raised-garden-beds

Just before moving into our new home, RL had a “big heart” experience. It seems that his heart had grown to nearly twice it's normal size. He was in no shape to build raised beds as he waited for his heart to strengthen for open heart surgery.

He was unable to build our garden beds for us as he usually would. Our daughter, Debbie, also had a big heart and came to help us out with building and planting our raised garden beds.

Our Raised Garden Beds

Debbie made these raised-garden-beds for us. She planted a garden that rivaled any garden we had ever had. That's a joy we will ever be grateful for – our daughter and our garden. Unfortunately we failed to take a picture until after the harvest was cleared in the late fall.

You can see that the soil has already lowered considerably in the raised bed. This next spring we will have to add more as described below.

I tell the above experience about our daughter, so you'll realize that most anyone can build raised-garden-beds. It's not just professionals, or men that can do this type of thing. The layout was designed by our daughter, with the diamond like square in the center for herbs.

Debbie shopped for all the materials, sawed the lumber, nailed it together, and prepared the soil. RL oversaw it, but he did so from his arm-chair. Debbie planted everything. Without her help we would not have had a garden this year.

In this garden, we had tomatoes, peppers, zucchini squash, carrots, beans, cucumbers, and in the little 2 foot center square, she planted 5 herbs which were delightful to add to our meals. In a very small area we got a myriad of vegetables and flavors.

The wood in this garden disintagrated after 4 or 5 years, sufficient that RL has now created beds using cinder blocks for edging. He'll even plant herbs in some of the holes of the blocks.

Gardening with raised-garden-beds has been a favorite of my family for years now. You do have to create the proper soil so the plants will flourish. We have tried all kinds of soil, but ultimately, you have to replenish the soil year after year.

Peat moss and steer manure has to be added periodically in the spring, as you build up your soil, too. There are some aeration materials, that absorb liquid and keep the soil light that can be added.

Learn how to grow my Dad's tomatoes in a cage. HERE

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