Guy counts them and brings it to the register.  I get in line to check out.  $30 some – not so bad.  Bring one home with me.  Figure out how many there are….  OMG – 675!! 

OK…  to justify it..  one raised bed 20 feet long like I have – 2 blocks wide – 3 blocks high – uses 108 blocks…  Actually I think it won’t take me long to use them.  4 blueberry bushes need protection from the dogs and me walking on them…  another 40.  Front yard wall I’ve been thinking about since I liked the fence so much that I put up for Olivia (it keeps the other dogs in if I want to sit out front and I don’t have to worry about them chasing rabbits – oh and was really cool when the puppies came to visit and we could sit out front and let them loose.)   hhmmm….  150 blocks first layer times 3 high is 450 blocks for a raised bed so I can plant something …  ok..  I’m almost out of blocks.

NOW…  to get them here…. just a small detail!

 

update:  Guy with a truck – a very large truck…. 

      

…Now to get them unloaded….  clearly I didn’t think this totally through…

Strawberries I think….

…. should go in here..  no…  maybe raspberries…  hhmmm…  well before anything is planted there has to be dirt!

The future is now…

Doesn’t look like much now but I see strawberries, raspberries and blueberry bushes along this fence and some wildflowers surrounding the concrete blocks!