My Garden Begins

Hit Lowe's on the way home from having my truck serviced in Belvidere. Spur of the moment, efficient use of gasoline, etc. Bad idea.

My one bed will be 3'x6', enclosed by 2x10s. I estimated I'll need 12 cubic feet of garden soil, i.e., 18 sq ft x 8 inches deep. Bought six 2 cu ft bags of Miracle Grow Organic Choice garden soil at $7.92 each. Managed to get 3 of them onto a cart before getting help. They seemed to weigh at least 100 lbs. Later found they're marked at only 40 lbs. Can't believe I couldn't lift 40 lbs. Need to sort that out later. For now, they're still on my truck.

Bought seeds to start now. Didn't have my list, but I know spinach and lettuce can start in April. If the marigolds get frosted, I can always replant.

1. Spinach: Bloomsdale Long-Standing (Burpee). 
2. Lettuce: Simpson Elite (Burpee).
3. Lettuce: Ruby (NK).
4. Mesclun: Sweet Salad Mix (Burpee).
5. Marigold: Petite Yellow (Ferry-Morse).

Total cost: $7.46

Then went for building supplies. Talked into drywall screws by Lowe's guy. Course thread, 3 in. One lb for $2.48.

And two 8-ft 2x10s at $4.80 each. This was dumb. For some reason at that moment I thought I was building a 2'x6' frame , so two 8-footers seemed right. In fact I am building a 3'x6' frame. Could exchange them for 10-footers, but...

Checked the basement for leftover 2x10 scraps. None found. Found plenty of 2x4s though. I'll measure for sure, but if I have enough 3-ft lengths I'll stack 2x4s to build up the ends. Might look cool. Or, probably, won't. But that's the plan. Need to get it done tomorrow so I can get the six bags of soil off my truck. Don't like driving around with an extra 240 lbs or, as I suspect, 600 lbs in the bed. Wouldn't be prudent.

Total cost (with tax): $72.60.