May 31, 2009: The New Garden Shed (Part 3) & Garden Doings

There were a few interruptions on the shed building. First was the air compressor dying and its subsequent replacement. Then our neighbor decided to remove part of the hedge that separates our properties, a decision that made us happy as we have had some close calls getting out of our driveway lately. With the first few Bridal Wreath shrubs removed, we will have a clear view of the street and oncoming traffic. Son John was pretty handy with the shrub removal, having access to a fork lift! When he'd finished that job, it was too miserably hot to work on the shed. By noon we'd tied the old record for the hottest day in May at 98F.

(Click on photos to enlarge)


John pulls out the neighbor's hedge


Today it's time to get back to work.


John and Scott work on the roof. That's the garden cart Mr. H bought me for Mother's Day! It certainly has come in handy for hauling lumber and tools to the back yard.


At least we bought new 4'x8' sheets of OSB for the roof. We kind of messed up John's original plans by using the free OSB, as it came in sheets that were only 6' long and under four feet wide. He really has to work at patching them in, but it will all be covered by siding in the end.









Granddog Kobe supervises.


So while the boys built, I did a few chores in the garden. I noticed the bush beans were growing over my raspberries, so I pounded in a couple of stakes and wove some twine to make a makeshift trellis to hold them back. Then I wrapped the twine around the raspberry supports for the morning glory to climb. Something has been eating the morning glory, it may never get strong enough to climb the twine.


Bush beans aren't crowding the raspberries now.



The morning glory has twine to climb if it ever decides to actually grow. I wonder if I can get John to help me straighten those posts. I tried installing them by myself, and I couldn't hold them plumb and drive the screws at the same time. Things like crooked posts really annoy me!



While I was putting in the stakes, Mama Sparrow came flying out of the birdhouse. Knowing she wasn't in there, I opened the roof (I made them with hinges) and took a photo of the inside. Sparrows build deep (tall) nests and burrow into them, so I couldn't see if there were eggs or babies present.



Look how Dan's melons grew with two days of intense heat!



I have a pea! This is Super Sugar Snap, and there are a few pods growing now that the plants are better protected from the birds.



The first potato blossoms.



The potatoes just keep growing. The Yukon Gold, which were slow to start, have now caught up and surpassed the others in growth. The plants are nearly three feet tall now. I hope they aren't all leaf and no potatoes!


I picked 14 ounces of the loveliest spinach! It was more like early spring, baby spinach than almost-ready-to-bolt summer spinach. Not a sign of leaf miners in it, either. I did have to pull two plants that had bolted, but I've been more than happy with my spinach crop this year. I also pulled 10 ounces of sweet green onions, so tonight we'll have a Wilted Spinach Salad for dinner.


Back at the shed.....

The drip edge and fascia boards have been installed. I wonder why I never had this kid build me a house! Hmmm...we've been wanting an addition.



The roofing felt goes on. John built a roller to feed the roofing felt onto a 4'x8' sheet of OSB, then cut it into 8' sections that he could manage by himself. There was a bit of waste in the overlap, but it was much easier on my worker.



A closeup of the roller....a broom handle, two pieces of heavy wire, two 2x4s and a sheet of OSB on sawhorses. Simple but effective.


The end of another day.


17 comments:

  1. Looks like you'll get the shed finished in just a few more work days.

    Nice mother's day present. Sugar coated strawberries go a long way :~)

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  2. Ya, Cheryl...I should have planted those sugar coated strawberries a few years ago!

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  3. That hedge wouldn't give much of a fight with that machine. That looks like fun! The shed is really coming along, you guys move pretty fast, it would take me forever to complete a project like that. The melons look really happy, I hope some of that heat comes this way. It has been unseasonable cold here the last few days.

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  4. Ganny,

    The garden shed looks great!
    I can't believe how fast your potatoes are growing. Flower buds already! I only saw one bud on mine and it never did anything. I will be looking for potatoes tomorrow. Wish me luck!

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  5. Dan, the hedge was out in minutes with that thing! John had to bring it over last summer to get a grandson's airplane out of the neighbor's sycamore tree. It was probably up there about 50 feet! The "arm" on that rig extends really high, and it has two different sized baskets that can be attached.

    Still a lot to finish on the shed....siding doors, windows, electrical, exhaust fan, lights, skylight, paint. Then there is the interior. I'll insulate it and build shelves and hang racks for garden tools.

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  6. Liisa, yes! Yes! good luck on the potatoes! I'll be watching for your blog about them. Are you going to dig them all or just try to steal a few from the plant?

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  7. Amazing amount of work completed! The quick fix on the beans and raspberry bed looks very effective.

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  8. KitsapFG, my bush beans always get out of control, that's why I give them much more room than one would in a SFG. They are growing faster and taller than my pole beans! I gloat about them though, because that's fifty cents worth of seeds from the dollar store in that bed!

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  9. Granny,

    I'm going to start with bed 2 and pull everything. Bed 1 I will dig around and see what's going on. I think I will let bed 1 go a week or two longer since I started them a little later than bed 2.

    Liisa

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  10. Wow... the garden shed is coming right along!

    Thanks for sharing the wilted spinach recipe. I hope to give it a try when my spinach comes on stronger!

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  11. Toni, you're welcome! Mr. H really likes it. I rather prefer the lighter version with canola oil, but we both like the sweet/sour dressing.

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  12. Wow those potatoes sure do look nice. Mine are still working their way up the bin. And you have a pea :>. I finally got my first blossom today. I see a lot of buds just starting to come along. I can't wait to taste the first one.

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  13. Granny - The boys are staying busy! You'll be using that shed in no time, and I can't wait to see what you do with it. Your potatoes have exploded! Crap....mine don't look anything like that. Oh well, I'm still learning...Ha!

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  14. Daphne, me too! I'm getting tired of just greens, I'm ready for peas (and carrots, and beans and....)

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  15. EG, the first thing I want to do with the shed is to get the building supplies stored in there and off the lawn! I need to water that grass! And they put all their tools and crap on the patio steps, right below the sprinkler timer, so I just about kill myself getting to the timer box (I seldom set times to sprinkle, prefer to advance the stations manually). I love the shed, but I'm getting sick of the mess :-(

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  16. That shed is looking fantastic! You guys have inspired me to try potatoes next year.

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  17. Thanks Ribbit (from John & Scott, who have done all the work). Go potatoes!

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