Saturday, March 18, 2017

Raised Bed Gardening: Step 1




I have a back yard garden that is long and narrow.  While I have great success with tomatoes, peppers and squash, I have yet to eat any of the green beans.  The bunnies always beat me to them.  Over the winter I did a lot reading about raised bed gardening.  I decided I am going to give it a try by building two raised beds.  By building the beds, fencing them, and possibly even covering them, I hope to add a little variety to my vegetable garden.

I did a lot of research into raised bed options.  My carpentry skills are limited, but there are a lot of kits out there.  With wood, rotting can be a problem, so I decided to build mine out of brick or stone. I had priced several types of stone and edgers at Menards and Lowe's.  Then a friend suggested that I check out the Habitat for Humanity Restore.   I sure am glad that I did, because I found five hole brick there.  Each brick is about a foot long, and they only cost me fifty cents per brick, a fraction of what it would have been if I bought new.  I should be able to build both beds for less than what one bed would have cost.




Today I laid out the foundation for the two beds.  I have to do some leveling of the ground before I actually build the beds.  I am going to use three layers of bricks to make the walls of the beds.  Next thing I have to figure out is where I can buy some garden quality soil.  Do you have any suggestions?




After working in the yard for a while, I loaded Winnie and Chloe in the car and we went walking at Copper Creek.  They loved it and I have two happy but tired little dogs now.

There are so many things to be grateful for;  my two adorable little dogs, an opportunity to get outside and work in my yard, and a beautiful sunshiny day.

No comments:

Post a Comment