Deck Building 101

Last weekend a few good friends with some pretty amazing skills came and helped me add approximately 350 square feet of deck in my backyard. Here's the photo replay.

First trying to level the area
Placing the cement post holders in the exact spot and making sure they are all levelPutting in the posts and building the frame

Screwing in the first floor board and extending the frame

More floor boards

The final product!!! We are going to add railings and a bench next weekend. Stay tuned :)

Sun, Rain, and a Little Love

Tossing snails out of my garden (onto soft landing pads of grass) has become my new hobby. They are abundant and hungry little critters and my garden is a snail's 'all you can eat' buffet...unless I can get to them first! So far, snails and my occasionally badly behaved dog have been the biggest garden pests. I am told by other gardeners in the Upper Squamish to watch out for the deer but they have only made brief appearances on the front lawn.

I recently bought a great book called 'You Grow Girl'. I recommend checking out their website: www.yougrowgirl.com. They offer fantastic organic options to weeding and pest control. The website and book also have unique and creative garden ideas.

Now on to the produce....
The peas are starting to climb up the lattice I made out of some plastic I found.
The purple spuds are getting huge! I think I have to dig them up once they have flowered. The onions are getting a beating from the two aforementioned pests but they keep on keepin on. The zukes are ready to bloom any day now. I've got some berries appearing on one of the blueberry bushes. The smallest of the 3 bushes got run over accidentally by my neighbour who was doing me a huge favor by mowing around the garden. Nothing a little TLC can't fix.
This weekend I plan to plant the tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce and peppers that I have been babying indoors. They are ready for the big world out there!