...the "plots" have thickets

yes...I can hear some of you groaning...
it is a bad pun...but it got your attention...
and it is, unfortunately, true...

the raised beds, or "plots", my garden has to go in...
have "thickets" of weeds...
not to mention, junk piled on them...

all of which has to "go"...
before I can prep the soil & plant...

so to bring you, gentle readers, "up to speed"...
here's what I have gotten myself into...



this large square box once had corn...
and even was an herb garden for a while...
the last few years, it was home to the beefsteak tomatoes...
since they get so big...
there is also a smaller box for my cherry tomatoes...
which I put in a "square cage"...
adjacent to the bottom corner of the larger box...

now, the larger box has a bunch of Japanese maples...
a volunteer fig tree & a tangerine tree in residence...
all of which have to "go away"...
to a different home before I can start to prep this plot...
where I think I'll plant the 2 crookneck squash...
the 2 zucchini and the Armenian cucumber this year...



this the pathway between the "bean box" on the right...
and the tomato box on the left...
all that stuff that looks like wheat...
is some sort of grain from the birdseed spill...
there are alo a couple of volunteer sunflowers..



this is the long, narrow "bean box"...
before I moved the bag of weeds to the path...
to the right, you can see the bottoms of the bean poles...
just waiting to be driven into the ground...
and strung with twine for bean climbing...



here is the main tomato area...
with an old wooden arbor/fencing in parts...
they have to be moved,"out"....
beyond the bean box is another tomato area...



here you can see an axillary tomato box...
just below the bigger one...

all the boxes have underground drip irrigation...
several of which are in need of replacement...
after the top is cleared off of each bed...
then the drip has to be pulled up & checked for leaks...

the soil has to be tilled...
[I use a Garden Weasel]
then amendments added...
[I don't have any compost yet...]
then the Morcrop fertilizer...
finally, the drip hose has to be "buried"...
and tested...

then there's the black plastic weed block sheets...
that has to be fitted & secured...
and in the bean box, the stakes have to be driven in...
and string strung...

only then can I actually plant my garden...

I will then "cage" the tomatoes & cucumber...
put down snail/slug bait...
[too small for the cats or dog to ingest...]
then crawl inside & collapse...



in the meantime, here they wait...

I'll do the beans first...
since I know how they will grow & attach themselves...
to each other, making a giant mess if I wait too long...

then the squash & cucumber...
before they "bolt"...

& finally, the tomatoes...
they will "wait" the best...

if I had more sun...
I'd do peppers & eggplant too...
maybe even corn...
but my trees are too big...
so I'll content myself this year...
with that most summery of smells...

warm tomato vines...
sending out their intoxicating scent...

I'm hoping there will be plenty to share...
especially the "cherries"...

yum...