ckreef Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Wasn't sure where to post this so here it is. Reef's Bistro needed an herb garden. With the arrival of spring me and Mrs skreef thought it was time to start working on this project. A 14' x 14' area enclosed with a pickett fence (to be painted at a later date). Everything inside the fence will be edible. Large planters will be used. Herbs, tomatoes, peppers, lemon tree, lime tree and who knows what else. We'll also have a small table and chairs to drink early morning coffee with the sun shinning down on us. Will take a few months to get up to full swing especially with the crazy hours we've been working. More pictures to follow as we get more accomplished. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 That is a terrific idea. May I suggest that you try some raised beds inside the fence, I find they make easy work for turning the soil over and very easy to weed and to control some of those herbs that will spread far and wide. A couple of feet high makes it easy on the back too and if water is in short supply the raise beds require less water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Will probably have some raised beds along with some big pots. Haven't quite gotten that far yet. With it in the front yard Mrs skreef wants it to look nice. This is really her project I'm just here for manual labor and pruning the herbs - LOL I have 2 pallets of flat field stones along with various piles of sand and gravel in the yard off to the side. We're going to have a stones with sand between them for ground covering. Getting the ground covering done is the next step and hopefully we can make good progress on that next weekend. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon B. Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 I like the idea!!! My old boss had a similar garden in a small area. Always enjoyed sitting in there sipping on a cold one. Don't rule out a few flowers for added color and fill when you harvest the herbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geo Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 What a great addition to your home, and so very practical. It will be a great sitting area for the two of you. Enjoy! Now... As to "painting it later"... I'd hate to tell you how many "Paint it later" projects I have had. Wish I could "paint" my projects before moving on to the next one. Somehow it never works out that way! :>) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 7, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 What a great addition to your home, and so very practical. It will be a great sitting area for the two of you. Enjoy! Now... As to "painting it later"... I'd hate to tell you how many "Paint it later" projects I have had. Wish I could "paint" my projects before moving on to the next one. Somehow it never works out that way! :>) I would rather paint it now and the fence itself would probably take the paint buy the poles are still very fresh and should be allowed to dry for a month or two. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Great idea! I've been toying with the idea of having a small vegetable patch in my backyard. Your's looks great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 8, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Great idea! I've been toying with the idea of having a small vegetable patch in my backyard. Your's looks great! TY Rak - this is all going to be raised beds or large planters. I live out in the country so I'm scared to actually plant in the ground - not interested in feeding various critters. This is really Mrs skreef's project. I have a very wilted thumb but she's got a green thumb. Should be interesting. BTW that is actually in our front yard (front porch). The house sits facing North, North East so we get nice direct sun until about noon when in the summer days it's still fairly cool. As long as nothing needs full shade we should be good to go. . If you get a garden going please share pictures. We had to start now as the days are in the mid 70's and within a few weeks it won't go below 40* at night. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRippley Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Looks good Reefs! We love our garden. I will post some pictures, just ate the first batch of asparagus for the season (cooked in DO on Saphira!) Yum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kjs Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Nice addition. Nothing like fresh veggies and herbs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 18 hours ago, ckreef said: TY Rak - this is all going to be raised beds or large planters. I live out in the country so I'm scared to actually plant in the ground - not interested in feeding various critters. This is really Mrs skreef's project. I have a very wilted thumb but she's got a green thumb. Should be interesting. BTW that is actually in our front yard (front porch). The house sits facing North, North East so we get nice direct sun until about noon when in the summer days it's still fairly cool. As long as nothing needs full shade we should be good to go. . If you get a garden going please share pictures. We had to start now as the days are in the mid 70's and within a few weeks it won't go below 40* at night. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Its a beautiful lot! And the sunlight is going to really help. I'm looking to start next week (as soon as the ground defrosts), right now I'm doing some reading. I have a similar problem in that I live near a lot of greenbelt land which means lots of raccoons, foxes, skunk, deer and some coyotes! But the guy I was talking to yesterday said not to worry. Critters prefer sweet fruits and will pretty much leave veggies alone. I guess time will tell I'll definitely take pics, but I'm not very hopeful...My green thumb is actually more the colour of mud Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony b Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 I can only talk about what deer around here will eat - Damn near EVERYTHING!! I gave up on hosta and roses a long time ago. At least they don't eat the hops off my plant. Oh, and don't forget the bunnies!! Maybe the foxes and coyotes by you will keep them at bay. I have owls and an occasional hawk in my neighborhood that seems to keep them in check. All my tomato plants, herbs, etc. are in pots on my elevated deck (about 7ft off the ground at the closest point. I just have to put chicken wire around the chile pepper plants, as my dog eats them! Seriously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Rak, I've had raised beds for many years and only once or twice did the deer eat the tops of the peas. I have the same critters that you mentioned, my biggest problem is with the raccoons eating my bird seed and I did have to stop growing corn because they ate almost all it every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 Great information here. Thank you all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilburpan Posted March 9, 2016 Report Share Posted March 9, 2016 That’s going to be a lovely addition to your yard. One day we would like to put in a vegetable/herb garden, once the kids stop sucking up all of our free time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Gave up riding the bike today so me and Mrs skreef could work on the herb garden (my son even helped a bit). Got a good chunk of the ground stones laid. . . Started buy removing the grass layer and then another inch or so of dirt. Put down a layer of red sand then laid the stones down into the red sand. Work them in as best as possible. . . . . Next threw a bunch of my better sand all over the place. . . . . Using a big shop broom I sweep the sand off the rocks to fill the space between the rocks. Now all we have to do is sit back and let rain do its magic - that and finish laying the rest of the stones - LOL. . Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacKenzie Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Wow, you people sure made progress today, I'm looking forward to after the rain shot.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckreef Posted March 13, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Wow, you people sure made progress today, I'm looking forward to after the rain shot. . . We thought about putting the hose to it but it's supposed to rain tonight so that seemed like a waste of effort. It'll take a month or two (depending on the rain) for all the stones to really settle down good. We might have to lift some along the way to add a little sand underneath. These are flat field stones so they are a bit irregular in their thickness. We'll probably also have to add more top sand as it settles. Eventually it'll get right. Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skreef Posted March 13, 2016 Report Share Posted March 13, 2016 Gave up riding the bike today so me and Mrs skreef could work on the herb garden (my son even helped a bit). Got a good chunk of the ground stones laid. . . Started buy removing the grass layer and then another inch or so of dirt. Put down a layer of red sand then laid the stones down into the red sand. Work them in as best as possible. . . . . Next threw a bunch of my better sand all over the place. . . . . Using a big shop broom I sweep the sand off the rocks to fill the space between the rocks. Now all we have to do is sit back and let rain do its magic - that and finish laying the rest of the stones - LOL. . Charles - Prometheus 16.5", Cassiopeia 19" TT Wow, you people sure made progress today, I'm looking forward to after the rain shot. If we had a sprayer I would have sprayed it already but I guess we have to add it to our need List. Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rak Posted March 14, 2016 Report Share Posted March 14, 2016 Its coming along great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
