We have seen our first true sign of headway this week. With a break in the weather we got the itch to get out and get dirty, and for those familiar with Nevada peanut butter mud, we accomplished this.
First, we measured out our main growing area and meticulously staked out five 20'x4' beds running north to south. Using twine to keep clean, straight lines will help when building the raised frames, later. For those that are as horrible with numbers as I am, that 400 sq. ft. that will ultimately serve as our primary growing space for veggies. We hope at some point to equip these beds with removable hoops for extended season growing. But first things first.
Next came a secondary bed on the SE side of the yard. This space is very important to us as it receives very good sun for the heat loving varieties of peppers, tomatoes and summer squash. We cleared the space of pre-existing gravel, a job that I quickly found requires an advanced level of patience that doesn't run in my family. Then we tilled the soil with shovel and fork to loosen and aerate.
To our surprise we found a prolific amount of earth worms in this space which we plan to keep as happy as possible with frequent feedings of cow shit and compost...easy dinner guests. Lastly, we surrounded the bed with rock to keep the bed nicely defined. With access on all sides, the bed will never become stepped upon and compacted by anyone who knows whats good for em, allowing plant roots easy access to burrow through the loamy soil and also permitting good drainage. With a few amendments this bed will be ready for planting come spring. We estimate this bed to be about 100 sq. ft. Bringing us to 500 sq. ft. thus far.
After seeing some early, tangible progress we got excited to begin accumulating materials. One of our goals with this project is to keep out of pocket expenditures to a
minimum by utilizing cheap to free resources around town. We owe a huge thank you to Shanna's mom Melody, Chris , Sal and their company Truckee Tahoe Lumber for finding us an amazing amount of very nice lumber from their ugly pile"dunnage". This stuff may not be suitable for building houses but its perfect for building raised beds. Total cost- 1 six pack for the delivery driver.
Then we headed over to J&L Windows to ask if they had a similar "bone pile". To our delight they had a slue of various sized windows laying out back waiting for their unfortunate demise in the dumpster. These are old windows that were pulled from their many job sights, replaced with new ones, and to our appreciation they allowed us whatever we wanted. So now we have the beginnings for some cold frames, which are, essentially, mini green houses that will allow us to start seeds and harden off young starts earlier in spring and later in fall. Total cost- nada!
Earlier on we decided to get a head start on making some compost, partly due to our over flowing kitchen scraps container, so we made a few composting cylinders by wrapping some chicken wire together. Until we establish a more permanent location these serve as an easy way to contain our compost and allow for fairly quick decomposition.
But as all good crap pile owners know, you have to have a good amount of mature, dry plant matter (carbon) to mix with your greens and kitchen scraps...this creates a more healthy carbon to nitrogen ratio for your plants enjoyment. Not yet producing our own carbon compost material, we found a cattle and hay farmer down south that had some really good second cutting bales, which means little to no seed that could make for a weed laden garden later. We bought two 100lb bales and some local honey as a little treat for all our hard work.
Total cost- $15
For those who don't already know, there are some wonderful cattle ranches around here that sell very clean. very healthy, very tasty, happy grass fed beef without any of the funny cancerous stuff...beef the way your Grandfolks ate it.
So, that's where we are now. Its been a fun and exciting week as we watch the beginning steps unfold before us. Hope this little scribble finds all of you out there well and in good spirit. Until next time.
First, we measured out our main growing area and meticulously staked out five 20'x4' beds running north to south. Using twine to keep clean, straight lines will help when building the raised frames, later. For those that are as horrible with numbers as I am, that 400 sq. ft. that will ultimately serve as our primary growing space for veggies. We hope at some point to equip these beds with removable hoops for extended season growing. But first things first.
Next came a secondary bed on the SE side of the yard. This space is very important to us as it receives very good sun for the heat loving varieties of peppers, tomatoes and summer squash. We cleared the space of pre-existing gravel, a job that I quickly found requires an advanced level of patience that doesn't run in my family. Then we tilled the soil with shovel and fork to loosen and aerate. 
To our surprise we found a prolific amount of earth worms in this space which we plan to keep as happy as possible with frequent feedings of cow shit and compost...easy dinner guests. Lastly, we surrounded the bed with rock to keep the bed nicely defined. With access on all sides, the bed will never become stepped upon and compacted by anyone who knows whats good for em, allowing plant roots easy access to burrow through the loamy soil and also permitting good drainage. With a few amendments this bed will be ready for planting come spring. We estimate this bed to be about 100 sq. ft. Bringing us to 500 sq. ft. thus far.
After seeing some early, tangible progress we got excited to begin accumulating materials. One of our goals with this project is to keep out of pocket expenditures to a 
minimum by utilizing cheap to free resources around town. We owe a huge thank you to Shanna's mom Melody, Chris , Sal and their company Truckee Tahoe Lumber for finding us an amazing amount of very nice lumber from their ugly pile"dunnage". This stuff may not be suitable for building houses but its perfect for building raised beds. Total cost- 1 six pack for the delivery driver.
Then we headed over to J&L Windows to ask if they had a similar "bone pile". To our delight they had a slue of various sized windows laying out back waiting for their unfortunate demise in the dumpster. These are old windows that were pulled from their many job sights, replaced with new ones, and to our appreciation they allowed us whatever we wanted. So now we have the beginnings for some cold frames, which are, essentially, mini green houses that will allow us to start seeds and harden off young starts earlier in spring and later in fall. Total cost- nada!
Earlier on we decided to get a head start on making some compost, partly due to our over flowing kitchen scraps container, so we made a few composting cylinders by wrapping some chicken wire together. Until we establish a more permanent location these serve as an easy way to contain our compost and allow for fairly quick decomposition. 
But as all good crap pile owners know, you have to have a good amount of mature, dry plant matter (carbon) to mix with your greens and kitchen scraps...this creates a more healthy carbon to nitrogen ratio for your plants enjoyment. Not yet producing our own carbon compost material, we found a cattle and hay farmer down south that had some really good second cutting bales, which means little to no seed that could make for a weed laden garden later. We bought two 100lb bales and some local honey as a little treat for all our hard work.
Total cost- $15
For those who don't already know, there are some wonderful cattle ranches around here that sell very clean. very healthy, very tasty, happy grass fed beef without any of the funny cancerous stuff...beef the way your Grandfolks ate it.
So, that's where we are now. Its been a fun and exciting week as we watch the beginning steps unfold before us. Hope this little scribble finds all of you out there well and in good spirit. Until next time.
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