Hooray for Rent-A-Son Services!!!

So C texted me, late yesterday afternoon, to let me know he wasn't working today and "Would I like some help with the garden?"

Sh*t howdy YES!!

So he showed up - bright-and-early - at 11:00am (Hey - he's young!  I remember when 11:00am was "early!")

I felt kinda bad because - just a few weeks ago - I had him break-down the straw-bales and pile 'em at the opposite end of the Garden-Yard.  No easy feat given that this particular yard is something of an Obstacle-Course - with Killer-Fruit-Trees aplenty ("You'll put your eye out!"), and meandering paths, and Kamikaze Bees.  Plus - when he moved the bales - he broke 'em apart so they were gonna be doubly-difficult to transport back!

Anyway, he used the wheelbarrow and completed it in no-time.  Added bonus: With it approaching high-noon, with the sun directly overhead, and the bed site being *the* hottest location in the yard???  Well, Thank Gawd for Rent-A-Son-Services!!!

Last year's Straw-Bale-Fail
Recycled into *this* year's new raised bed

Now the straw is "mostly" rotted, but still pretty "recognizable" (as you can plainly see).  Nevertheless, I did want to use it as "filler" in the bed - and minimize the qty of soil I had to buy.  Not sure if that'll turn out to be a good idea or not - but we'll see, right?

I figured it'd be best to toss some composted Steer Manure on top of the straw - to bump-up the nitrogen and help facilitate decomposition.  In retrospect, I'm wondering if I should have also added blood meal.  Hmmm...

2 Cubic Feet of composted (bagged) Steer Manure

Then, Bagged Organic Planting Mix on top of that (12 cubic feet)

We ended up paying a princely sum at Home Depot.  But I just wasn't up for a trip to Lyngso, today...

Well, it looks pretty full!!!

C also staked my volunteer peach tree (I shoulda pruned it back in February - Oooops!).  It kept falling over and the (amazingly abundant) fruits were brushing the ground...

My plan is to water the hell out of the new bed (and yes, we've strung a drip-line/soaker hose out there).  I think I'll test the soil tomorrow (Thanks, Finny!), and I might still need to adjust the nitrogen a tad...

"Ideally" I would have set this bed up a few weeks ago, so it'd have a chance to "rest" and stabilize before planting.  Unfortunately - as you can see from yesterday's photos! - I'm not gonna have the luxury of "Time!"  I'm just gonna plant the sh*t (this week, during the cooler morning hours) and hope for the best!

Annnnd...  Not to worry, I'm gonna "Get My (Garden) Geek-on," and rig-up the time-lapse Plant-Cam so I can have a "video" later this season

Next up:  C helped "open" the Gazebo.  Mostly clean-up, but there was some "heavy-lifting" involved.  And some removal of dead-plants, and re-potting of plants in broken-pots, and sweeping-up of crap and yada-yada.  Looks *much* better now (and Hubs was most appreciative!) 

Lastly, we set-up a cheesy-wooden white-picket-fence around my "barnyard bed" - which is located in the "Resort" section of the yard - in front of the back gate and right next to Roly-Pig.  I am *hoping* that this fence is tall enough to deter the leaping/digging Destructo-Dogs (Yes.  Very "Hopeful" - but...).  Anyway, he also replaced the dog-chewed sprinkler line in that bed - and that's where my large-leafed-viney plants are gonna go.  Squashes, pumpkins and cukes...

New Droid RAZR pic - with Zoom.  Not bad, actually!

So...  All told, I would have to say that today was a *very* productive day!

(And boy, are my feet paying for it now!  Jeeeeeeezzzz!!!!)