The removal of the trees was part 1 of the garden construction, but this weekend really kicked things off. I had spent the previous 2 weeks laying out the garden and trying to determine the most effective planting layout and use of space and then another few days determining the most cost effective materials. In the end, I settled on 4 beds of varying sizes which leaves room for a garden shed and plenty of space between the beds.

Materials:
10 – 2 In. x 12 In. x 16 Ft. Pressure Treated Lumber
1 – 2 In. x 2 In. x 24 In. Grade Stake – Bundle
2 – 4 In. x 4 In. x 10 Ft. Preassure Treated Lumber
50 – 40 Lb. Composted Manure
50 – 40 Lb. Topsoil

The materials arrived on Friday which gave me enough time to prepare the areas and lay out the wood as needed, but not much else.

Before the beds

Saturday – Day 1

Start of Saturday

I kicked things off early on Saturday – went to Home Depot about 8am to pick up a few supplies and got straight to work. I worked most of the afternoon on just two of the beds. The two larger beds are 16 feet long by 4 feet wide – and I had to level the ground in the back corner in order to get the beds to lay level. The previous home owners had built a pitching mound in the back which was a ton of fun to remove.

Break time

End of Saturday

Still 2 beds to go

Sunday – Day 2
Saturday ended about 4pm – when I had to stop playing in the dirt and start making dinner for some friends after they had spent a long day at the mall. I woke up Sunday barely able to move and a ton of lifting ahead of me. So again, I started in early. I finished building the two smaller beds (13ft by 3ft) – those were much easier as the ground was already level. Then it was time for the dirt – 2,000 lbs of topsoil went down, followed by 2,000 lbs of manure. And that was it for this weekend. I’ve got to order soil next – and then all the beds will be ready for planting. Few things still remain to be done – one being the water line installation and the other is the gate that needs to go up to prevent the dogs from terrorizing the peppers, but both of those are pending the arrival of the plants.

End of Sunday – 200 sq. feet of planting space