Trench Warfare

Well, we didn't get as far as we would've liked, unfortunately. We did make some solid decisions and some good progress, though. Here it is, with photographic evidence all jumbled with words.

I'm digging, with my tiny helper.

She really doesn't like being more than 3 feet away from me if she can help it.

These are our timbers. 6"x6"x8' Cedar posts. We only got half of what we will eventually need, so we'll have to make at least one more trip. I love cedar, though. This is the non-aromatic kind, and I really love the color of it. I've made some gorgeous pieces out of this stuff in the past, and if I have my way, I'll be staining this bed a dark red.

Gravel! This is about 12 cu. ft of the stuff, which should be close to what we need. We bought bags because they're convenient, but we probably could have saved great wads of cash by getting it in bulk from a landscape supplier.

The menfolk trying to figure out what the heck we're doing.

Winifred loves Grandpa so much.

We dug out the high spot on the right there to try to level the ground a little.

Not really any good place to put the dirt, so we set up a tarp for it. That will at least keep it mostly out of the rocks.

 

We're laying out the area for the bed, trying to get it perpendicular to the fence. nothing is square around here, so it's a bit of a challenge.

This is how we cut the posts. Four passes with the circular saw on maximum depth and then a hand saw to finish it out. Dealing with timbers this size definitely keeps things interesting.

I failed to get a picture of the step before this one, unfortunately. We laid out the timbers on the ground and went around with shovels, marking the edges. Now the digging starts.

This is so much easier on the blog than it is in the yard. That took for-freaking-ever to get done right. I made my trenches a bit too narrow and we had a couple that were a little shallow. We ended up getting it all worked out, though.

This is the trench from the existing sprinkler head going over to the garden bed. We're going to bring a drip system into the bed, tied into the existing sprinkler system. Should make it much easier to keep everything alive.

There we go! If you wonder why we have such large gaps around the sides it's to allow for  movement around the back and all so we can reach stuff to plant, weed and harvest more easily. We're going to use some of those ubiquitous paver stones back there, since we've got so darned many of them.

Heat gun is super effective. If you've ever worked with PEP for sprinkler systems, you know the fitting can be a pain. Well I busted out my trusty heat gun and it made quick work of these connections.

Ta-da! It went in like buttah.

We're laying it into the trench now, but we'll make the connection later on. it doesn't need water anytime soon and we were running out of daylight.

Now, we level. The gravel goes into the trench for drainage, but it also allows for easier leveling. Just apply some hoe to it as needed and everything actually levels out very nicely. We'll see if the level holds with a few days of break and some snow and all. here's hoping.

We'll be back soon with more adventures. thanks for reading!