Random stuff for a Tuesday:

1. I'm going to leave the comments on moderate. As much as it bugs me, I AM getting spam that has what are apparently embedded links to sites. I don't know what the sites are (don't click on them) but from the address that comes up, I'm suspicious that they are prOn.

Not sure what I'll do when I'm going to be away from the computer for a while, but then again, I don't get THAT many comments.

2. I can has raised beds!



I decided that if I was going to actually do any gardening this spring, I should either decide once and for all to go to a raised-bed system for the veggies (the herbs are too entrenched; I don't want to have to excavate and transplant a 3 foot high rosemary bush). I also realized that if I was going to do raised beds, I probably had better see if any were still available (I live in an area that retailers tend to think is smaller than it actually is; stuff sells out, especially seasonal stuff). Orshelin's had none, but Lowe's had these set-ups. The tallest part is 18" deep, which should be perfect for tomatoes. (I think my problems with them not producing in the past was in part competition from tree roots, and in part that the soil here is pretty shallow and stony and hard to grow through). I'm debating whether to just do a tomato blow-out this summer and plant all available space in these with them, or figure out something else...winter squash, maybe? Or, as much as it pains me to leave unplanted area, leave some area to try a fall crop of beets. I don't know.

I haven't filled them yet. I think what I'm going to do, rather than buying "GOOD FILL DIRT" as some advertise, I'm going to go the expensive route and get bags of topsoil, bags of sand, bags of organic matter stuff, and mix them. Partly because a lot of the soil around here tends to be kind of heavy (lots of clay) and also because sometimes GOOD FILL DIRT around here comes with a side of fire ants. And I've managed to mostly avoid fire ants in my yard up to now; I'd like to continue that.

I'm half tempted to buy another set-up like this for another part of my garden. I'm hoping that having the raised beds will AT LEAST cut down on the St. Augustine grass creeping its tillers into the garden, which I then have to cut out on a regular basis. They had smaller set ups (smaller and cheaper) that were only 5 1/2" high but where still 4' by 4'.

3. This is the first finished sock for my mom:



I'm about half done with the cuff on the second one. And last night I started the second pair; they're going to be the Retro-Rib sock (from Interweave Knits) in kind of a denim blue heather.

I just hope I can get these finished by the end of May when her birthday is.