Raised Square Foot Garden

Jersey is guarding my vegetable garden against all the rabbits! (big rabbit problem in my yard)  Making a raised garden was a lot of work, and a team effort with my kids. The 4x4' box is made from 2x10" boards, topped with 1 foot high removable fencing to discourages rabbits, since Jersey can't stand guard all the time. The fence was made from furring strip that was laying around the attic, and welded wire fence that was there before I built that picket fence. (see previous blog Picket Fence and Gate)

Here's a great link to a beginner's guide to square foot gardening. They say it costs about $50, but mine was probably double that. I also learned a lot from My Square Foot Garden. 

Here's my soil mix:
Pearlite 10 x 8-qt
4 cu ft. peat moss (expands when you unpack it)
5 x 40-lb bags of cow compost

The plants are the cheapest purchase. Here's a little plan of my plants:

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Build a Modern Park Bench

I built this lovely, modern park bench from plans I found at Ana White. The only adjustment I made was to make the legs out of 4x4s. I like this plan because it's all straight, right angle cuts, a one day project, which I tackled by myself. I'm definitely getting more comfortable with the miter saw. The wood cost under $50. I plan to paint it with primer, then white exterior paint, both of which I have around the house. Stain would be beautiful, too. If I had to do it over again, I would paint all the pieces before assembling. And I wish I had a brad nailer; it would make attaching all the slats go much faster, and would have to fill as many screw holes.

The bench measures 72" wide, 31" tall and 27" deep. It's huge! William and Jersey tested the bench out, and found it very comfortable.

Tools: miter saw, electric drill, Kreg pocket hole jig, palm sander

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Sturdy work table and tool box

The first project I tackled from Ana White's wonderful plans was a building a sturdy work table for my miter saw that I bought at a garage sale for $25. I was using cinder blocks and plywood as a makeshift work table, and wanted an improvement on that as my first project. So, let the fun begin!
I started the project on Saturday after lunch, going to the lumber yard and picking up wood and screws for about $50. It's about the lumber limit I can haul in my Honda Civic, in the back seat, with the window open.

I followed the instructions, but found that the supports for the top were 13" not 12", and I had 3 2x4s left over (for future projects). I had some plywood in the shed, which I cut 16x40 to make a shelf. I only filled the screw holes on top with wood filler, so sawdust doesn't accumulate.
I finished the table before dinner time. The kids are getting me a bench vise for Mother's Day. Thanks kids!

On Sunday I started my second project, a tool box made out of a dowel and a 1x6 (see it on the ground in the second pic?). I cut the pieces first, then rounded the sides with the jig saw I bought at another garage sale for $3.

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Sturdy Work Bench

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