Working the Yard...Still

I passed up a perfect day for a bike ride on Saturday to give some much needed attention to some projects outside. The goal was to get the garden expansion in the front yard done. Up to this point, I had dug the edging into the ground and pulled up the sod. I had planted three bushes, but that was a far as I got. The next step was to mulch the area.

For me, the biggest issue was getting the mulch here. I knew how much it would cost to purchase, but it's hard to tell how much to get. We've been doing some outdoor work at Lyrecrest and ordered a bunch of mulch and it looked like 2 cubic yards would be enough.

To avoid delivery fees (anywhere from $20-$45), I was able to borrow my neighbors pick-up, which (as I discovered) can hold 2 cubic yards of mulch perfectly. Awesome...no delivery fee! I drove back, got out the wheelbarrow and started hauling mulch back and forth.

About halfway through, I made an unfortunate realization. I was not going to have enough mulch. In fact, I was nowhere close. I tend to put a thick layer of mulch as I had read that it helps to choke of any weeds or grass that is still onthe ground. There was some grass that was starting to grow back from the leftover roots. I had read that three inches of mulch is preferred. I guess we'll see if it works.

I made a second trip to the store to get another load of mulch. Filled up the truck, drove back, and continued the routine. This second load got me to a point where I am about 3/4 done with the front. I'm going to have to make one last trip, but it will likely have to wait a week or two. I wasn't really budgeting for four cubic yards of mulch. Getting two more will need to wait for another paycheck.

In the meantime, I need to figure out how to move these big rolls of sod. It seemed like a good idea at the time...