You've gotten some great advice here. I'll just second the advice to build raised beds in there and try square foot gardening. A 6"x8' long board is about $4 and it'll take three of them to make a 4'x8' bed. If you don't have any tools, this is still doable. Ask the lumberyard to cut one of the three boards in half ~ those will be your ends (they'll make one cut for free). Then all you have to buy is a hammer and some 16-penny nails, or a drill and 3" decking screws (drilling in screws many times is easier and makes for stronger connections, so might be worth the twenty bucks for a cheap drill) and assemble them when you get home. It's super easy to make the beds if you first shovel a few inches of soil from your walkways over into where you plan to put the permanent beds. Then, assemble the wood frames around those long piles and rake them down. No extra fill dirt needed. (Do stand back and look after you get the long piles done ~ it's funny to see your garden looking like Boot Hill the day after the gunfight. ;) I did some quick calculations and you can fit a LOT of beds in your space! That's how many will easily fit, leaving a few feet extra on one end. Those are all 4'x8' beds with three foot wide walkways horizonatally and 2' wide walkways vertically. It's very important to have nice, wide paths that are easy-peasy to get down with a wheelbarrow or garden cart or you'll be back to hating working in your garden. Making them wider if you want wouldn't be bad either ~ you have plenty of room. The vertical ones need not be as wide as the two main ones since you likely won't be hauling a wheelbarrow down those, though if you think you will, by all means take out a line or two of beds and make them winder. Dress it up somewhat by leaving out a couple beds in the middle and putting a pond or fountain in with a bench so you can enjoy being out there. Maybe adding an arbor in one corner over a sitting area would be nice ~ just cut out another one of the beds over there. Want a compost pile, potting bench, or whathaveyou? Omit a bed or two and put it in. Make it pretty out there and you'll be more likely to be in it more, thus staying on top of things and not letting them build up into bigger problems that make you hate it again. Put a fence around your garden, too. Even just an ornamental one. It defines the space and makes it easier to keep the inside organized. It'd be nice to put a 2' wide bed all the way around the edge of the garden, too. That way, the fence can double as a trellis. Again, just shorten some of the beds, or rearrange them. You don't have to build all the beds in one year either. Just do as many as you can afford, then plant the rest in bush beans, a cover crop, blocks of corn, or melons ~ they'd have plenty of room to sprawl. Buy some concrete reinforcement wire to make tomato cages out of. Cut it into 6.5" pieces, form into a circle, and wire together ~ cut the bottom wire off leaving the vertical wires for legs to stick into the soil to help "stake" the cage in place. Learn about square foot gardening, either on the forum here about it, the website devoted to it or buy the book. It's really a nifty technique. You don't have to use the soil mix recommended, especially since you likely have enough soil already ~ just use the planting guidelines. It'll help you plant more intensively, which keeps weeds down and moisture in since the plants are so close together they act as a living mulch. And SFG encourages you to plant things all in together instead of blocks or sections of each type of veggie. Doing it this way, with bush beans under your okra, lettuce tucked in snugly beside your kale, etc., makes the whole thing look prettier. Lay out some more of that concrete reinforcement wire atop your wooden beds and nail in place, lining up the wires with the sides. Then, use some small bolt cutters to cut out sections of the wire to make 12"x12" squares instead of 6"x6" and you'll have your square foot guides all done and will be ready to plant. Here's a bed done that way already, with a few other size planting guides laying atop the main one: And definitely plant flowers in there. Lots and lots of flowers! Yes, they attract pollinators and other beneficial insects, and because some kinds do deter other pests. But mostly plant them just because. As one of my fave quotes says: "Vegetable gardens feed your body, while flower gardens feed your soul."

You now that is really bad. I think about snakes every time I do the edge rows around my property. "But Tabor says when he looked under the lawnmower, he noticed a rattlesnake wrapped around a pulley." "By Jade Bulecza - bio : email BERRIEN COUNTY, GA (WALB) ÂA Berrien County man was killed by a rattlesnake. Authorities say 82-year old Eddie Dorminey was repairing his lawnmower Wednesday morning. A snake was hiding in the lawnmower and bit him several times. This is the time of year when more snakes are out and active. This is the rattlesnake that took the life of 82-year old Eddie Lee Dorminey Wednesday morning in Enigma. It was first thought that Dorminey had died of a heart attack but when Lt. Larry Tabor looked under the lawnmower, he noticed a rattlesnake wrapped around a pulley. "When we found out the snake was alive we checked out the body again and on his wrist he had several areas that were punctured, a snake bite in the main artery," said Lt. Tabor. Investigators said Dorminey was apparently changing the lawnmower belt and didn't notice the snake was there. "The sheriff got a stick and went to punch it and all of the sudden the snake started moving," said Lt. Tabor. The venomous snake was then killed. Dorminey's grandson says he misses the man who he called "Papa D." "I miss him. I love him alot." He says his "Papa D" was always there for his entire family. "His lawnmower was like a tractor to him. I always helped him with his lawnmower." Statistics show only about a dozen Americans die from snake bites per year. Watch where you step, watch where you reach, because rattlesnakes can blend in with their environment. This time of year, they're on the move. Rattlesnakes like to stay where it's cool and near a food source. While his death is difficult to deal with, Dorminey's family wants others to be aware of the venomous snakes out there. Eddie Dorminey's funeral will be Saturday at Lovein Funeral Home in Nashville." We've got some timber rattlers around home. Mostly Copper Heads. Saw a King Snake kill and eat a Copper Head while mowing a couple of years ago. Got some pictures using my phone. I'm sure we have a Eastern Diamond or 2 around here. Been in the bush all my life. I've never had a close call. Things like this make me wonder. MS

I think it's wise to wait until the construction dust has settled to invest in a new personal computer. When you do finally look into getting one, a thought is to look into getting a laptop with a wireless connection. Personally, I think business machines and personal machines should be kept separate. The only thing you can do right now, is to keep your machines covered when not in use, and to unplug everything and vacuum to keep the dust at a minimum. Larry periodically takes our machines to the basement, and uses a compressor to blow the dust out. We keep our machines plugged in through Blackout Buster surge protectors. They're probably the best on the market. Even though I don't have ADD or OCD, I still manage to overdo collecting! I began with 2 bulbs last fall, and now, I have over 60! I'm not sure what the exact count is... I haven't counted in a while! I also began collecting orchids last winter, and I now have 7! I've pretty much abandoned collecting regular types of houseplants, which I used to have lots of... I've gotten more specialized, I guess you could say. I like the challenge that orchids present, and reblooming all my bulbs! Getting back to computers... when you do decide to look into new systems, Larry would be pleased to help you in any way you need. He's a perfectionist when it comes building machines and programming technology... he always says that a machine will never beat him, and he will work at a problem until it is solved. His tagline is: "God made me simple... technology made me a god!" So, if you need any assistance, like choosing the best machine for the best price, figuring out what components are best, where to go for the items you need, or any type of programming help, he said he'd be more than happy to lend a hand. He just headed north this morning to help my son with the electric in his house, and to help a few friends with their computers! Like you, he has so many things going on! He's always busy, and sometimes, he doesn't know where to start! The ADD doesn't let him rest, and while most of us are sleeping, he's busy with technology! I don't know about you night owls! I like to sleep at night, and if my insomnia lets me, I'm out from around 11 pm to at least 5 or 6 am! I'd stay up and keep Larry company, but gardening is best done during daylight hours!

Oh, yes, dear Cathy - time to say STOP THE MADNESS! I brought in a few more PVS eggs, but left the rest outside. They're just going to have to make it or not. I also quit bringing in the BST eggs, too. They are laying eggs on the tiniest stalk (no foliage) of fennel, so there will be no food for them. This has been a record bounty year for butterflies here in Oklahoma. I don't think we EVER get this many. If we had, they would have just layed eggs on the small amount of A. clematitis that I have had in my yard for 4 years now. I have gotten out and pinched the A. clematitis and the tomentosa and they are growing new basal and side growth. But, it's nowhere near what I would need to feed all of the cats that will hatch (or not). It is fun and enjoyable, raising butterflies. But when you get all frazzled just thinking about what the rest of the day will bring, it's time to reevaluate the purpose. The bugs and predators are abundant this year. Something needs to feed them, too, because they DO have their place in nature. Mother Nature knows best and we are actually intervening. If the population was threatened, I would feel differently, but I don't think it is, unless you have got Regal Fritillaries or some such declining butterfly population. Butterflies have made it for millions of years - wow! That boggles even my mind! I think they'll make it a few more. Also, unless you're tagging the Monarchs for research purposes, I wouldn't worry about it so much. We do what we can with what we have. If I don't have my wits about me, I'm likely to not be of much help to the butterflies, my family, anyone or anything else. You're a dear, Cathy, and we all love you here, but raising butterflies should be enjoyable and enlightening. If you're feeling discouraged about it, it's no longer either of those things. Susan