I found this 50% off at Wal-Mart and wanted to share Of Course, I do not follow instructions very well and will be stretching it out instead of making a circle with it. It will take a few days to complete what I have planned but will post a pic when completed! It's marked down to $10 if anyone is interested! The finished size is 48" Diameter x 8" high and holds 8.24 cu. ft. of soil. Sorry about the quality of the picture, best I can do at the moment.

Whatcha gonna grow in it Christina? :o)

Herbs for Ben! He is coming up with a list and we will plant after coming back from Greer

Whats on his list so far?

I lost most of my herbs a few weeks ago when I went on vacation and they didn't get any water for nearly 2 weeks. The biggest lose was the french tarragon and french thyme. Oregano, sage and spearmint are trying to hang in there but they were severly burnt. Same with a couple of tiny rosemary plants. I'll plant replacements this fall.

Lucky you for getting to go to Greer!!

I promised pics so here goes- a general idea of what I mentioned about stretching it out...I don't follow directions very well but it worked just fine

Here is one corner where I had to use bricks to met up with the end. It was just long enough for Ben's herb area...

Here is the other corner where I rounded it to met the wall. It will be perfect. I am starting the seeds indoors- so far basil, oregano, cilantro, and thyme. The wire borders and bricks you see laying on the bed are to keep the cat from using the nice new soil as a personal cat pan and keep Sam from chewing up the irrigation.

Christina, you'll need to put down chicken wire to prevent the kitty-litter-box problem. And I'd plant the seeds directly in the soil. Cilantro grows like a weed and won't transplant well. And basil will pop right up, too. I haven't grown thyme from seed so I can't vouch for that one. Btw, what's the orientation of that wall, east, west, north, south?

Ditto, what Alma said, Chicken wire in the top inch of soil to keep those cats from making it a poop box.

Alan

Eek! Thanks for the advice! Alma, the wall is East facing and we've had great success with herbs there before but the soil was worn beyond use! We had trouble with what grows best at what time of year especially with the cilantro and parsley. They need more shade but the mesquite tree is mature enough to try again....any other suggestions or advice? It's a rather short area but has never been used to its best ability....now it has new soil and is open to all ideas! We have some plastic 'chicken wire' left over from our puppy digging stage and will lay that down. Thanks!!!!

That location sounds perfect, Christina! I use that plastic 'chicken wire' too and it works very well to keep the poopers and diggers out.

I don't have this calendar, but I'm going to get it. http://www.azherb.org/LDHGH.ph... I'm sure one of my biggest problems is planting things at the wrong time. I've learned about some - cilantro and dill are good examples - the hard way. But why guess when someone else has done the dirty work?

Ok...i was just thinking...a perfect idea for soda can holders. You know, those plastic things that come on a six pack? Why not tie a bunch of those together, and burry them under the soil. Surely that would stop the kitty cats from digging? Maybe it's to wide and stretchy??

Alan

Not a bad idea Alan...I could get a bunch from the School PTO after a couple fundraiser nights. Great way to recycle! I don't think the cats could get their heads through one should it get dug up but something that should be considered first.

It looks good Christina! Basil loves hot weather, though most herbs prefer cool weather. Well, except mints - mine grow no matter what time of year it is. I killed the Tri-Colored Sage - definitely does not like the heat. I direct seed all my herbs except my thymes I bought as plants. I hear they take a long time from seed but don't know for sure.

Cats are picky about where they put their feet, so chicken wire or something similar on top of the soil or near the surface should deter the cat box urge.

How's your herb garden going, Christina? Give us an update.

I haven't planted anything in it yet Alma, after thinking more about it I decided to wait due to the heat. I do have a baby basil plant that is waiting patiently to go into it's new bed but want to wait just a bit longer!

Good thinking! It looks like we're gonna cook for a while longer. Ughhhhh..... I hate this heat. And WHY, after having so little rain, do we still have so much humidity???

No kidding! I have a bit of a hike for my classes downtown and this humidity is killing me!!!! My plants (the ones that made it this far) seem to be doing okay though so I won't complain too much!!

I keep my air conditioner set out 85 during the day. Yesterday it about killed me! Generally everything is tolerable at 85.

Alan