Rocks expanded garden and renewed shed

[Rockporter]

Update on my bigger better garden area.

Although I posted at the other site my plans for updating the garden there are many things that changed with the final design and I will outline them below. This is the final design change.

We have continued to have issues with the patio flooding all these years, digging trenches helped some, making sure the water was sent toward the street(lower area) and constant push brooming after a storm. The rain gutters helped some but it still wasn't enough because the water just stands on the patio after a rain. We finally got to work on that drainage issue and this is what we have done to alleviate the problem.

First this; The people that were here before put in a pool pad, at least that is what we think it was and it was my garden area. This area was built up with tons of sand and it was all the way to the patio concrete edge. The concrete edge was even with the side of the house where the water should have been draining off and is where my husband has been digging the trenches to get the water to go out down the side of the house to the front. This sand pile was about 18 inches tall so it blocked any water flow we could have had. So, this is how we fixed it.

#1 We dug out two feet of that built up sand area by a 20 foot long section which is the patio concrete area.

#2. We dug out the four 4x4 posts that were set right at the concrete edge which was also part of the stopping water from flowing out. It was part of this very rickety shade cover that if you touched it you knew it would fall apart on top of your head. We took that down the day we signed papers to buy it.

#3. We put in new 4x4 posts at the new edge of the sand because this is what holds my big trellis my husband built for me. It used three posts so we only put back the three needed. Leaving the fourth post out opens the area up better. Actually that fourth post was a short one and I had my garden hose hung on it, but we moved that to the corner of the house instead, and I like it that way better. No post in the way of stepping into the garden and that area now has containers in it because it doesn't have to be left open for garden hose use.

#4, We put in drainage pipe on the 20' section and added a collector to the gutter drain, then added solid pipe to send it out to the front yard. It was a total of about 70 feet of solid pipe which we dug a trench under the fence to get it out front.

5. Final results, no water standing for more than 20 minutes on our patio anymore, and it doesn't reach but about a few feet into the patio and never gets to the back door anymore. Yay, fixed.

These are the products we used for the garden retaining wall, entry and drainage.

Here is what we used for drainage, it was far easier than using the old rock burrito design and it is working very well.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-4-in-x-...n-Pipe/3136611

https://www.lowes.com/pd/NDS-12-in-L...Basin/50053663

and of course just solid corrugated pipe to send the water out.

6. Then we bought some retaining wall bricks for keeping the sand back and made a 4 foot wide garden step in area for me. I get dizzy, and I need lots of space to lose my footing so I don't fall down.

The bricks we used for a retaining wall for the sand is really nice, it isn't the usual brick, and we made a step into the garden using pavers that matched. https://mobileimages.lowes.com/producti ... ize=pdhism Belgard Quarry Goldrush is the color. We used three layers and we used a 4x8 retaining wall cap on top to finish the look. That pic is just a design idea from Belgard.

We used this retaining wall cap, but I think ours is more of a reddish/orange to match up to the belgard bricks. This is the same brick we used for the step into the garden, this step bottom walk area is 4 feet wide with one step into the garden. We have retaining wall on both sides of the step so it offers a nice frame out and an invite into the garden. We used paver support underneath and will use the poly sand to lock it all in. We haven't done that part yet.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Chiselwall-...-12-in/3083613

So, the only thing left was to get that entire garden area level, put down the new weed cloth and move all my containers in and start building more infrastructure for trellises, and shade. The leveling didn't work out too well because we have to allow the water to flow down with the natural grade of the land which makes it harder to level things but we are working it out okay.

Last year my garden was all on my patio on cinder blocks as we were working on that drainage issue and I wanted to make sure we had clearance of rain water. We cleared the entire side yard to expand the garden from the initial 21 x 24 foot that I think it was to now it will be a pie shaped 50 feet long, 30 feet wide at the widest section of the pie, and the smallest section 10 feet wide. We removed the raised garden beds my husband built because termites and carpenter ants ate them up. We were going to go a different route for raised beds and were still deciding on that but we were certain we would use some old castle corner bricks for it. We were still deciding if we wanted to figure out how to use some steel roofing panels for the sides or not. I definitely do not want anymore wood in my garden and in the long run we decided it would all be mineral tubs. I have the larger tall ones and the large short ones so there is plenty of planting ability of the various produce I want to grow, and I also still have all my earth boxes too. However, I did have my husband drill some holes into them and use them as just regular pots. I even found a brand new one in the shed when we cleaned it out, I haven't done anything with that one yet but I do know I cannot do the steps needed for those anymore, so I will either give it to someone who can and will enjoy it, or I will have hubby drill some holes in that one too.

With the expansion of the garden I have two more cattle panel trellises, one is three panels(12feet), one is two panels(8 feet), and one is 1 panel(4 feet), all placed in strategic areas to hopefully get the much needed shade for things like tomatoes and peppers in the hot afternoons. We used One Man Fence Brackets to secure the cattle panels to T-posts we used to secure them to the ground. https://onemanfencing.com/shop/pm-lives ... copy-copy/. Although these are expensive they are also less hazardous to me than using those wires on the trellises, and I do believe that trellis isn't going anywhere in a storm. I guess the next storm will let me know. We used 8 t-posts (4 t-posts on each side of the 12 foot trellis, one on each end and one for each connection of two panels). We also used zip ties to secure the panels together so they are much more sturdy and stay connected everywhere. We will use 6 t-posts on the 8 footer and 4 on the 4 footer.

We had to buy all the extra cattle panels to make the three arched trellises because the original plan was a square 16x16x16 with the open part having just a small gate area, and using cut cattle panels to finish the rest off. But, although I have all that space added to the garden it was not good for the space because of the pie shape and it would have interfered with the entry to the garden, and the trellis hubby built with all the containers placed, so we decided to do the arched trellises instead. I still get the same amount of growing space but it is better to have them spread around the garden instead of one big square. Bonus is the higher arched trellising as well and I think I have more container space away from the trellises as well, the negative is the higher costs to do it.

We are covering the 12' trellis with plastic and making it like a greenhouse. I thought we would have windows to open up but that is out, just screen on the sides with the plastic raised will do just fine so I can have them open during the hot summer weather. My husband will be building a door for each end using reclaimed house window screens I bought years ago for about $2 each that will stay open for air flow as well. We will probably do the same for the other two trellises but for now we are working on just one as cash flow allows. I still need to at least buy the shade cloth to cover the trellises for the heat of summer.

We added some dwarf fruit trees (3 Lil Miss Figgy, 1 Meyer Lemon, 1 Key Lime, and 1 Cara Cara Orange we planted in pots for shade and hopefully some wind break as each grows. We also added three blueberry plants two of one kind and 1 of another for pollination but the heat was so bad last year it killed the single variety I needed for pollination. I found a new blueberry to replace it named Pink Lemonade which is supposed to be delivered tomorrow evening.

We will design other shade needs as we go. It will be nice to use that whole side yard for a garden now. Sadly the arctic blast froze all the trees and I lost one fig tree and the key lime tree. I found a new key lime but cannot find a new fig tree locally so we found a Bonanza Peach Tree to replace it and it is blooming like crazy.

So, weed cloth down after all the weed/grass clearing, stepping stones all laid around the outside edge of the garden making weeding very easy by lifting the stepping stone, lifting the weed cloth and removing any weeds/grass that is popping up around the garden. It looks really nice with the stepping stones all around the outside of the garden and I can also place 5 gallon buckets on them for plants such as rosemary that don't like a lot of rain water. By using the stepping stones that match the retaining wall, and walk, it is all cohesive and allowed us to hold the weed cloth down around the outsides of the garden to make weeding easier, without needing weed cloth pins.

We also built a 7 foot long outdoor workbench with water and double sink on wheels to replace my 20 year old potting bench that had a tiny little bar sink in it. We tiled the top and even gave it a backsplash, and the entire underbelly is open shelving for buckets, etc. Hubby added under eave can lighting, and a plug for me so I can use the countertop for canning when it is nice outside. He took apart the last little potting bench he built about 20 years ago and reused many of the wood parts that were still good. He also kept the white plastic pegboard that was on the back. He cut it in half and it is on both sides of the new counter for tools. He is still using boards from the last one for other things. I am glad I talked him into saving what was still good to use instead of putting it in the landfill with the bad stuff. This countertop is awesome, I can come out and cook on the blackstone and make the meals right there on my new bench, then I can wash the dishes too, and it will come in real handy when I am harvesting the crops. I guess I should call it my outdoor kitchen.

In the meantime hubby worked on my garden shed which became a toss it in there to get it out of sight place because the a/c kept blowing the fuse when it was plugged into the wall outlet on the back patio. We now have the electric 30 amp plug by the shed so I can use it now, and I can start and nurture seedlings in there. He had to remove the wall board and insulation off the back wall because there was water damage from the hurricane. He found termites, wasps, and geckos behind that wallboard. No structural damage though so that is good. He treated all the wood with termite spray twice and let it dry between coats. Then he took the metal corners off the outside of the shed and sprayed all of the entry points with expanding foam to keep the bugs out. It's all insulated again and the temps are a bit warmer in there, but a small space heater is needed to keep it warmer than outside temps. I had to replace the damaged a/c with the fins that were smashed in the hurricane also. This one unfortunately doesn't have a heat strip, it is only a/c.

There were two benches in there stacked on top of each other sized 24" depth. One has legs on it 31" tall, where the second one on the bottom had legs of 15" tall. I asked my husband to separate them, cut the shorter one in half lengthwise and stack the two smaller sections for shelves in the shed on the opposite wall. This will work out perfect because I can store amendments and things on the lower shelf, and use the floor space below it for storage as well, but have use of the top shelf for seedling trays. It fits 4 10x20 seed trays perfectly on that smaller shelf with room for my water cans of three sizes stacked on each other.

The larger bench will be a work bench with plenty of room to spread out when I am working in there. The walls are pegboard so I can hang tools and things there. I also have the floor space underneath as well. I will be buying storage containers I can stack under there to store things too.

I have a 24" wire rack with 5 shelves in there with a grow lamp which lights up two trays perfectly, I will start seeds there and bought some heat mats for it as well, but I need more lamps for the smaller shelf hubby cut in half. I think I am going to like this setup and it will be nice to save money on seedlings by starting them myself instead of purchasing from the garden center. I also told my husband if things work out I will sell some starts to help pay for the garden, he was pleased by that.

Have I ever said how much I appreciate all he does for me? Yep, I tell him all the time, and I show it in other ways like making him his favorite foods, and doing small things for him. I think he appreciates me too.

Well, that is the update, I lost most everything I planted in the garden around October and November over the arctic blast. I had everything outside the trellis covered, my onions survived outside but that is about it. I cut some things back and I have some green coming out so I am hopeful some of my things will come back strong.

What was in the covered trellis were my tomatoes, peppers, potatoes(I have a story about those) and many different kinds of herbs and greens with only the spinach surviving(another story, lol), everything else froze. This was just plastic over the top though, I guess I should have covered everything inside there. The wind was quite strong and the temps dropped into the 20's so I am not surprised anyway.

I hope you all had a good fall/winter garden success, and will have an even better spring.

[GoDawgs]

Wow, that's quite a tale! When you finally get a breather, it would be great to see some pics of all this hard work! I'd love to see it.

[Rockporter]

Wow, that's quite a tale! When you finally get a breather, it would be great to see some pics of all this hard work! I'd love to see it.

Hahaha, thanks and yes we have been working as hard as we could while it was cool enough. The heat took it's toll so we had to take many breaks of either days or weeks and so when we couldn't work outside we worked inside. There are still some things to do and I am sure that will never end, but at least the hard parts will be done soon.

I am still trying to figure out how to get pics off of my phone and into the computer. My camera that takes such great pics broke and I haven't uploaded any pics to the computer in years. I really need to get a new digital camera because I enjoy using the old style over the cell phone.

[PlainJane]

Wow, quite the adventure. Can’t wait to see it!

[pondgardener]

[/quote]
I am still trying to figure out how to get pics off of my phone and into the computer. My camera that takes such great pics broke and I haven't uploaded any pics to the computer in years. I really need to get a new digital camera because I enjoy using the old style over the cell phone.
[/quote]

@Rockporter You should be able to transfer picture files using bluetooth or there are other ways as shown in the link below.

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-transfe ... er-4173057

[GoDawgs]

I am still trying to figure out how to get pics off of my phone and into the computer. My camera that takes such great pics broke and I haven't uploaded any pics to the computer in years. I really need to get a new digital camera because I enjoy using the old style over the cell phone.

I can't help you with the photos-from-phone thing but I'm sure someone else here can help. I have an old Tracfone that isn't smart and I mainly carry it when out and about in case of an emergency. Besides, it takes terrible photos. Like you, I prefer my camera for garden pics.

[Julianna]

Your phone charger may have a usb end that.plugs into the plug part... You can do it that way if so.

[MissS]

@Rockporter you have done an amazing amount of work and I am so glad that you have your water situation finally resolved. It's hard to enjoy living in your home with water coming in every time that it storms. The gardens sound great and ready to grow. I can't wait to see your pics.

I plug the charging cord of my phone into the computer. The computer recognizes the device and will ask what you want to do. Choose to add photos. It will ask you where and just make a file for them. It's not too hard. If you want you can message me for help.

[Rockporter]

Thanks everyone, I did it, Yay! Pics coming.

[Rockporter]

PICS-Woot!

This is a perfect picture, it shows the water gathering on the concrete while it was raining. This was a light rain shower but you can see the water is there. If it were a downpour the water would have been bouncing with the heavy raindrops. You can see the sand is all the way to the concrete with the 4x4 posts as well. If you look closely you can see hubby added some galvanized metal to hold the sand back because it was constantly falling onto the concrete and he didn't want the whole thing to collapse.

You can see my old garden bench that lasted 20 years but it was time to do something else with it. We built those 3 chairs and have the wood to build 5 more already cut. I don't know if we will ever get to it or not. I hope so because I already have all the high density cushions and everything but the sunbrella material to make all the cushions for it. We would need to repaint those chairs and maybe replace a few boards because they have been in the weather and sitting in water with each rain for years. It was a project we stopped because of the water issues on the patio.

You can see how overgrown the garden was because like I said, I let it go fallow, I was so disappointed that I didn't care about it, and I was at the time having my heart and lung problems too, on top of my arthritis, so life wasn't fun then. The original weed cloth we had there had some really large holes in it so the weeds just took over. We originally had my garden at the smaller size and the weed cloth was held in between two pieces of wood and we couldn't get under it to pull the weeds coming in from the sides. This is why we decided to add the bricks to the outside of the garden so we could lift the cloth, pull the weeds, and put it back down. It has been a good design. I still have heart and lung problems now but I feel a little better.

You can see to the right forefront the trellis hubby built on the 4x4 posts, and beyond that to the right are the raised beds he built as well. Those are what we took down along with the other bed to the left of the cattle panel trellis that was just one panel. That bed was up on a bunch of cinder blocks that we used to raise the earthboxes last year for the first garden in years. I have all of them planted with onions now, making it 72 planting spots, lol.

Garden 2022-What It Looked Like Before We Made Improvements.jpg

Here is the new look into the garden, you can see my new garden bench, the black stone griddle, and our new wall with step into the garden. There is the start of the 12' cattle panel trellis there too. We pressure washed half of the patio concrete last summer, but we were in drought so we stopped and figured we would pick up later when we have more water in the reservoirs. It's about time to take care of the other half now, lol. Aah, so many projects!!!

Garden-2023-Direct look into Garden.jpg

That is it for now, I need to go through more pictures and I think I need to take more because what I have seen so far is just progress pics that don't show where it is all at now.

[Rockporter]

Current view into the garden. Still working on that trellis, lol. Screen door finished on one side and if you notice it goes a bit sideways, well that is because it isn't level ground and it hangs that way. Hubby says he would fix it but I said no, there is no space between the bottom and the ground so I need it to stay that way for closure, lol. We will lift it a little bit to get the wood off the ground but it is fine the way it is and opens perfectly. Plastic will surround the door and a plastic closure will come down when needed to keep the cold out.

Garden-2023-Direct look into Garden2.jpg

10 foot wide section of the garden

Garden-2023-4 Foot Cattle Panel Trellis.jpg

I am loving this Bonanza Patio Peach Tree and it needs to be transplanted soon.

Garden-2023-Bonanza Patio Peach Tree.jpg

Some of the cinder blocks with onions, they are all over the garden and I think I will just plant flowers in those next.

Garden-2023-Cinder Blocks With Onions.jpg

Earthboxes looking good, I see another project on the house wall. Aye Aye Aye, so many projects.

Garden-2023-Earthboxes Planted.jpg

Replacement Key Lime tree is budding already, it also needs transplanting.

Garden-2023-Key LIme Tree With Buds Growing.jpg

Beautiful top section of the solar wind chime we received for Christmas, it is so beautiful and still lit around 5 am each morning. The music it makes is wonderful.

Garden 2023-Beautiful Moon and Sun Windchime.jpg

Checking to fit the grow flats on the smaller benches and making new legs for the top and bottom one because we lost the legs when he cut the bench in half, secured with screws from the top bench to the bottom bench. Perfect.

Shed Setup-Benches for shed.jpg

Inside the shed with some organization done and I still did more to it but this will do.

Shed Setup-Benches for shed2.jpg

Workbench is perfect height for me being so short, lol. It works very well, I need to hang some tools.

Shed Setup-Benches for shed3.jpg

Started veggies and flowers on the small benches over heat mats, then moved them to the rack for the lights. I added one more light for the two trays. These are the new lights I bought. The 2'x2' grow light I bought years ago was too expensive to ship the new bulbs I needed so I bought these instead. If I can find the bulbs I need somewhere else for better shipping costs I will purchase them and use it on another shelf.

Shed Setup-Rack for shed veggie starts.jpg

[Rockporter]

@Rockporter you have done an amazing amount of work and I am so glad that you have your water situation finally resolved. It's hard to enjoy living in your home with water coming in every time that it storms. The gardens sound great and ready to grow. I can't wait to see your pics.

Thanks so much, I feel a whole lot better when I go out there now. It was really depressing, lol.

[PlainJane]

Wow, such a transformation! Kudos to both of you!

[Rockporter]

Wow, such a transformation! Kudos to both of you!

Thanks, I feel like I am showing the before disaster and the great after, lol.

[Rockporter]

Woot! My new Pink Lemonade blueberry bush arrived today, and it is in wonderful shape, had plenty of water and it was well packed. It even has some blossoms on it already with lots of new leaves coming out. We will transplant that one tomorrow, maybe the lime and the peach tree too. I hope we have time for it. Hubby is still working on that trellis, lol.

[GoDawgs]

Ah! Great pics! It sure looks a lot better now. Lots of hard work but it paid off. Time for some fun. All work and no play.... well, you know the rest. LOL!

[Rockporter]

Ah! Great pics! It sure looks a lot better now. Lots of hard work but it paid off. Time for some fun. All work and no play.... well, you know the rest. LOL!

Thanks, aah I would love to go play but time is moving along and it won't be long before it is too hot and humid to work out there, then it will be months of no hard work, just maintaining the garden which is really hard in the heat, lol. I am definitely going to avoid planting anything I have to manage during the hot July through September time frame. The shed will be just fine to grow some seedlings for fall plant out though. We need to secure those other two trellises with the t-posts for the stormy weather and finish out the one we started before those strong winds come. It is also the best time to do this because the sand is moist and easier to put t-posts in. Boy, that stuff was rock hard last year until we had a really good rain.

[Rockporter]

Just to update, we just finished installing the t-posts and securing the panels with those brackets from One Man Fencing. I really like those, they are so easy to do. I gave hubby the rest of the day off from the garden after all that hard work he did with pounding those things in. Making him his favorite breakfast as soon as those eggs warm a bit.

Updating with a pic of the brackets on the t-posts I need to put the bolt covers on them so I don't scratch myself with them when picking trellised plants.

Garden 2023-Trellis One Man Fence Bracket On T-Post.jpg

[Rockporter]

Just came in from planting some yard long bean seeds on that big trellis at the front of the garden wall. Can't wait to see how those do, I have never grown them but I have seen them on someone else's garden bed once and they were amazing looking. I hope they taste good.

[Wildcat82]

Just came in from planting some yard long bean seeds on that big trellis at the front of the garden wall. Can't wait to see how those do, I have never grown them but I have seen them on someone else's garden bed once and they were amazing looking. I hope they taste good.

I've never grown longbeans before either. But I'm trying them this year on a cattle panel trellis very similar to yours. We'll have to compare photos later this spring.