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Can you grow a green thumb?

This blog is so badly neglected and needs a re-vamp...so here goes: I recently started a new project and thought it would be a good idea to record the progress. Since I type a lot faster than I handwrite, I thought "It's blogging time!"

For a while now I have been wanting a planter box. The idea of growing my own food really appeals to me. However, I have no real gardening experience. Besides knowing that plants need sun and water, I don't really know much else. Oh well...don't learn how to swim if you don't jump in the water, right?

So last week I casually mentioned to my friend Jay that I've been thinking about making a planter box. Jay is a handy guy and next thing I know he is in the backyard making me a box. Talk about getting down to business!

Jay found some wood we had in the side yard and made a 4x4 box. Everything I read online about planter boxes recommended that it be 6"-12" deep. Mine is 18", but I'm sure it will work. I'm not being too picky about this since the wood was essentially free and is now being put to good use. We then went to Home Depot and bought a 4x4 redwood to cut into posts to reinforce the corners. We also lined the bottom with hardware cloth to keep out the gophers and moles. I don't even know if we have gophers and moles in Ocean Beach, but better safe than sorry.

And, of course, we can't have a story about Jay building me a planter box without including a photo of his dog, Sparky:

Sparky is wondering why we're building this box instead of throwing him the frisbee.

So while Jay is building the box, I dug a hole for it. This is not an easy task. Our backyard is full of thick, weedy crab grass. I had to put all of my weight on the shovel just to get it into the ground. And when I say "put all of my weight," what I really mean is "stand on the shovel and jump up and down on it." But my efforts paid off and Voila! A hole!

On the left you see the clumps of crab grass I dug out.

This is a close-up of that crab grass...nasty thick stuff.

After the hole and the planter box were done, we put the planter box in the hole and filled it with soil. For the soil, I used a mixture of the dirt that I had dug up, Kellogg Garden Soil, and steer manure.

My big concern, since I used the existing dirt in the yard, is that the crab grass is going to grow in the planter box and overtake everything. I removed as many roots from the dirt as I could. I am going to have to be vigilant about weeding! And despite the warning from the lady at the nursery, I did not put down weed cloth underneath the box. Hope that decision doesn't come back to bite me. I fugured that since the box is so deep, it is going to take a lot for the crab grass to come through the bottom.

Beautiful, isn't it? The arched PVC pipe is removable. Its purpose is to provide a frame to drape a cover over if it gets cold or to keep out the critters.

Jay and I were able to do all of that in half a day! Next step...planting!

Labels: Garden, Planter Box, Sparky

New year...Same old story

So, once again...it's been one year since I've posted on this thing. But as I came into the library this morning to study for my LAST round of finals ever (::just did a little dance::), I noticed a few things:

1. The weather in the city today is awesome.
2. I am studying for finals while the weather in the city is awesome.
3. Gee, this has happened every year since I have been in law school.
4. I am so jealous that Mike is out sailing today.
5. Wait, Mike was sailing around this same time last year, when the weather in the city was awesome.

It seems that some things just never change. This time though, I will not say that I will get better at posting on my blog because, clearly, that is something I will definitely fail at. Hopefully, I will not be failing my finals.

Yes, I would rather be inside than out frolicking in the sun

Wow...It's been over a year since I posted on this thing. I will get better at this.

Anyway, I just wanted to take the time out to say: it's gorgeous in the city. For an indication for how nice it is outside, see my post from a year ago.

My roommate went for a run this morning and then she was going to go to the park. Mike is enjoying the day on a boat. But you know what, I hate the sun. I don't like boating. I don't like sunbathing at the park. I hate nice sunny days in the city. I love being inside. I love law books.

Did that sound convincing? I keep repeating all of that to myself as I sit in Gold studying for Evidence.

That is all. And hopefully my next post will be within the next 12 months :)

Hallelujah!

It was GORGEOUS in San Francisco today. The sun came out, and not only that, it was actually HOT. It's about time. Too bad I was stuck in the LIBRARY just about all day today. But I did get a brief chance to bask in the sunlight on my way to the grocery store.

This weekend I'm going to San Diego and I'm hoping the weather down there is just as nice. Probably not the best of ideas to be using one of my precious weekends to go and play down south, but oh well. I like to live on the edge :)