DIY - Raised Beds

A project on Mom's to-do list for a while has been some raised beds for her to expand her new found gardening habit. I like to build things and since Mom has to put up with housing my business, she gets what she wants. I also realized I might be able to offer them to some of my clients and this would be a good test run. With the winter being slow and Matt & Dad available to help, this time of year was the perfect opportunity.

Before we could install the beds we had to cut down a couple maple trees in their backyard. This also had been on the to-do list because they were getting quite large and competing with the turf a little too much. So we got the two trees down and chipped up right before it started pouring rain.

We then got started on the bed frames. We had to work in the garage since it was still raining. It took the rest of the day to build the first one. We did the second one in half the the time the following day since we knew what we were doing. Cook also stopped by and offered a hand. 

The raised beds are constructed out of landscape timbers with the final dimensions of the beds being 8' x 4' x 1'. They are held together with 1/2" rebar. A closed loop of 1/2" drip irrigation lines the inside of the bed with eight 1/4" lines extending from the main line to the middle of the bed with 2 GPH emitters at the end of each line. 

I was very pleased with how they turned out. We may add some more if she gets a large vegetable operation going.

Matt and Dad cutting up the tree. Dad is a little more safety conscious than us.

Chipping up the limbs.

Makeshift work station.

The first layer.

Getting it square.

Future home of the beds. The white in the background is the wood chips for the fresh cut maples.

Drilling the holes for the rebar.

Hammering down the rebar for stability.

Putting on the drip irrigation's main line that goes around the top of the bed and will attach to the hose.

Moving the beds into place.

Leveling up the beds. We put each one over the new stumps so they'll now be hidden.

Adding in the drip lines with emitters. Each emitter is rated for 2 GPH.

Installed.

Like Old Times

This past weekend was a trip back to high school days. A while back, my friend Brad suggested we go down to Spanish Fort, AL to visit our friend and former roommate Matt Cook (here is his blog) . We've all been friends since middle school, but since the end of college we don't get to see each other as much. So we made the trip down and had a great weekend of just hanging out. It was nice to sit around and not do much. We cooked steaks on Friday night. Saturday, Cook and I worked on his raised beds in which he plans to plants vegetables. We only had a circular saw to work with so Brad added helpful insight, such as "You need one of those saws that cuts the angles."  Cook had already done the base, we just put on the top cap. I think it turned out very nice. Sunday we went to church and then Brad and I headed back to Birmingham. I'm so blessed to have an abundance of friends from all my stages of life.

Hanging on Cook's Inversion Table

Its suppose to help your back.

Showing us how its done.

The Old Gang.

Neshoba County Fair

I'm pretty behind on my blog. I go back and forth about whether to go back and catch up or just move on and don't miss the next thing. I'll try a slight recap.

This was probably my fourth time to the fair. I was introduced my Simon, whose family owns a cabin on the fairgrounds. If you don't know about the Neshoba County Fair, it is unlike anything else of its kind. The fairgrounds turns into a bustling city 10 days out of the year. Three story cabins sell like penthouse suites. I like to think of it as a week long family reunion. People who grew up going to the fair anticipate the 10 day event the whole year. The area is somewhat frozen in time, forcing many attendees away from modern conveniences and to focus on relaxing and conversing with family and friends. The slow pace was very much welcomed by myself.

We merged Simon's bachelor party into opening weekend of the fair due to everyone's busy schedule. It worked out nicely. Plenty of time with all the guys, good food, and lots of rest.