Hi Molly.. You could absolutely have a compact mini-garden in your spot. The GOOD thing is, since it's such a small space, taking care of it won't be so much work! I would suggest the following: Either: 1) As the other said, do a raised bed, and fill it with good store-bought dirt (probably your simplest solution...) or lasagna garden (disadvantages would be all the material you'll have to buy & haul in for the 'lasagna layers')... OR 2) Your best option, in my opinion: no raised bed,, just get the weeds, weed-roots, & rocks out with a fork, loosen it up REALLY good, and buy as much good dirt as you can (from Natural Gardener or Great Outdoors, or another garden store with a conscience).. something with lots of compost, hummus, etc.. already in it.. and once you put your plants in, put as much of the GOOD dirt under & around the plants as you can. Then you can till the leftover stuff in the rest of the bed. If you do this every year (& keep adding your own compost), your soil will get better & better, and you will have to do much less work every season. Then cover everything with a good layer of pine bark mulch. The mulch will also decompose into your soil and further improve it. THEN start a compost pile! This is the best way to start making your own soil. A vermicompost bin is another great way to do the same thing, but more concentrated. Leaves (from your autumn raking), kitchen scraps, b&w newspaper, chicken/cow/rabbit manure, hay, etc.. all go in both of these. And eventually it goes into your garden soil, improving it even more. This takes time though.. which is why you need to buy the good stuff, at first. By next year you can start adding the 'black gold' to your garden.. and that's a great feeling. Some reasons why your tomatoes probably failed before: 1) Soil not ready (see above) 2) Did you get healthy plants, from a good organic garden store or local farmers market? or, from a big box store (some folks might do fine with these, I would never risk it)..? 3) Did you get varieties that do well in our area? The good stores/farm mkts will sell these. 4) Did you get them in EARLY enough? Preferably mid-March to early-April. The main reason is that they need to get established before the brutal TX heat, and b/c if the nighttime temps are too high by the time they are just getting blossoms, the pollen gets too sticky/heavy in the heat and they might not fruit. So you need to get plants in the ground when nighttime temps are still cool (someone here might know the exact cut-off temp.. high 70's, I think?). 5) Did you feed them?? Tomatoes are heavy feeders, especially in our poor soil...unless you live on the east side, or somewhere with better dirt. 6) Was the soil well loosened/aerated around the plants? If not, the roots struggle too hard to get through our rocky-clay soil and cannot breathe, can't grow, & water can't get to them. 7) Did you give them enough room? How about support- a sturdy tomato cage? The small flimsy cone ones are worthless, IMO... get the biggest cones you can find, or the large folding non-cone ones if you are really serious. But if you have compact bush plants, this isn't as much of an issue.. 8) Stink bugs and other pests will likely take over around July, but that's kind of a given.. you can try sucking them up with a hand-vacuum... but usually by then I've gotten a good crop and I just give up (the mosquitoes are too bad to be outside much, and to hot anyway...) 9) How about water? It's best to water in the morning or evening, and just water the soil around the plants, try to keep the plants dry. Make sure they get a good deep watering, about once a week, or more often if it's really hot/dry. They will start to wilt a bit when they need more water. The longer you water them at one time, then leave them alone for as long as they can stand it, the deeper the roots will go. If you give them only shallow, frequent waterings, the roots will stay closer to the surface. 10) Toms need at the very least 4 hrs of direct light a day.. Soooooooooo... Here's what you need to get started (if you choose option #2): 1) a big garden fork/ spading fork-- which is an investment.. absolutely essential for loosening up our soil. You wiggle it into the soil by putting ALL your weight on it til it goes in- then start pulling up & flipping over the soil, & get all those pesky weeds out (make sure you get all the roots). Rocks too. This will also break up the clumps. Keep pushing the fork down as deep as it can go & scooping it up. Just think of those nice healthy roots going way down in there= healthier plants. It's hard work, but great exercise, and it gets easier.. just do a section each day & you'll be done in no time. Watering the soil a bit helps too. 2) shovel (of course) 3) at least a couple bags of good soil.. and remember soil is everything... it will feed your plants, which will feed you. So don't get cheap junk at walmart or wherever.. Ladybug brand is great, or something similar.. 4) a few bags of mulch, either pine bark or pine needle.. if you want a short cut, you can use a thick layer of leaves if you have a leaf pile handy. Mulch will help keep the soil moist after a rain/watering, & help keep soil from getting too hot and dry. Also helps delay weeds somewhat. 5) a bag of Rabbit Hill farms tomato & pepper food (my personal favorite). Put a handful of this into each hole as you put the toms in. Then work another handful in around each plant as they start to fruit, and every few weeks after. 6) a bottle of seaweed-fish solution & a regular sprayer bottle. Mix a half-capful or so with water (fill it up)- and mist the leaves every couple weeks (in the morning, before 9 am, when the leaf 'pores' are still open)... this helps heat/drought tolerance and also feeds your plants. I hope this doesn't sound complicated,, it really is simple! You will get into a rhythm and it will just become a natural part of your day. I would also suggest volunteering for the green Corn Project and planting a garden with them at least once, they use the biointensive double-digging method, which is basically kind of what I do (a simpler version). Or, visit other peoples' gardens (like at the Natural Gardener- theirs is amazing!) to get inspiration & ask for advice. You could probably do about 3 tomato plants (compact/bush varities might be easier to manage in that small space)... and maybe a few bush cukes and non-vining squash, a pepper or 2. Realistically that's probably all you're going to fit in there, so make sure you are putting in what you really want. But the biointensive method says.. the healthier your soil (and therefore, your plants), the more you can crowd them together. So keep that in mind. And don't forget about Austin's great opportunity for a fall/winter/into spring garden: spinach, broccoli, beets, carrots, asian greens, kale, cabbage, brussel sprouts, onions, potatoes,, leeks, peas, etc...! Good luck.. hope that helps!

@ace_tx From what I've read a lot of people are suggesting what you said, so I'm thinking that would be a good idea.... can you just help me understand it a bit more? Would I run all four of those wires to where the tv would be in the room? or only 1 rg6 quad coax and 1 6pr cat5e/6 lines to where the tv and they other 2 would be at a different location in the room? (Then of course all those wires would run to the central location, right, and plug into what?, I'm not sure - guess I can figure that out later) Are there any other cables I should have behind my TV in the main viewing area (assuming my dvd player and stuff are in a separate cabinet)? THANKS!

You've entered into the often misunderstood world of low voltage power wiring. Basically you have to treat the wiring just like 120V wiring with junction boxes UNLESS you use class 2 power limited transformers. This is what is required with typical low voltage puck light installation. Wiring must still be in wall rated to pass though the structure. Not all combinations of low voltage lighting installation parts by manufacturers are UL listed (and some will tell you that)so it is possible that you can't even connect what you have been given in a code approved way. For these parts to be compatible the transformer will have five 5 amp fuses or circuit breakers on it, each meant to supply up to 60 watts of lighting. So each fixture will have it's own run of cable back to its own connection point on the transformer. It's OK to lengthen runs using the manufacturer's voltage drop table and recommended wire size.

I don't think I'd want to run high voltage 500 feet through the woods. Leakage is the problem. You'll have to tend the line regularly. There are too many places where weeds, dirty insulators, and the like can bleed voltage off. You'll also need more lightning protection for it. I suggest that before you spend any money at all, you make sure you have a good ground with what you're using now. The ground rod should be sunk 10' into damp earth. Use two if in doubt. Then, check all your insulators. I trust you've gone over the fence line in the dark to check for arcing over. A meter can help in this process. http://www.parmakusa.com/Baygard/access/tester.htm If that doesn't turn up anything, I'll second Brick's recommendation. Get a better charger with more sock. Parmak makes a good solar charger. You'll find these at the co-ops. This is not the usual feeble made-in-China solar powered junk the chain "tractor stores" usually sell. http://www.parmakusa.com/Fencers/solar2.htm If that's not enough you might try their 12-volt battery powered fence charger. http://www.parmakusa.com/Fencers/battery-operated-fencers.htm Power it with a good 12v gel battery, preferably group 24 or even group 27. U1 size is lighter, but will need more frequent charging. I get excellent service from East Penn Deka brand. You can either get two batteries so you can charge one while the other is in use, or buy one battery and a PV panel to keep it charged. I have two of the 12v Parmak chargers and have been using them (in separate areas) with portable fence for several years. So far the coyotes and foxes are leaving the sheep and chickens alone. A group 24 gel battery powers each for weeks. Where you have aggressive predators (or curious critters), you can't cheap out on fencing materials. Hope this helps.