15,000 Square Foot Urban Farm Goes Portable | Your Olive Branch News – yobo

15,000 Square Foot Urban Farm Goes Portable | Your Olive Branch News – yobo.

Rain Barrel Question?

I was reading Your Farm in the City by Lisa  Taylor and  there was information stating that rainwater from rooftops might be toxic.  Any one ever hear such a thing?   I have  two 300 gallon barrels and would hate to think that the water in them could be toxic.  I do use it for my vegetable garden.  Advice anyone?

Big water saver for little $$$.

The Garden Coffin

So named because it looks like a big coffin laying in the backyard.  To bad we have no trick or treat traffic because it could have easily been turned into a scary Halloween feature.

Finished Garden Coffin

Hubby finally finished it last week. He did a great job!  Then came the realization that the dogs could jump into it, let’s hope that they won’t once plants are in it.  Then we realized the idea of using the fence for the climber crops of the garden was not well thought out.  We will just be giving the deer free rein at our vegetable garden buffet!  Come on Bambi….sidle up here to the all you can eat grazing bar. Unlimited vegetables just for you and your friends.

Then after he lined it with weedblocker and plastic on the sides to keep the dirt in, the dog jumped in…chasing a strange dog along the fence line that he was used to running around.  Damn people went and put this raised bed in my way…..no way, in I go…see mom…just try to mess up MY yard! 

Chester

 

The Garden Coffin w/Compost

So now it’s time to get some organic material in it.  That should keep Chester out.  So I truck my brewing compost  over and into the coffin…that is all ready with the nice weedblocker bottom and the plastic on the sides.  I get a good layer on the bottom, enough for one days work.  I do though lament over whether I should have put hardware cloth on the bottom, but I have not had a problem with critters down below so I couldn’t justify the work or the money.

Well if only the dog had not jumped in chasing the stray along the fence, and I had not trucked all the fill to keep him out.  I  would have found out that hardware cloth was necessary.  Next day our jack russell mix is out there sniffing n digging, so out I go to check out why.  I almost fall into the garden coffin, the ground is all squishy in front of it.  Damn moles tunneling under the garden coffin!  Now I will have to find out what will drive those pesky moles away before spring.

Ruby

Told y’all in the beginning the NC dirt was gonna be the death of me. If it happens soon I can become part of the “organic compost”, in my garden coffin! 🙂