To have a good variety of fresh vegetables and herbs to spice up your dishes and salads, the "raised beds" is the way to go. Just a few pieces of boards, a few nails, and you can have your rectangular frames done in no time. There might be some old boards laying around your property, that can be brought to good use, to make them useful again, thus keeping your cost very low.
So, the raised beds are easy to build and they should not be expensive, either.
Choose a good sunny spot close to your house to make it more accessible and easier to water. Hook your hose to a spigot and just water when it's not raining. And of course, closer to your kitchen for easy access for harvesting whenever you need to.
An ideal width of the beds should not be wider then 4 feet, for easy reach from both sides of the bed, and as long as you like. It depends on how much space you have, and how many kinds of vegetables you want to grow.
You can use 2 x 6 x 8, or 10 or 12, or if you have some 2 by 4 laying around unused, put 3 layers of frames on top of each other, to make it higher, to give the plants more room to spread the roots in the ground.
Nail the boards at the corners and you've got your frames for your raised beds. Set them in your selected spot, and lay some cardboard on the bottom, to keep any weeds from coming up through the soil. That is necessary if you lay the frames on top of the sod, and if you don't want to remove it. It's easier that way, and less work.
Now you are ready to put some top soil in your beds, or if you do not have access to some top soil there is another solution that I use: ground pine bark. This works real good and it's easier to work with, because it is lighter, and more porous, allowing the water to drain and the air to get to the roots. I'm not talking about 'air pockets', just some air to the roots as it happens naturally.
At this point it's a good idea to add some well composted cow manure and mix it into the soil. The vegetables love rich nutritious dirt. Now level the soil with a rake, and you are ready to get your hands dirty.
Choose the vegetables you like the most, and have them ready when you want to start planting. Once you have your list of the veggies you want to grow, shop for your seeds. A few examples of vegetable seeds would be: tomatoes, bell peppers, banana peppers, hot peppers, cucumbers, radish, lettuce, spinach, broccoli, squash, snap beans, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, parsnip, etc. The list could be endless, but since your space is probably limited, you choose what you like best.
Build as many beds as you want. I would dedicate one of the beds, for the herbs, like: parsley, dill, basil, fennel, cilantro, arugula, chives, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, peppermint, oregano, sage, etc.
If you have the space, think about a bed for the strawberries. Rich in vitamins and minerals, and excellent to eat fresh or to make jams.
Once you have the selected seeds, you can plant them indoors, in small peat-pots, like jiffy pots, and when the danger of a late frost is gone, you plant them in your raised beds. If you don't want to start the plants by seeds, purchase the starter plants from your local Garden Center, and plant them directly in your vegetable beds. For the herbs, I would rather start them myself from seeds in some 3 to 4 inch plastic pots, and then plant them in the beds. It's much cheaper like that. Soon I will have a special article dedicated to growing herbs successfully in small containers.
Here are some raised beds made of lumber that was laying around, and I've put them to use.
As you can see, they don't really take too much room, and you can plant quite a few vegetables in a small bed like that. In the bed on the left you can see as I've nailed two thin 2x2's in the frame, and tied a wire mesh for the cucumbers to climb on, thus saving a lot of space. It worked out pretty good. In front of the cucumbers, I've planted a second crop of tomatoes, after an initial crop of snap beans was over. On the right bed I have some Black Krim Tomatoes. They have an excellent flavor, seeds originated from Russia. Very productive!As you can see it's simple and practical. The beds are placed close to the house for easy access and easy watering. Once you planted the raised beds, there is not much ells to do, other then enjoy the fruits of your "easy labour", and just keep an eye now and then for any weeds that might pop up in your little garden. Pluck them out and toss them in your compost pile, where you can slowly but surely accumulate some composted matter for the next season. Leaves work wonders! Don't burn them, but rather gather the leaves and put them in a pile for future use.
It's so easy, and I have a lot of fun! Now I can enjoy the freshest vegetables possible with a low cost and plenty convenience. So do you! Why not eat healthy and fresh, besides the fact that you can watch every faze of the growing process, of your little garden paradise.
The vegetables that travel long distance from imports or even domestic, can't even come close to the freshness of what you can pluck from your garden whenever you please. And they cost you very little compared to what you are paying at your supermarket, or the produce stand. I would not trade this for anything. What is more beautiful then relax in the tranquility of your home, gardening for better living.
Enjoy the chirping of the birds, and the butterflies dancing in the sun. As a bonus you get the free exercise, that is good for your body, your soul, and your mind.
See how easy it is to garden with raised beds? For more gardening Articles, please visit my other blog.
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I sure appreciate you taking the time to visit my blog, and until next time, happy gardening, and get your hands dirty, in your garden, of course.
Grand-pa Mike
