Weeded

I did dig through the patch of baby weeds and pulled out everything I possibly could - LOTS of roots came out and it looks like the weeds are pretty well destroyed. More plastic is down over more weeds and I'll be going through that whole process again soon. It seems like the part I dug up had something besides clay soil in it, I'm guessing that it's manure from the faint smell. I think I'll leave that part alone but farther down there's obviously only the clay so I'll put some compost on that after digging out the weeds.

I also got the rain barrel set up, but there's been no rain (!) for about 3 weeks now. I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works and how much rain I'll be able to collect. It's set up by the back of the house under the gutter that only drains a small part of the roof so I definitely won't be overwhelmed by too much water.

I seem to be really bad at taking 'before' photos. I'll try to remember that for the next round.

Inching along

Yes, the backyard is still there. It's been pretty cool and rainy lately, right up until last week when we were hit with a scorching heat wave of 85 or so. Needless to say, the weeds are doing fabulously. I just pulled my 5x5 sheet of black plastic off of the place it's been for the last 2 months (maybe more?) and, while most of the area looks pretty dead, there are a few baby weeds already poking their heads up. I plan to single-dig that area and cover it up again by the end of the week. I hate the thought of spending $90-ish dollars on a giant box of black plastic, but that may be the only answer to getting this garden going sooner rather than later.

I do have the glimmerings of a garden plan and if we stay in this house (which we plan to, but there's another story there) I know what is going to go where. Which is major progress. The problem is buying fence material, PVC pipe, greenhouse sheeting, rebar, stepping stones...the funds are really not there right now, so maybe doing this - and paying for it - one step at a time is a good idea in the long run.

Backyard

This is our damp little backyard, in which one day a garden will reside. I'm planning to start on the left side of the photo along the fence and go from there. I don't actually have measurements yet but I think I can get at least 400 sq. ft. in there if not more. The extent of the gardening depends, of course, on how long we will be in this house; the entire plan involves both the front and back yards and will take at least 5 years. This photo was taken facing south and the tree is a pear tree. (UPDATE: I measured the back yard and I can fit at least five 25 x 4 ft. beds if I'm careful with the spacing.)