New Food Porn Flick: Tomatoes in Cages

First of all, the garden is doing quite well. This lent all the more urgency to getting proper cages to support the sprawling tomatoes. I knew I didn't want those cheap, flimsy, and short store-bought wire cages, and I also I wanted something that wasn't a total eyesore, although that last item is of least importance. I am going to grow food in my front yard no matter the aesthetic. However, I happen to like the look of vegetable gardens, especially in my front yard.

So I decided to design and build my own cages. The articles I read recommended cages at least six feet tall, seven foot even better. Seven seemed too tall to me, and from each eight foot 1" x 2" cedar board I could use one 1 ½ foot piece for a cross member. Thus, I arrived at 6 ½ feet, allowing me to make one cage with four 1" x 2" x 8' boards. Since I am going to build 12 cages, I will need 64 1' x 2"s.

To maximize repetitive stress and the aggravation of my carpal tunnel, I set about creating an assembly line of cutting, drilling, and screwing. After a day, I had all 24 frames completed.

The frames were attached to 2' x 2" x 20" hinged pieces thus forming a sort of step ladder, at once flexible as well as easily stored.

Each cage frame will have four cross bars, with 11/16" holes drilled near the outsides. These holes would be for the perpendicular cross pieces made from ½  copper pipe cut to 20 inches. This meant drilling 16 holes per cage, or 192 holes in all. For the ease of drilling 192 holes, I naturally drilled four at a time. 

I placed the 20" cross pieces six inches from the bottom...

...and then at one foot intervals.

About a quarter of the way there.

After I carriage-bolted each pair of frames to the hinged 2 x 2 top pieces, I then used 3" carriage bolts, washers, and wing nuts to attach each cage to eight foot 2 x 2 rails to fit nicely on top of each of my three eight foot raised beds.

Each cage would need eight 20" pieces of ½" copper pipe. That's 96 pieces and 16 10 foot copper pipes.

96 times this. Ow.

Pipe organ to nowhere. And for those of you who are sticklers for accuracy, I'm well aware that there are only 64 pieces here. That's because I already cut 32 pieces for my prototype cages. Ha!

There's probably an ordinance against this in West Des Moines, or any of the other suburbs for that matter. Glad I live in Des Moines.

Sir, Your Salad Will be Ready in Two Weeks

The beauty of going away on an extended vacation: voilà!

Planting and Departing

Well, the beds survived last night's storm and Ed Wilson's exaggerations. Now, they're subject primarily to freak chance amid the vicissitudes of  our new globally warmed weather.

Saturday, I called in our pool of itinerant Damon labor to help with the planting.

When I get back in two weeks from my bike trip down the Oregon coast, I expect to be eating at least a decent mixed green salad from my front yard.

Now, I have to finish packing my panniers and then head up to St. Paul to catch the 10 pm train to Portland.

Food for Thought: Grass for Naught

Beds filled; pathways mulched. Eventually, I'll replace the mulch with medium-size river rock, then maybe rip out the sidewalk. I love ripping things out.

Once completed, we'll have two adjacent homes on our block with no turf grass (that's my neighbor Nancy's beautiful garden in the background). 

You've Made Your Bed, Now Fill It!

Here's what goes in each of the six raised beds, 48 cubic feet in all. This doesn't mean I won't be growing plenty of things outside the boxes in good old Mother Earth. But certain things do better in a more controlled medium.

Let the mixing begin.

After the preliminary mixing...

...the mixture is rolled over on itself several times to fully aggregate.

After wheel burrowing most of the mixture into the box, the remainder is dumped off the tarp.

Then, a final smoothing out.

One done and five more to go. But I'm tired and want a beer now.

Five hours later, voila!

Kill the Lawn (Part 3)

Sunday, after the rains of last week subsided and we had a couple of dry days, I was finally able to build three more boxes and get them properly installed. The ground was workable, but it was still a struggle getting them level. 

Now I'm ready to mix the soil and fill them: 48 cubic feet per box of vermiculite, coir, and compost.

Yesterday, I went to Des Moines Garden and Feed, on the East Side, and made a fair investment in vermiculite and various kinds of compost. I couldn't find coir, unfortunately, so I'll have to use Canadian peat.

On an unrelated side note: the cherry trees are in blossom.

Kill the Lawn, Part 2

 Last June, I finally made the decision to begin ripping out our horrible and un-environmental turf grass, documented here. That was so much fun, I couldn't wait to get started this year on ridding our place of the rest of it.

The slope is great for growing grass but is a challenge for growing worthwhile flora, like vegetables. The plan is to install level raised beds in a sort of terrace, and later on add a short wall at the sidewalk.

I rented my old friend Tyne Daly from Home Despot, and began the cathartic denuding. 

Yes, that is a look of relish on my face.

Side one done. I'll never mow that patch again.

Lest you think I hogged all the pleasure for myself, sister Marty also saw some action.

Earlier this week, I built three of the six cedar boxes I plan to put in. You can see how I built them here.

Several people gave big thumbs up when driving by. A few others just shook their heads wondering why would anybody tear up a perfectly good lawn.

Almost there. This is no work for old men, by the way. I was exhausted by the time I had my reward beer at 8 pm.

Next week: build three more boxes, fill with growing mixture, and cut down...

...these two sun obstructing maple trees. They'll eventually be replaced by fruit trees.