Pallet & Container Garden

Building this garden is turning out to be fun and a matter of using what is at hand to make things work.

The plastic under the pallets are old round hay bale covers that farmers used before they started to use the wraps. The old tubs have holes in them from being bashed around.

I added chunks of wood and a small bit of squished goat bedding to the bottom of each container. A tiny version of Hugelkultur gardening. The manure, leaves, sticks, and tiny pieces of wood break down in the bottom of the container and provide the soil with nutrients.

This is all an experiment afterall,...so why not?

The dirt. I am digging it from an old pile of Bull manure from the pen we kept our Dexter bull in years ago. Under the grass and weeds is a fine textured soil. It has been perculatin' for about 6 years, so it should be good for garden soil. It will contain weed seeds, but I am prepared for that. I haul it by bucket loads in the 4 wheeler's cart. 

Rich made a comment that I was going to use Bull-hit to make a garden.

😲

Rich also voted that I use the green bucket. It is ugly! I may go find a black lick tub that isn't so garish. I threatened to spray paint the green plastic tub but that would only make it look worse!

I'm sure I can find a black one that somewhere in the weeds behind one of the sheds. But in the end, it doesn't matter much about the container other than can IT hold dirt and can I grow a nice plant in it?

Sunday's project is to bring in two more pallets to have a fun little garden between the house and the LP tank. This is a pain in the arse to mow, so with the pallets, I can have flowers and walk through 'the garden' on the wooden slats!

It seems that my Lego People really like the pallet garden too. It is always good to have extra help.

Miss Molly dropped in [we never even heard her!] and jetted out to the shed where she promptly cleaned the rest of Sven's pen and then cleaned Lil' Richard's pen. 

Sweet! She and I fixed Sven's pen [say that 3 times fast] door so it would open properly. She visited with Rich and then helped him with the gates so he could dump manure with the skid steer and mow the one pasture we had made last week.

Today, if the timing works out, she'll come over and we will go riding together in the woods.

Craaaazzzy!

Photos above. Rich moving waste from Sven's pen and smoothing a path out in the Winter Pasture.

I attached a milk crate on the front of the 4 wheeler and set Charlie in it. He likes to ride there and supervise while I am hauling stuff with the 4 wheeler. I GO super slow with him on board. It is better that he ride there than scrambling around on my lap.

Spring is such a busy time of the year. Everyone is catching up with yard work or planting flowers or a garden.

Mowing the grass is a fun change over plowing and shoveling.

Mornings are glorious and the weather keeps changing so we are kept on our toes.

Most early mornings find me wandering up the road checking out the trees and brush leafing out. I'm still trying to figure out which bush is what. I may be getting a handle on a few trees also. I'm taking a lot of photos, but just leaving them in a file to look at later...

I've been morel hunting without great success but I've found enough to give us a taste. I scored some Golden Oyster Mushrooms and may dry them for soups later. 

Deep Woods Morel
Hunting with chaps on to protect

my legs:

Morels are getting hard to spot if they are small:

The neighbor's woods are 

becoming overgrown with Garlic

Mustard!

Golden Oyster Mushroom

I found yet another newborn fawn while hiking. I just get all mushy inside when I find them. They are beyond adorable.

I am ditching the idea of raising a garden. But I am cobbling together a container garden and dropping it in a section of the yard that is too hard to mow. 

It was never really smoothed out after they made a mess while remodeling the house. Each year I ask to hire someone to come in and re grade it or at least fill the bumps and lumps in to make it a nice section of yard. Each year HE says NO, he'll do it. 

Creative gardening can really help. Years ago there was a huge mess of stumps, rocks, and weeds alongside the little Red Shed. I asked if I could re-purpose it into a shade garden. HE said yes. The garden is pictured below. The area around it is very hard to mow, but I'm working on it!

I'm still not sure what to do with my 'containers'. But I placed them here on the west side of the house and then decided that I want the works to be place on the bumpy place which gets a lot of sun but has nothing but lumpy bumpy sand and clay from the construction on it. 

I plan on putting tomatoes in one or two containers and then filling the pallets with dirt and tossing in wildflower mixes along with sunflowers. Basically just toss in the seeds and see what craziness occurs.

The green container is an old mineral lick tub, I may add a second one. The others are washtubs and the buckets are from Rich's Grandfather's farm. They were used in gathering maple syrup.

I know it is ugly, but with the price of wood or even the price of containers for raised beds being what they are, who really cares??? I think I'll go out and see what goodies our old farm has. 

I even found wagon wheels in the Red Shed! Hmmmm!  I love new projects. I never sit down and draw it out, I just get the pieces and experiment. 

This morning I have a Mobility and Flexibilty Class. I like it a lot since I am constantly on the move and need to keep up my mobility, flexibility, and balance. After all...I wouldn't be able to do what I do if I just sat in a chair and watched TV.

From last week's hike. Photo by Wild Bill:

 Have a grrrreat Saturday.