Oh my! Where has the time gone?
Oh wait! I know!
Spring is finally here and I have been taking full advantage of it. I have my greenhouse frame in progress, the Hugelkultur bed almost ready for planting, my asparagus and rhubarb planted, and the holes dug for my raspberry bushes. We have also cut down some dying branches in the yard, and enjoyed our first fire Saturday evening.
Whew! Just looking back at all we have done is making me tired, but all that still needs to be done is more overwhelming. However, I have decided to cut back on the number of raised beds I build this year because I want to see how the Hugelkultur one performs first. I’ll be utilizing smaller planters, recycling some old tires, and am going to attempt a couple of self-watering containers. I think the latter will be ideal for peppers and some salad ingredients.
Another addition we have planned this summer is a deck. I’m looking forward to being able to enjoy the sun and shade without the danger of a garter snake slithering past my feet. Just the thought of them makes me shudder. (The fear of them goes back for as long as I can remember.) I haven’t quite decided if I want to plant climbing roses or grapes by the deck though. Or perhaps an espalier fruit tree.
The photos below show the progress of my 4 X 16 foot Hugelkultur bed, which will have a permanent home inside the greenhouse. As you can see the framework has not been covered with plastic yet, but hopefully I will get it done by mid-month. It needs a little more reinforcing and anchoring, then the plastic can be added. I firmly believe I’ll have to get up before the birds one morning (groan) and put on the plastic while it’s calm. (Can you tell I’m not a morning person?)
After I filled the bed, I laid weed barrier down around it to try and keep the grass and thistles down. The soil was brought in from the garden so hopefully some earthworms hitched a ride in the bucket as well. The soil settled considerably when I watered it so I will have to top it up before I plant in it. I’ll give it a few days to settle a little more, then top it up. By that time I should have the plastic on the frame and I can class it as a real greenhouse.
In the last photo you can see the black strip of ground beyond the frame. That is where I planted my asparagus, rhubarb, and also where the raspberry bushes are going. We won’t be harvesting any rhubarb or asparagus until 2022, but I’m looking forward to getting a few raspberries this summer. I’m also quite tempted to transplant a saskatoon tree to see how well it does. We have several along the road just south of our driveway, but they are quite difficult to get to. It would be great to have one in the yard.
I’m quite excited to transform our yard into the vision I have, even though it’s going to take longer than I’d like. I do suppose since Rome wasn’t built in a day I shouldn’t expect our yard to be either.
Have you tried the Hugelkultur method of raised bed gardening? Let me know in the comment section below.
Thanks, and happy gardening!