The garden expansion

So as I mentioned in my first post, I started by expanding my veggie garden. These are the new gardens - which are next to my original garden (sorry for the less than fabulous picture!).

I used 1 ton of 6x4 limestone chop block of varying lengths. Seriously - its kind of freaky to order a "ton" of anything and actually mean it!

I did it by myself - so ladies - don't think you can't do these things if you are on your own. You absolutely can. I am not big or burly and other than a sore back the next day I am no worse for the wear. Just remember as you stack up the block, don't align the seams or it won't be as stable - so stagger the seams and you should be fine. There is no mortar needed because the total height is only 8 inches and the blocks are wider than they are tall so they don't tip over very easily - especially not once they are full of soil.

The larger of the new beds is 4x12. I decided after a few years of working with my original bed, which was 6x12 ft, that it was too difficult to get to things in the middle without wasted path space. So the new bed is narrower so that I can reach to the center from either side to improve access and reduce wasted space. I think it turned out well if I do say so myself!

The other smaller garden in the corner is going to be an attempt to grow asparagus. I have read that asparagus doesn't like "root competition" so it is best to plant them on their own. I have ordered the asparagus from Gardeners.com and will be planting that bed as soon as it arrives.

As a side note, I LOVE Gardeners.com - I get all kinds of things there - and they always seem to be high quality (and no I don't work for them and am not affiliated with them in any way).

As you can see, both beds still need soil - I will be having garden soil delivered in the next week and amending that with some composted horse manure that I got from my parents ranch. I am hoping that I will get a nice rich soil that gets everything off to a good start. Over time I will also be adding my own compost from my yard, lawn, kitchen and soon chicken waste. I have composted for a few years but adding the chickens will improve on what I have right now.