2nd Bed, Compost, and Anti-doggie fence

After a few weeks, of a little watering and nurturing, things seemed to be coming along well. But we had quite a bit of soil left, so I wanted to build another bed! This time, I had read "All New Square Foot Gardening" by Mel Bartholomew. So I had realized that I only needed a 6" deep bed to sufficiently grow most veggies!! And also discovered that I didn't need to rip up the previous sod, I could just put down the weed barrier over it, and that would be fine! Whew, I was excited for it to be even easier this time.

So I went and picked up 2"x6" cedar boards. 2-3' pieces, and 2-6' pieces to make a 3'x6'X6" bed. This time I used long wood screws and a power drill, instead of hammer and nails. I found it to be WAY more simple, and a lot more sturdy. This bed I put together by myself, with no help from the Hubby.  Then filled it with the remaining dirt, and also had enough left over to fill a cedar half-barrel for strawberries!

We bought a plastic compost bin, for about $40. I had been looking for one on Craigslist, but couldn't find one that was cheap enough, and what we wanted, close by. That was easy to put together, and I just put the first stuff in there the other day! Dried grass clippings, kitchen scraps, and shredded paper. Can't wait to see it turn into "Black Gold", and also am looking forward to creating less waste as a household, and too saving a little money. We've been recycling most of our waste, and barely fill our small city trash can. So I'm going to call and have them pick it up. And we will just run to the dump every few weeks for the stuff we can't compost, or recycle. (Mostly baby waste)

We bought wire fencing, and metal posts, as well. Which was the least expensive option to keep our stinking dogs out of the gardens! Toad, our female Rot-Pit mix, loves the feeling of moist soil in between her toes. Syrus, our male rednose Pitbull, feels compelled to pee on the corners of the bed everytime we let him outside! So I am happy to have barricaded them out of 'my side of the yard'!

I put in a trellis on the north side of the deep garden for vining plants, and followed directions I found in 'Square Foot Gardening'. Using electric conduit, rebar, and garden netting. It was super easy to put together, and they cut the piping to length right there at Lowe's!