basil night

Apparently there was one zinnia that didn't die from the aphid attack - this zinnia snuck out of the greenhouse and into the Handyman's yard in a basil tray (so says the Handyman).



Go on and pick your basil - we're making pesto tomorrow.

The reason we're making pesto tomorrow night is because I had every intention of making pesto tonight, yet it just didn't happen. I made a big dinner instead.  All of the leaves are off the stems now though. That will put us ahead of the game when we start tomorrow.

  

raised bed supermodel

Quick fire update: Everything looks good.  There's still smoldering in the trees, and the helicopters were running all day long.  But, I think it looks good.  There's lots of wind tonight, and I'm hoping that doesn't cause the evening fire behavior to be really active.... I suppose I can step outside in the morning and see just what the wind has brought.

In the meantime, I thought I'd post pictures of that fabulous raised bed.   I've decided that the raised bed is quite photogenic.  Truly the supermodel of the gardening world.

Every time I walk in the Handyman's backyard, I covet this raised bed.  Have I mentioned that before?  I do.  I want that fancy, supermodel-esque raised bed.

And his eggplant.  Mine are mostly from seed, and the two I got from the farmer's market were gotten earlier than the two in the Handyman's bed (they're the two broad leaf plants by the entrance to the center part of the bed).  I really hope there's lots of eggplant.  It's the first year we've tried, but between what's in my garden and his, I'm hoping there are several to put away for the winter.

The Handyman threw a piece of particle board on side to use as a temporary shelf for starts.

Once everything went into the ground (or the compost pile for the stuff that was semi-forgotten and dried from lack of water), there was no need for the shelf.

The next step of the project is to put pavers in the middle of the raised bed.  The rototiller is prepping the ground, and I suppose those pavers will make their way in soon.

raised bed: got dirt? or exposure?

Due to resourceful dirt-gathering round his house and the neighborhood as well as some questionable estimations of what a cubic yard is (by the friendly dozer drivers at ekocompost), the handyman is almost done with his prized raised bed. You can't tell in the photo, but the side of the bed closest to his neighbor's garage needs a little more dirt. No matter though. There are tomatoes and squashes and cabbage and peppers that don't seem to care that the bed they're in is slightly unmade.

I know I should include some better pictures at different angles... It's a little embarassing since I've owned my camera for... um... a while. I'll admit, today was my first day to shoot in manual mode and actually have any clue about what I was doing. Not that a clue helped me get a good picture, but I was concentrating so hard on those pesky settings that I forgot to take more pics... Okay, okay, you got me. I got frustrated and said to heck with it. It's going to get worse before it gets better, but I've got a good coach (sometimes it's annoying just how handy that handyman is... I adore him anyway).

Just in case you're curious, that raised bed holds somewhere around 5 cubic yards of golden brown stuff.

raised bed is done... with amenities

Here's a picture of what the raised bed looked like this weekend:




Here's a picture of what it looks like now:




And in case you can't see what's posted on the wall at the back edge and in the middle:







Power and water.

aren't those raised beds done yet?

Despite the fact that my helpful hands are in Tuscon, there's actually been lots of progress on the raised bed - the handyman sent me photos to prove it. Okay, okay. My hands really aren't that helpful when it comes to swinging hammers, but I want to point out that even the handyman didn't have to swing a hammer with that fancy-pants nail gun/air compressor he borrowed.

Speaking of helpful hands (mine in particular), anyone remember that wood from Craigslist? Well, it's being put to good use as the walls of the raised bed.





And just to be clear, we don't have stock in ekocompost. That whole 20" high space won't be filled by dirt. There'll be a walking space starting at the little opening on the side (the side that looks like it goes into the yard). There are several walls to come on the inside so the final shape will look like a fancy "c."

So, the answer to the earlier question is "not yet, but soon!"

raised beds are coming along...

There isn't much progress to report, but Emma was sweet enough to pose for this one so I'm putting it up anyway.

raised beds parts 2 & 3

"Where is part one?" you might ask.... hmmm... well, I've accepted the chaos, folks, and pictures are getting lost. That's just that.

Follow me anyway. (And, Mom, if you ask for one of these for your birthday, don't tell Dad where you got the idea.)

Part one has pictures of sod coming up... use your imagination here.

Next, there's some dirt... and some holes.  Aren't I helpful?

The handyman is pretty particular about how he builds things.  My version of a raised bed would be "artistically" asymmetrical - I think that's why I'm taking pictures and not helping on this one.

I found this little guy to be particularly interesting. I've seen a level before (and I actually know how to use it), but I haven't seen this little string leveler. SUPER handy.

I'm not the best "how-to" documentarian because I can't really remember what the handyman is doing here. I believe this was before I was tasked with scooting the leveler-thingy around while the handyman made chalk marks on the posts but after the first round of concrete was watered.  Don't quote me.





I forgot to mention that not only is part 1 missing, but I haven't taken pictures of part 4 yet - and then the sides finally go on and the dirt comes in. Seems like forever till we get some plants in there, but I think we'll make by the "last-average-frost" date (and by we, I mean the handyman).