While watching my Saturday shows, I saw this on a gardening show: And I was reminded of an article I read about building raised beds with concrete block. And it just so happens I have one bed that needs to be rebuilt and another that might last this coming season and that's it. The cost of a pallet of 8x8x16 block is still a lot cheaper than the lumber to get the bed height I want. Stay tuned.
@walt How's the wild flower project going? We're thinking of doing something similar next year in the backyard of the new place. Any pointers?
The first year was a smashing success. I purchased the same amount as last year and will be planting almost as big an area as last year ( my plans are a few posts back. ) My number one tip would be don’t skimp on the seed. Last year my Dad planted an area but bought the wildflower seed at Walmart I think. He ended up having to replant using the same mix I bought from American Meadows. It ain’t cheap, but the results were got spoke for themselves. American Meadows is a company I saw on the PBS show “Growing A Greener World.” You can check their site out here and it is loaded with information. Basically I ran a set of drags over the ground repeatedly to loosen the soil, pretty much preparing the ground like you would a garden. As recommended I mixed the seed with play sand which helps disperse the seed evenly as well as show you where you spread it already. Then walk away and hope for rain. They’re native wildflowers, they know what to do. If you or anyone has specific question I’m happy to try and answer them but the truth is I’m generally making things up as I go along.
I tried to do something similar a couple of years ago but didn't prep the seeds properly... and it totally failed. Did some research (read the instructions?) and realized I needed to soak and prep the seeds for a few weeks before planting. Yeah... no... I didn't do that. Looking to retry this year in the small section of my back yard.
Ah yes. Depending on what species and where the seeds come from that may be necessary. Milkweed is a good example. It needs to be kept in freezing temps to replicate being on the ground over winter in the wild. American Meadows does all of that where needed. But honestly all I had to do was spread the seed and walk away from it. I was going to get a pump and run a line from the nearby creek for irrigation but decided it was too much expense for such a large area. So I let Nature do its thing.
Round one of seed planting done. This is mostly perennial flowers, medicinal and culinary herbs, and sweet peppers. Once I round up some more pots, the hot peppers and a few spring starts will be planted like bok choy, Swiss Chard, sugar snaps. I plan to directly seed some cosmos and lettuce today outside. I got a lot of rock and landscaping fabric pulled out last fall. The front beds will all be flowers and herbs. The back veggie patch will be more orderly and less congested. Wish me luck.
I never knew I could be so giddy about bugs, but here we are. There's a patch of land down the road from us that's absolutely LOADED with milkweed, as well as wild mint. It's where I dug up some milkweed last year until that felt like too much work and I decided, "Screw this." It's a little less than 1/4 mile from my house: Our county highway department is doing a project that requires them to have access to our land. Since I was so nice about it ( apparently not everyone is ) they're going to go above and beyond, which includes putting in a culvert pipe for me so I can continue to have easy access to the rest of the land. Anyway, one of the guys stopped back today to let me know they'd be starting next week. We got to talking and I mentioend that little plot of land down the road and how it'd be great if they didn't mow it. He mentioned that they only have 25' right of way from the center of the road, and if I put out "Do Not Mow" signs, they wouldn't. I reached out to the landowner ( it's his childhood home, but the house is abandoned ) who said he was fine with me doing that as well as mowing the right of way section so the signs are plainly visible. I went down and took some measurements this evening from the road and it works perfectly. Where I will have to mow, maybe 10-13 ft off the road, doesn't even begin to touch where the majority of milkweed grows. This makes me insanely happy. Between this, my ever expanding wildflower field, as well as what my brother and parents are doing a mile up the road, is a good thing. I'm trying to get others to do likewise where and when they can.
The mint is just cool because it's tasty. But the milkweed is essential for the Monarch Butterfly. It's where they lay their eggs because it's the only thing the caterpillars eat. Unfortunately because of habitat loss, there's not as much as there used to be. Same with the Monarch Butterflies. When I was a kid they were everywhere but not anymore. ( Same with fireflies, and I'm working on that too. ) My brother tells me this patch of land is a haven for them. He and my nephew went there a few years ago to find the eggs so the boy could see them hatch and feed them before they went into chrysalis. Here's some more reading from Joe Lamp'l, who I'm a big fan of.