Drrty, filthy grumbles.

Spring is happening!

So the beds are created, they are installed, and now they need soil so I can start planting. From the research I've gathered, the best time to start planting is around April/May.  Being that April is over, I need to get soil into the beds soon if I'm going to start planting seedlings before it gets too hot.

Since the beds are so tall, the volume calculates out to 30 cubic feet per bed or 1.1 cubic yard.  And with 4 beds that'll add up to 120 cubic feet (4.4 cubic yards) of soil that I need to purchase.  Granted, I don't want the beds full to the top with soil, and from what I've read you want to mix a variety of soil types together to help with water retention and plant growth. So I really need to do my research and look into what options are best for me financially, and physically.

OPTIONS

1. Call a landscaper and have them dump a shit ton of soil on my driveway
1. Pro- Price is cheaper also, I don't have to haul around dirt in the back of my Element.
2. Con- I don't get to have a mix of soils that I wanted. Also all the delivery services say they can only drop off contents on the driveway...that's annoying.  I don't want to continue walking back and forth between the front and back yard to move dirt (then again...more calories are being burned)
2. Spend $520 at Lowes on different variety of soils, mix it all together 
1. Pro- I get the soil composition I desire, don't have to coordinate with an outside vendor and I can put the dirt in the backyard instead of on my driveway. 
2. Con- more expensive and my car can't accommodate all those bags in one trip
1. 16 bags of garden soil 
2. 16 bags of compost
3. 14 bags of peat moss
4. 8 bags of horticultural vermiculite
5. all the shredded newspaper I can get my hands on
6. A few dissembled cardboard boxes (for layering)
7. ow my back. 
3. Buy the soil online
1. Pro- I can pick what kinds I like
2. Con- Deliver is expensive

That's about half of the pile.

So I slept on the ideas, put in a few quote requests to some landscapers online and got some great feedback.  There's a company near me called Atlantic Mulch that engineers soil for garden types and they sell their cubic yards for $30 per yard.  Which means I can most of my options available to me.  I'll get the bulk soil I need (compost and garden soil) from the landscapers, the extra soil from Lowes in a smaller quantity that allows me to move the bags in one load and save me a ton of money and pain but...DIRT IN THE DRIVEWAY.

Well, you win some you lose some.

The dirt was dropped off Thursday night so I did a few wheelbarrows of dirt to the beds.  I'm going to buy Peat Moss and Horticultural Vermiculite on Sunday and layer that in.

Element at the Highline Hotel

Now, there's a second problem, I'm heading out to NYC for the weekend to perform with Element and won't get a chance to move all the dirt that's ALREADY ON MY DRIVEWAY until Monday afternoon.  It's going to be a challenge.

For those who are unaware, I was on NBC's The Sing-Off with the all-female group Element from NYC.  I'm the beatboxer for the group and when there's major performances in the city, they'll fly me up. 

Challenge Accepted.