13 June 2009

And we're back

We have internet access and garden info.


As you all might recall, this was our back yard when we bought our new home. I didn't think to lift the screen before I snapped this photo, but we can still get the general idea (actually the idea is not exactly general; it's a flippin' yard and the photo is fine).


This little tidbit is what's available at the bottom of the first photo...


...and this is where we are now. Four of the five beds are complete. All that's left is to box in the dug up swath at the left of the photo. We have all the wood, but it hasn't stopped raining long enough to get them all done. The four beds that are complete are also planted as well. Since we missed the early part of the season, we did miss out on some greens and peas and whatnot. What we do have in are tomatoes, hot and sweet peppers, summer squash, winter squash, cucumbers, green beans, carrots, parsnips, turnips, chard, flowers, and a boat load of herbs. Most of what is in has been direct seeded, so we won't really see the patchwork for another week or so.


I don't believe it would be right if we didn't give a grateful nod to the Bethlehem compost heap. As residents of the City of Bethlehem we have free access to a mountain of organic compost provided by the borough. The materials for this beautiful resource are supplied by the leaves from Fall clean up.

The rest of these photos were taken during random stages of the dig.








21 comments:

mick said...

And we're back

It's about time! Looking good!

el said...

Rock on! And look at that big butchy truck! Wow I could haul a lot of poop in something like that...

Congrats you two on the new digs. Can't wait to see if you hook up the rainbarrel system too! Looks like lots of sun back there...

(FYI you might need cripples spanning between the longest beds just to keep them from bowing out with the pressure of the soil inside; learn from my mistakes eh?)

Katie said...

Very cool. Glad to see you guys blogging again. Hoping it's a regular occurrence.

Daniel Shackelford said...

Welcome back! Great to see what you have done with the place. That compost looks awesome, and makes me thin we should pay a visit to the compost heap near us.

Clong said...

Looks great!

John said...

cant wait to get my hands on that compost myself

Kate said...

Very impressive! You guys rock! Are you having a housewarming party? We've got the lettuce for a killer salad. We're known to bring beer too...Just sayin'. Looking forward to seeing how your garden grows.

Anonymous said...

Congrats on all that hard work and the outcome! You're luck to have access to the compost, how did that start in your area? Can't wait to see how the garden develops.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

looking great! can't wait to follow the progress!

laurel said...

so glad your back to blogging! the beds look great!

our friend Ben said...

Whoa, both! You moved to Bethlehem?!! How did I miss that?! That's just half an hour from us! We think Bethlehem's the coolest town in the whole area. Your yard-to-garden transformation looks fantastic. And yes, could it just stop raining for five minutes?!!! Can you have a couple of chickens in Bethlehem?

Kelly said...

fan-freaking-tastic! looking so good! so great to see the update...hope you'll have time to post more as the season moves on...I've missed you guys!

CatHerder said...

omg that looks awesome!

Woody said...

Looks great!

Heather at Happy Chippy Junk said...

Looks AMAZING!!! Well worth all the work!!

It's me ...Mavis said...

I'm jealous of your free compost ....what an awesome view from the top and congrats on the new pad!

Anonymous said...

WOW. Great looking beds, way to go with priorities and a new house, lose the lawn! Nice looking compost, too, and free! So jealous!

Now, I have to ask, please don't hate me 'cause I'm a busybody. Did you get a soil test? I'm just concerned about lead in urban soils. You might want to consider it. The compost will help if you had elevated levels, and raised beds are the way to go totally if there is any lead. Be safe!

Ali in Maine

ps Kelly, the groundhog is back. I have a nice guest room in Vacationland, and a grill in the backyard. Grilled 'hog... mmmmm!

Tammy said...

you two are amazing! AMAZING! the new gardens look terrific. I look forward to seeing what you grow this season.

Anonymous said...

Very nice! I hope the inside of the house is shaping up as nicely as the outside, too.

Unknown said...

Hey everybody,

Thanks for the comments. It's always so damn nice to hear from you all. The garden is almost done. We still have a few loose ends, like cripples (thanks El) and eventually a soil test (thanks Ali).

To the locals (Ben, Kate), let us know when you're in town so we can get together.

We've found that blogging is like exercise; you have to get into the rhythm of it. First time home ownership can be distracting; tomorrow we're tearing down the dining room ceiling to get at some clogged plumbing on the second floor.

Robbyn said...

You guys have done a fantastic job...I've been looking back through your posts...LOVE the trellises. You rock!

:) Robbyn