When A Plan Comes Together

When we first bought our house I had David (and his little helper, Jack) build me a raised garden box. I thought it would be so cool to grow our own veggies, and envisioned a perfect little Pinterest scenario. The boys did an outstanding job on the box – David is a super craftsman (all natural talent) and was able to build it into our sloped backyard. Not an easy task! The hard part was done, now just fill it with dirt and seeds!

Well, to say that I lack a green thumb is an understatement. The only thing that would grow were the fool proof peas. Carrots – nope. Lettuces – nope. Zucchini – nope. The only living thing that we found in this garden was an occasional black snake that was caught in the deer netting. And poor David had to cut them out each time. It took a couple of years for me to let go of this dream, and sadly the box had to be demolished by the very hands that made it. Sigh.

Well, I’m proud to say that we have a new and improved addition, another shot at this Pinterest scenario. Yet, I am not involved, and I am not cursing it with my black thumb. It was all Jack’s idea. His interest was peaked, he drew out a plan, found a video, and got to work. So, I’m now turning over this post to him, my very first guest blogger 🙂

Hi, this is Jack. I am stuck at home because of COVID19 like everyone else in 2020. When the quarantine first started I got REALLY bored. So I thought about what I could do. It was the second week of quarantine and I started to do online classes on Google Classroom with my class. My teacher (Mr. Williams) posted a video of his garden at home. Then I got inspired by him to make my very own garden. Also I have not really been involved with any projects lately so it was the perfect time to do it. Then, I went outside in my backyard to find a good spot for the garden. I could not find a spot because we live on a slope with trees everywhere. So I had to think of a different plan. Then I got an Idea to make a garden box with wood so it could go on our deck.

First, I drew out my plans on what it looked like. Next, I showed my Dad when the plans were completed. Then my Dad said that we could do it! So we looked on the internet to see if there were any people who had the same idea as me. Sure enough we found a YouTube video called “DIY Raised Planter Box with Hidden Drainage” that had the same idea. Then me and my Dad made a list of materials that we needed. Then my Dad went to Home Depot to get our supplies. An hour later my Dad came back with a bunch of wood and everything we needed.

We started with the legs of the box. When we finished the legs we made the walls of it. After we finished that my Dad made the water drainage system and the floor of the box. Then we finished that and made a shelf under the box to put the watering cans and soil for the garden. Once everything was built we put on a couple of coats of polyurethane, let that dry, then put in the linings.

My dad had to carry it up the stairs to our deck. After we finished all of that we put the soil and the seeds in the garden box. We are currently growing Red Peppers, Cooleno Peppers, Cucumbers, Lettuce, and Peas. I also planted some basil, tomatoes and strawberries in different pots.

It was the best experience with me and my Dad in a long time. And that’s the story of how me and my Dad made it.

I was really amazed at how he saw it through from start to finish. Jack loves to create all sorts of things, and I am so happy that he has added this to his box of interests. What I love most about this is the bonding time it gave David and Jack. Life is always so busy, and I’m thankful time has slowed down for them to do this. It is something they will remember forever.

It’s almost one month later and look how everything is growing!