And it begins...

Yesterday I drove up to Westford to pick up a wheelbarrow from a dude for $10 bucks. He had some good hand tools he threw in for a few more. I wanted to get moving on building the raised beds. Oh yeah — raised beds! Why?

1) I'm planting two beds and they are both on a slope;
2) I'm planting over a french drain that I can't dig up;
3) I like the idea of more control over the soil content and drainage;
4) Harder for the dogs to piss in.

So there's going to be two of them. One will be between the deck and patio for the most sun-loving of the crop. The other is butted against the deck lattice (for peas to climb) and wraps around the corner of the house for a few more feet of space.

This morning I started digging to make channels for the timber. The soil is surprisingly loamy feeling once I removed the rocks, enough to fill the wheelbarrow. There was such a dense layer beneath the topsoil that I assume it was pushed-aside detritus from some major landscaping in the past or the house's construction in the 30's. Incidentally, if you'd like to buy some rocks. I have lots.

Here's a shot of the dug out and sifted-through footprint of the bed. 

I'm including a shot of Caleb because's he crazy cute right now.

Next up: building the first raised bed