Saturday was a really nice day for garden work. My husband is working on a set of new raised beds for the garden. He cut and assembled about half of the beds. I'll need to prepared the soil before I set them in place. At the south end of the garden I need to do some leveling before they go down.
Tasks:
Finished the fence bottom.
More of the rock pile moved to line the fence.
Several more loads of compost brought to the plot.
Wire compost bin made in back corner.
Turned a little bit of the soil.
16 comments:
The raised beds are looking great. I found that the local Home Depot has a rolling cull rack in the lumber section that usually has four foot 2x4's that were the ends of boards they cut to make studs when the stock gets low. They were selling them for about 50 cents a piece! That little rack has been a blessing to us.
I just started a garden last year- my first! I read your blog faithfully and was so excited to see your pics of the raised beds. I would love to do that this year. Do you have any tips on what kind of lumber to use (I'm a bit concerned about treated wood), any sites that help with construction of beds, etc.? Thanks for your help, and keep up the good work with the blog and garden. You've inspired me, and I've shared your site with a number of friends who are now as faithful as me!
That garden plot looks really good! We should be picking some kale, arugula and lettuce by the end of the week here. Just to thin it mainly. Looking forward to seeing your garden grow.
The top photo, is that a bench next to the dog? I have a rattan gardener's bench from Smith & Hawkins measuring 2'(L) x 1' (w) & 11" high. I also have a metal frame bench with a wood seat, still being sold by S&H but I don't like it. If that's a bench can you give it's dimensions? My rattan bench is quite old so I'm going to have a new bench made. In wood with a cushion.
Your new beds look nice; I'm sure Skippy is providing supervision and quality control!!
Are you still considering a Fettuccine Alfredo garden (or was it lasagna…) with any of the new beds?
Wow....you're serious when you say "raised" bed! Where are you going to get all the dirt/compost from to fill it up?
Tim- Hey....great tip about the cheap 2x4's!
http://theconservativegardener.blogspot.com/
Looks great! Gotta love spring.
Tim - You found a great buy! I think we got these on a $1 rack. Not bad.
About pressure treated lumber - most gardeners strongly advise against this. Buy untreated lumber. We used untreated pine. It will not last as long, but at least you won't have arsenic leaching into your organic vegetables.
Here's an informative article on pressure treated wood in gardens. Also, here's an old post of mine about my old raised beds where I did use pressure treated wood. The comments have lots of advice NOT to do this.
pion,
That fine looking bench is one I picked up in someone's trash the other day. (I hide my identity and drive around on trash day looking for garden items -sshhhh!)
Its an old kids toy box and is working well to store small garden tools (out of the rain) and double as a bench and place to put my bag and camera.
Its small. Maybe 15 by 15 by 24.
Dennis,
That super tall bed is a stack of boxes for 4 beds. We just stacked them to keep them out of the way while I prepare the soil.
I'd have to stand up to work in a bed that tall!
Don't know if I'll do any lasagna beds this year. I'm still thinking about it. I may be to stuck in my ways.... The old dog / new trick problem...
Pressure treated wood used to contain Arsenic, but this was banned in 2004, and was replace by copper compounds. So if you purchase new pressure treated wood it would be safe to use because it no longer contains the toxic arsenic.
http://www.taunton.com/finehomebuilding/how-to/articles/new-pressure-treated-wood-decks.aspx
i just bought my first grow bed this year (having previously mostly grown edibles in containers), but i'm at a loss as to where to place it. common sense says to put it directly onto a piece of the lawn, but i'm wondering how well it would fare directly on the back patio? or is that a serious no no?
im happy to have found your blog. i love gardening, but there is always constantly something new to learn about it.
thank you in advance!
I have severe back problems & would love to have several 3' high raised beds made.
Any suggestions? I was told to use cinder/concrete block with re-rod through the holes for stability. I planned on filling the bottom half or so with "filler" - twigs, leaves, small rocks - to more or less just take up space. Then good soil. Does this sound feasible to you expert gardeners? Any alternatives out there? Your help is appreciated.
What an exciting experience!/Hilarious! Delightful! True!/wonderful stuff! thank you!
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