Gardening Update

While walking up and down the aisles at the home improvement store for treehouse supplies, I decided it was time to start on our garden boxes as well. With some online help, I head out by myself one morning to get the supplies. I originally intended to make just three boxes, but Dave convinced me to make six. In our climate, raised beds are not preferred, but rather many recommend sunken garden plots. Since we were not confident in our soil (nothing was growing in the yard and didn't look like it had for years), we decided to start with raised beds until our soil has been amended well.

With a drill, measuring tape, level, and screws I built the six boxes. Eamon helped a bit with the construction, holding pieces as I drilled. Once built I checked our local permaculture group for help finding a good soil mix. It was delivered the next day. I shoveled until I had filled the beds. The kiddos each helped with this part. Jasmine just helped dig and roll in the dirt. I have a plan for planting, but first we need to run a bit of irrigation to the boxes. I am excited for this next growing season. My winter garden in pots did not do so well.

Our Tree-less Treehouse

 

Before moving into this house, the kiddos made a list of things they wanted in their next home. The number one request was animals. Their desires ranged from snake to rabbit to cat to dog. Now that we have Jasmine in our home and no plans to add any more animals any time soon, it was time to move down the list. The next must-have was a treehouse. In December we began working on this request in earnest.

The first issue with our plan was our backyard. Our current backyard has no trees suitable for a swing let alone a treehouse. Dave started making some sketches and came up with an idea. He conferred with the kiddos, watched a lot of youtube videos and drew several iterations before arriving at the best design. Armed with his plan, we hit the home improvement store. Our first job was to dig six holes with an auger. The machine was very powerful, but at times the caliche in our soil was stronger. With Dave and me on the handles, we were jostled and spun around by the machine. Finally we had the holes. The kiddos helped Dave set the six poles for our platform. Soon we had cross beams and floor joists. The past few weekends, Dave has worked on the walls, sketching his design, heading to the store and putting them up with help from the the rest of us. In between our other commitments, the tree-less treehouse has taken form. We now have four walls. Dave is now researching the roof. In the meantime, we plan on building the railing and putting up planking on the outside of the walls. We are very excited, because soon it will be finished!