The weather hasn't been the best for yard work, or maybe it's just that I don't want to dig in the dirt in the rain and cold. I got a good start on the planting boxes today.

I'd built one of the big containers a week or so ago, but today was the day I started to dig into putting it in the yard. Literally digging out the old container, flattening the ground, and putting the heavy box in its approximately final place.

The old planting boxes were 4x8-foot plots with 2x10 walls, so close to a yard of black dirt. The year we got them in place, we grew some fantastic tomatoes and cucumbers and peppers in them. Some of the other plants we tried didn't fare so well. We yard gardened for a couple years, and then things to do with the kiddo took over. Years of neglect let them get overrun with lots of weeds, but the dirt seems still very robust.

I built the new box (and plan to build another) out of 2x10s, cutting down the 8-foot planks to something about 6x2-foot, with a couple rows of the 2x10s, making it about 18 inches deep. I can't bend over a shoe-high box to garden any more. I built it with 4x4s in the corner, cut 4-foot long, giving something to hang either a pest fence or trellis of some kind on. It looks like a stilted planting box, but with very long legs. I should snap a photo.

I dug the 4x8 spot on the west end of the south side of the house, moving the dirt to the 4x8 spot on the east end of that side of the house. I dug out or cut down the tree sprouts that constantly get started in the area. I muscled the box onto my hand-truck and fought its 3-inch wheels through the soft soil until I could tip it roughly into place. I didn't do such a bad job of leveling the ground, as there's just one little bit of a swell I need to work out. But I had enough for the day, so I left it to settle on its own.

I plan to do the needful and level it correctly. Then I'll put some wood, cardboard, or other substrate on the bottom. I've considered a few inches of rocks, but I hate to think what that might be like to remove later. I've got some scraps of wood, plus the old, decaying planting boxes, so I'll probably just "fill" the bottom of the box with those, to help deter pests from burrowing in, but not so tightly as to cause drainage problems. The suggestion is to then layer some rough organics in, like sticks, maybe some peat moss or some old planting soil I have in the garage, and then cover it with the black dirt. 

I'll shovel the dirt just moved into the box until it's full enough. I expect some left over, which I'll have to move out of the way of the other planned box, and then follow the same procedure to fill it.

There are two more of the short 4x8-foot planting boxes in the yard that I can use if I need more dirt in the second box. I don't think I will. We need to finish leveling the yard around the garage, after the excavation and construction left some holes and rifts. There will probably still be some left over that I might use in the deck containers. I'll maybe augment beneath some bushes or other spots in the grass.

Once the dirt is all moved, or at least after the boxes are filled, I'll cover the muddy ground with mulch to abate the weeds and provide a clear path. I've thought to spread some marigold and lavender along the edge of the house, to try to dissuade rodents, too. There's about a 2-foot gap between the house and the planting boxes, so a line of flowers at the base of the foundation will both not be in the way, and might add some pollinator attraction, as well as mouse deterrent.

The plan is to bring back a bevy of tomatoes and peppers in the large boxes. I'll probably try some spinach and other small things in the deck containers.