With that coupon I had, I was able to get that ground cover and get it laid out today to see if it fit. I already scrunched it back up and placed it in the house until I get more stuff. It's pretty exciting that this is the first major thing Ive done with the garden. This is how it looked so far with the plastic sheet laid out. That one cover did a great job covering up most of the space I'm going to work with. There's a little bit of grass in a small area still showing, but I think i'll just leave it and revive the grass everywhere else that isnt covered up.

I think next I'll work on getting the shade set up and a getting a few giant rocks to keep the cover from flying all over the place. What do you guys think? I think perhaps I could fit about 4 raised beds in the covered area. Maybe 5

I'm confused. What is the grey thing lying on the ground? What are you doing with it?

What is the size of the plastic? So far it looks like a good plan. Take is one area at a time. Do you know what kind of material you will be using to build the raised beds? or do you plan on purchasing the ready-made type? I think you posted that you don't have too many tools so I'm not sure if you are set up to build the raised beds out of wood.

@Daisyl, the grey thing is a clear plastic sheet. It's to keep the weeds from coming in underneath the raised beds and minimize how many bugs make their way into the garden.

@greene, I got the plastic at Lowe's this morning in the roofing section for about $11 I think with the added coupon. It's called 4 MIL Heavy Duty, 10ft x 25ft Clear Plastic Sheeting. I was thinking of using cinder blocks since it is portable and easier to pack up to move them when it's time for us to move again. No tools are necessary and they're about $1.70 a brick I think. Honestly I'm still looking for cheaper cinder blocks though.

RenaeC said:...cinder blocks

When I was young my dad hammered into my head the difference between cinder blocks and concrete blocks.

Cinder blocks are usually less expensive and much lighter than concrete blocks. I like your idea of building the beds without tools and having beds that can be moved so you can relocate your garden if you move.

If you contact some of the companies that manufacture blocks and ask if you can purchase the "seconds"; the ones that are not perfect, a bit chipped or the wrong color, you might get them for less money.

Thanks for the tip greene. I'm not sure if we have a manufacturer here in town that makes the blocks. And, I think it's cinder blocks I saw at lowe's this morning. I'm not really sure though. Right now, I'm trying to figure out if I should put the tarp up from the side of the house and have it coming down slanted towards the fence for shade to save a bit of money or if I should go ahead and do pvc pipes. Idk, I'm trying to weigh the pros and cons right now

If you slant the tarp toward the fence...the rain runoff will end up in your neighbor's yard. Not a good way to make friends. Keep rain and wind in mind whenever you are using a tarp.

There's no neighbor's where that side of the garden is. There's neighbor's behind the house if I open the back door, but there's only a chain link fence and a parking lot sort of structure for the apartments on that side. The garden is located where the neighbor's in those 2-story apartments can't see too much into the yard. I actually was recently cleaning the dogs mess in the backyard and found someone threw a razor and a condom in our yard

T.M.I.

See, no neighbor's backyard right there. Just a chain link fence.



it's true though lol i found a used condom, a razor blade, a beer bottle, and some fruit pits that were thrown into our yard. I used the pooper scooper to pick them up and put them in the trash. I don't know why or who would throw them into our yard, but they did.

Not laughing.
There are no residents on the other side of the fence, true. But there will be people occupying the space from time to time and you will need to take that into consideration, especially if you will be growing food so close to the fence.
If it were my yard I would notify the police to step up patrols in the area.

We checked the crime in this area when we were making the move and the reports say there's only been one car theft in the last 2 years. I don't know if it was guests of the neighbor's or what that caused that stuff to land in our yard.

There's already police that patrol threw here on a daily basis from regular police to sheriff's. They just don't patrol as often at night. Honestly, we used to get way worse stuff in the yards at the old place cause there was 2 bars near it and drunks would always be in our parking lot. Someone actually stole my under garments from our dryer before we moved and someone once broke into our car last year just to sleep in it from the rain

If you have that kind of thing in your yard, you have a decent amount of privacy there, which means if you put anything too pricey back there-a birdbath, fountain, ect, it will walk off. You may even consider a small camera just to add some peace of mind.

I'm not sure we can install camera here since we're renting. I know a couple people that have security camera's, but they have to be fed through a widow to access an outlet.

I have to pick up dog food tonight at walmart, so I'll probably check out Home depot's pvc pipes on the way to see if they're cheaper than Lowe's and see I'll see if Walmart has any tarps that are any cheaper than what i've seen.

greene said:T.M.I.

Reality isn't TMI.

RenaeC - I've never had great luck with clear plastic for killing weeds. They sure don't grow above it, but they sometimes thrive below it. I always use black plastic to smother weeds. The red stuff works well too, but is more expensive and I use it around the tomatoes and peppers to reflect the light they absorb back up.

I got the clear one cause it was cheaper. I will keep the black one in mind when i get more money and maybe add in a second layer later on. I actually bought all the stuff for the pvc shade and it just didnt look right. The pipes only came in size 5 ft and even stacking it just didnt look appealing, so tomorrow I will take them back in the morning and figure something else out for shade

You could put newspaper or packing paper on it for shading. If you don't get a newspaper, maybe a neighbor does.

They dont deliver the paper in this area. You would need to buy it at the store if you wanted it. Oh! i just remember a friend on here used a patio umbrella for his shade in the garden. Perhaps i'll look into beach umbrella's for the beds since you can fold them down if needed.

You should be able to get leftover (unsold) newspaper from your local place for free. I have often gone to our newspaper place and asked for the unsold newspapers to use when creating a new flowerbed overtop grass. They let me take as many bundles of their unsold newspaper as I want. Saves them having to get rid of it themselves.