Apr
18
Written by:
Sherri
4/18/2009 8:40 PM
First step....MOW the pasture! Here's Ted and Joshua.....mowing. 
At first, we had thought of putting the garden on the other side of the old barn...but that's out of sight, out of mind. When I looked out my kitchen window, just a few feet away was the perfect spot for the garden.....IN THE PASTURE!! It will be very easy to look out and see what needs attention, as well as check on what the boys are SUPPOSED to be doing out there. 
So, here we are out in the pasture measuring our bed dimensions and trying to get it square. We had read in a magazine article that you don't want beds any deeper than 3 1/2 to 4 feet. We chose 4 feet to make it easier to calculate. At this particular point, we made it 11 feet wide, but have changed that to be 12 feet...again to make it easier to calculate. Starting a brand-new garden gives one tremendous opportunity to ponder, think and select a design. Add to that, the discussions with our friends who have already started gardens, the possibilities were almost endless. However, the decision was easy considering the shape of our land and wanting to make it easy to expand the size in future years. We are starting with a rectangle bed, 4x12, and will probably have three of those in one rectangle length.
Another opportunity presented itself in putting a garden in the pasture, how do you get into it?
You cut the barbed wire and put in a gate! Here Joshua (with James supervising)is mixing the cement for the newly dug gate post. He is using his grandpa Bennie's wheelbarrow, which was inherited by me a few years ago! That wheelbarrow has been used and used and still keeps on going.
Ted and Jonathan are digging out the rye and Bermuda. We spent the rest of the day digging out this grass for just HALF of this first bed of 4x12! We have now decided to NOT dig the rest of the grass out, but instead to put down a layer of cardboard on top of the other half and try to kill it out. So right off the bat we've got Test Plot #1 and Test Plot #2. Wonder which one will have less grass to weed out?
A few days after we finished this step, it rained. When we woke up, we saw our newly dug bed of soil completely under water. Knowing that little plants don't like their feet wet, we implemented another change in our design. RAISED BEDS! When the beds are finished, we will have (3) beds, each 4x12 to put down on top of Test Plot #1 (bare soil), Test Plot #2 (cardboard on top of grass), Test Plot #3 (haven't decided if this one will be different). So, that's our garden to this point. Check back and see how long it takes us to actually get some plants in the ground 
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