THE BEAST

This is my old beast. I don't know if it is running. It has been almost 2 years since I started it. I have been trying to find someone to service it in my area without charging me an arm and a leg. I have been attempting to prepare raised beds by layering on rabbit manure and I know this will work, and soon I will possibly be no till, but until then the ground must be broken up.

My garden area is covered with Bermuda. I know this will be a problem until I can get it all tilled up. The prior owner seeded this area about a week before we closed. I wish they had told me!

But I have basically an unlimited supply of rabbit manure coming in and will be able to fill the raised bed areas deep and eventually it will be rotted and ready to plant.

I am needing a perm. border for the raised beds that I don't spend money on. I keep looking for give away cinder blocks and large landscape rocks.

I also must install a perm fence to fence off the garden area from the chickens. They already dug up some of my garlic. They just knew there was something yummy under the garlic.

I get to see my son again tonight. woohoo!

Then tomorrow, when I get home, I am going to dump the old plant pots out into the wheel barrow and mix the old dirt with compost and mulch the little pine trees. Then I will pick up the big chunks of dirt from digging those holes and throw those into the compost pile and remix the two piles into one. It is beginning to reduce in size.

Since I have the sharp shooter still, I may mark and begin to dig my post holes for the garden fence so I am ready.

In January I am supposed to plant peas. I hardly ever have luck with peas because in Texas it goes from cold to scorching but I will really try this year. I need to run water out to the garden so I don't have to run a hose.

That brings up a subject that is really on my mind as far as sustainability. WATER! I spoke to a person who had a 2000 gallon water tank with gutters running to it from the barn and the home. This is a very smart idea. I wonder how they keep it from freezing though. Not so much the 2000 gallons of water but the spigot that drains it.

I must put in the fence first and then activly start planning my alternative water. In TX we can count on a water shortage often. Planned correctly and mulched the garden doesn't take much but it still takes water. If the SHTF I will be out of luck with water at least until I can dig out the pond and make it bigger, and even then i would want an alternative.