The Garden

My garden.... I have such big plans for this part of the property! I spent non-rainy days all winter building 25 4 x 10' garden beds with 2 x 10" lumber. I hand cut all the lumber, as I don't have a skill saw or anything else yet. I planted lots of crops, most of which did not do well due to the cold, crappy spring we had. The dumptruck load of soil I bought was supposed to have compost and chicken manure in it. Well, maybe it did, but the first beds I planted grew like crap. The later beds I planted, when I had access to horse manure, grew astoundingly well. With those beds, I put a layer of manure down, then covered it with soil, then planted. Everything I planted grew gangbusters in those beds. Peas, potatoes, and white onions. Currently, I am working on putting lots and lots of manure into the harvested beds, in preperation for a fall planting. If all goes well, I should be able to do most of that in about 2 weeks time. My constant worry right now is water. I have a shallow well, only 14' deep. I was told it was a good well by the previous owners, but were they watering 25 garden beds in a heat wave? Probably not! Every day, I worry I will run out. I pryed the top off the well the other day. I can see water, but I have no way of knowing how deep it is, or how it is replenished. Does anyone have a really big stick I can poke down there to measure the depth?? lol!

I am planning on putting in another 25 beds this winter. IF I can make enough money to buy another load of soil, and the lumber to make the beds! I would really like to be able to sell at the farmers' markets next year, and make some extra cash.