5 time-saving garden tools - MSN Real Estate

5 time-saving garden tools - MSN Real Estate



Some of these tools look pretty wild.

How To Start Your Own Compost

Does this sound good to anyone? Is there anything else to compost creation we should be aware of?

Nothing to Dismay

After many helpful responses from reddit and google plus, it would appear our crops will be just fine. The peas and radishes should survive this cold snap just fine, and the little bit of snow should not harm the new plants.

A small amount of snow remains

No snow here

It would appear we have growth.

I would like to thank everyone that responded with strategies to deal with sudden shifts in weather, which can happen here in New England. I also appreciate everyone's ideas about how to improve drainage in the garden, along with soil recipes to promote solid crop growth.

Disaster?

In a revolting turn of events, winter has made a return to Connecticut. It dipped below freezing and I awoke to a snowy, slushy accumulated mess.

I am hoping and optimistic that the new plants can handle this weather. The peas are relatively higher than the rest of the garden, so I believe they may have survived the current situation. The radishes, which were really taking off, seem to have received the worst. There is almost a half an inch of snow covering the row. 

The sun is currently shining, and it is now above the freezing mark. I will conduct a reexamination at lunchtime. 

Gutter Garden

This sounds like a fun project.

Not Quite a Monsoon

Wow, is it raining today. After being out of town yesterday, I was very anxious to get back into the garden. The weather, however, will prevent any outdoor activities today. During a lull in the deluge, I did sneak out quickly to check any progress that occurred during my absence.

The radishes are taking off with a vengeance. Almost the entire row is sprouting and will need to be thinned shortly. Peas are going as well, with more breaking the surface.

I am concerned with the standing water in the garden. Although we did our best to level the area, the water highlights the low spots and I fear this torrential rain will wash away the smaller seeds. Drainage has always been a problem here, especially in this small garden.

Does anyone have any suggestions for promoting drainage? If you do, please leave a message in the comments. Anything to say? Please leave comments and suggestions.

BEETS!

We have beet action! It's too dark (and too scary) to take a photo.

BEETS!

Activity in the Garden

Although the weather is picking up here in Connecticut, it has not exactly been great. It has been a lot warmer but not as sunny, with temperatures ranging from the 50's up to almost 70. I have not been holding much hope for the seeds to germinate, but what a surprise! Lucas came inside and said the radishes have started to grow.

Is that a radish I see before me?

Peas!

Construction Complete

The shed is done! We can paint and then load it. I am proud of both Connor and Lucas as it could not have been completed without their help. I do not think they understand how much their help and maturity is both required and appreciated.

Here it is!

Waiting for Paint

Not Quite Gardening...

I know this post will not be about the garden, but it is an outdoor project involving a kind of vegetation. OK, it is dead vegetation, but as this is my only venue, I will share it anyway.

We need a place for our firewood. As of now, it is stacked on our patio, under a roof to keep it out of the elements. As springtime looms, we need that space for dinners and entertaining. Therefore, another solution is required. We decided to build a small structure to hold all the wood, at least a cord, and have some sort of roof to keep the rain and snow away. Perhaps the biggest consideration was the new structure's location. The shed needed to be built near where the wood is delivered to minimize its movement.

A dozen or so 2x4's, some 1x3's, plywood, and a little paint from Home Depot were all we needed to get this project underway.

Although not 100% complete, we have only an hour of construction left. We should definitely finish tomorrow.

That time frame does not consider painting, nor does it take into account moving all the firewood.

Second Verse

Year 2 of the garden brought high hopes and higher aspirations. Despite mediocre results from the previous year, I had big plans. Examination of the area immediately behind our currently fenced garden revealed landscaping fabric below a layer of leaves and loose earth. It appears previous tenants had a garden here. This garden, however, was enormous compared to our established gardening area. At 15 feet by 40 feet, it easily dwarfs the old garden.

Further clearing of the land revealed a slew of PVC pipes with a point cut into one end. Nearby were rolls of plastic fencing. I could not believe our luck. With a little money and a little more plastic, we had a working fence. Although not nearly as pretty as the existing one, it would be more than adequate. Due to the increased size, we would require some sort of motorized tiller, as doing it by hand was much too daunting. Out of necessity, a rototiller made its way into our garage. It performed admirably.

Planting this year was so much fun. With all the extra real estate, the seed choices seemed endless. We tried different varieties of tomatoes, and I had always wanted to try to plant corn. Unfortunately, the results were less than spectacular. No corn, and very few other vegetables came to fruition. Still, the boys put in many hours of planting and seeding, keeping them outside for hours.

I do feel that every misstep is a learning experience. If we take that as a truism, we learned volumes this season.

Why do these neighbors have such long faces?

I know this has nothing to do with gardening, but I can see these guys from my garden.

A Brief History

A little background is always helpful, and that is what I hope to provide.

When we moved into this house a few years ago, we loved the amount of open space. For a rental property, Lisa and I thought it would be a good place to raise our two boys. There is plenty of room, and with this amount of  room comes a variety of outdoor chores which are good for young men.

We began that first year with minimal goals in mind. A simple garden in which we could get a few vegetables and provide a source of physical work for the children. The land seemed to give up only one spot that received sun and did not seem to require too much clearing. With no real power tools to speak of, everything was to be accomplished by hand. Turning the soil was an ordeal, but the overall square footage was small. The garden finally weighed in at nine feet by twenty feet. Small enough to be manageable, yet large enough to do some serious planting.

A fence would be required next.  Being on a limited budget, we used what we could find around the house. With a little scrap lumber left over from work and some creative input, a rather sound fence was constructed. Despite being inexpensive, it served its purpose and has held up well, even after multiple seasons of crazy New England weather.

The results were less than spectacular. There were peas and a squash or two, but the radishes never came to pass. The tomato plants we had purchased gave minimal fruit. Still, there were enough positives to offset any negatives, and I would call our first attempt at gardening a success.

Seeding, not leeching

It is a beautiful day for gardening, or at least I thought. Grabbing the tiller from the garage and walking all the way to the garden brought a feeling of late spring.  There was almost no breeze and a smell of baseball in the air.  I saw Lisa exit the house, stop, and disappear back inside.  Emerging with her winter hat on, I began to rethink my perception of the weather.

I had the remaining half of the garden completely turned over by the time she grabbed her tools and reached the garden. Without delay, we tore into the packages of seeds purchased this morning at the local Home Depot. Beets, peas, onions, and radishes were all planted today.  We left enough room between rows of individual vegetables so we are not inundated with a single type when it is time to harvest.

Like the hat?

Lisa adding signs to the garden.

And it begins...

Here we are, the first week of April and although still chilly at night, it is time to get into the garden.  Even though we have enjoyed the garden in previous years, time constraints and other summer activities prevented any activity in the garden last year.  Mother Nature, as is her way, began retaking the land so carefully tilled and maintained by the entire family.  With a little effort and hard work, we reclaimed the land taken so gradually from us.

Lisa is beginning the task of finding the soil underneath all the detritus.

As you can also see in the picture, the fence is in need of repair.  The fence is functional, despite its bare bone design.  All the posts were still intact so there was only minor repairs needed, except for the door.  It looked much worse than it really was.

One broken door

One repaired door

Once the leaves and other ground coverings were removed, it was time to till the soil.

Unfortunately, it was starting to get dark so only half the garden was tilled.  Still, the ground is clear with all major malfunctions removed.  The soil looks good and the fence is complete, ready to repel the most rambunctious rascal.