The Boys Are In Heaven

 

Tell me you have boys, without telling me you have boys.

Yep, pretty much handprints all over everything.

They work for their keep around here let me tell you.

No slackers allowed around here.

I'm ready for anything!

They are still at it.

The first causality of the day.

Thought I might sneak a little break in the hammock...

Nope, not this time Wammy.

We just want to get in there and help.

Today he had the patience of Job.

They wanted to take their shirts off just like Murph.

And they worked their little hearts out!

We don't need shovels to move all this dirt.

Well maybe on second thought we might.

But on second thought.

A job well done.

There will be two more beds in the middle.  Can't waste all that space.

Last Of The Raised Beds

 decided to take down the old door.  I was sad to see it go but everyone else cheered.

 

Murph had no trouble tearing it down.

Or breaking it up.

Ready for tonight.

Ahhh...

I am his assistant.  I get to catch all the cut pieces and throw them in the wheelbarrow.

These are for veggies but we have yet to determine what goes in them.

I'm holding out for one flower bed in this bunch.

We still need to figure out the middle section's layout.

Murph tilled down the middle section and we shoveled the dirt into the boxes.  Still thinking about the center section.

He Is At It Again

 Today it was cold! and rainy.  I get a text from Murph and this is it...

Pressure-treated wood is all cut and ready to assemble for the LAST raised bed garden on NottaLotta Farm!

Next, I get this...' They are all completed.  I'm on my way to your house.  But I am going to need help because these suckers are really heavy.'

In just a little bit he drove up in his work van and unloaded everything by himself.  I did pick up two pieces that weren't heavy at all.  They were what was left of the wood that he didn't use.

Those are my two little pieces on the smaller bed on the left.  He said he had to take the work van back but he would be back in 10 minutes.

I was watching for the girls to get off the bus so I got a few bird's eye shots from the bedroom window.

It is raining and he still doesn't stop.

There is still some work to do...dig up all the flowers in the bed on the right, remove a few bricks to level the bed, make a bed for the middle area, and of course till and fill.

The door comes down.  Does anyone want a free door? Let me know ASAP because I will put it down by the street and I am sure someone will grab it.

Look how perfectly aligned the edges of these two beds are.  Murph and I would be the only ones to notice if they weren't like that.  See the stakes in the middle area?  That is the LAST bed to be made.

I'll transplant some more hosta or something else under the bush that Murph and I macassared.  Don't worry it will come back and be beautiful.

Check out that cutout that goes around the fence post.  As soon as I get the flowers dug up Murph will assemble the bed.  And I have to search for bricks, rocks, and pavers before we can run the tiller.

In my mind right now I am thinking this could be filled with several varieties of sunflowers...Sunflower Lane.

Once the building is all said and done I am going to have to count the number of raised beds there are in the backyard.  I think I am going to be shocked.  

I feel sure if the lady's softball games hadn't been canceled and the weather had been a little better things would look a lot different than they do right now.  Tomorrow is another day and another story.

Murph is a machine and he is a bit crazy!

The VERY LAST Garden

 

Last year this was our cornfield.

In the bird's eye view, you can see that it is about dumping ground for everything we take out of the other gardens and store until we need them.  It has been driving Murph to death.  He is bound and determined to have the perimeter of the yard lined with raised beds.  I have to say it does look pretty amazing with and without veggies.

The yahoos and I worked pulling some weeds and removing rocks one day last week.

And then Murph came over on the day I had eye surgery.  See him in the corner...you know the man with no shirt on.

All cleaned out and ready for raised vegetable and flower beds.  Still need to dig up the scarlet honeysuckle and replant it on the other side of the fence.

We still need to pull up pavers to be used as a walkway and remove rocks so the tiller doesn't hit them.

This is what we hope it looks like in the near future.  It is going to be awesome.  We are going to love it and we don't even know it yet.

NOTE....the only area left for raised beds on the perimeter of the yard is where we blow our leaves and WE WILL NOT BE PUTTING A BED IN THERE...right Murph?  But he is talking bout a worm farm and a compost tea-making area to go in there.

Garden Surprises

 

I found this on one of the gardening sites that I read on Facebook.

It's all about the journey!

Potatoes peeking out.

It took a bit but all the rows have potatoes in them.  I can't wait until the harvest to see what we get.  It is about time to cover them again.

I found seven of these little volunteers way over in the paper bed from last year.  I'm thinking cucumber but we will just have to wait and see.

I can hardly believe it.  The boys planted white pumpkin seeds and one is actually coming up.

The chives are getting ready to bloom.

Our only snap pea so far.

cucumber?

Whatever they are I planted them in the yahoos bed.  We may be transplanting them somewhere else when we figure out exactly what they are.

Here We Go Again

 After seeing what has been done in the backyard, Michael suggested that we rename the 'farm' from Notta Lotta Farm to Lotta Farm.  Murph has been at it again!

What a beautiful day to work in the garden.  The weather was perfect as long as you were working but the minute you stopped to rest...and I stopped several times...you got a little chill.  Murph loves a good raised bed.  He doesn't like to waste a spot of usable garden space. So we 'planted' 18 new raised beds in what was the old pumpkin patch.

What better way to celebrate Earth  Day than to make raised beds from repurposed wood crates.  We hope they will last a few years before they need to be repaired because they are not made of treated lumber.

This is how we roll around here.  Leveling Murph style.

Digging the trench to place the bed in.  Murph would dig with garden implements.  Then it was my turn to clear out the trench.  I just used my good old hands.  I work better that way these days.

The perimeter is almost finished.  Now it is time to till up that good soil and fill the boxes.  And Murph loves to use the tiller and make powdery soil.

Count them.  16 beds!  I know that strawberries will go in the three short beds in the center.  We will be mapping out what goes in the rest.  Oh, see the space in the two corners?  Today Murph came over to measure the 'waisted space' for two more itty bitty beds.  So that actually will make the total 18 BEDS!!! Don't tell him but I might plant flowers in them.  You know for the pollinators.  As we were taking this picture it began to rain.  Thank you Jesus for holding off so we could get this project finished.

You are looking at two very tired and very sore gardeners.  But boy are we happy!!!

We still need to figure out what to put in the paths but I think Mark has an idea for that.

Want to see the VERY LAST garden spot on the perimeter of the yard...(except for the back fence which is the yahoo area and he can't have that...yet!)

Right now it is the catch-all for the bamboo and tomato cages.  The little raised bed is going to be moved to the back raised bed area right beside the Yahoo's raised bed garden.  We have already removed the old split-rail fence.  Hopefully, this week I will be able to work on removing the rocks that are in there as well as the flowers. Murph is going to figure out a new configuration for the watering system.

We are going to love it and we don't even know it yet!

said proudly by Murph

A Very Funny Story

 

I grabbed this from someone else's Facebook page.  When I am in the garden I really don't care what I look like...just ask Mark and Murph.  I am there to work...no a beauty pageant for me.

So here is a great example of my garden hair.  But the funny story happened the other night during Whiz Kids with Connor.

We were reading a cute story and there was a grandma in the story.   We were reading the picture and I ask Connor how he knew that the grandma was in the picture on the page.  He looked me straight in the eyes and said, I kid you not, 'Wammy she has cracks in her face just like you!'  I cracked up laughing and I thought Bridgit was going to lose it right there!  I will never ever EVER forget that as long as I live!  Guess I need to use more wrinkle (crack) cream.