Photo credit Eartheasy.com
We have had a garden for years. Husband's first garden was one he helped care for as soon as he could walk out with his mama and pull a weed. He's had a garden ever since that day. When I met him one of the first things he showed me was his garden. 90' x40' . (yep that's feet)... For 34 yrs. we had that big garden. The past 2 yrs. with back and leg issues we've not had one.
I would hit farm markets and such for anything I needed. I missed going out and picking veggies for supper. We always had a big dinner when the corn came in. Just corn on the cob and tomatoes. I even bought seeds one year in the hopes we could find someone to plow up the old space and till it enough for me to plant it myself. If just didn't work out.
I think we are typical garden growers. We just love watching things grow and I loved canning and freezing all the produce. No worries about how things were processed, or what type of chemicals were used. We knew exactly what was done to remove bugs and keep other critters away from our stuff. I knew what was in every jar I opened for us to eat. Nothing with words you couldn't spell. I like that.
The first raised bed I saw was as a teenager at my Aunt and Uncle's home in Lansing Mi. Ed had a bad back and they were getting on in years. They had a typical city lot that included a small backyard. I was amazed at what they grew in those beds. They were raised up off the ground and were easy to access from both sides. I was amazed.
The next raised beds I saw were at my Uncle Roger's place. I couldn't believe how much he grew in those beds. My Aunt Janet cans tons of stuff. I just couldn't believe it all came from those beds. It peaked my interest, and with the raised bed popularity I wanted to try them.
Husband is a huge fan of flea markets and yard sales. He came home this spring with 4- 30" x 5' beds. I'd also seen people making beds out of cement blocks on facebook and Pintrest. So we decided to give it a try. A neighbor has been using raised beds for several years. He suggested getting a "garden mix" 1/2 top soil and 1/2 compost, from a local landscaping company. so we placed a tarp and ordered 5 Yard's of garden mix. It arrived the same day.
We laid down Preen weed control fabric. then set the beds on that. Husband also had extra cement blocks sitting behind the shed so we made another bed using the blocks.
Our neighbor saw us filling up our wheelbarrow and walking it back to fill the beds. He got out his little walk behind bucket loader thingy; and moved the dirt for us. He filled the beds and then took the remainder of he dirt and put it close to the beds. I still owe him some kind of bakery for his kindness. :D
And so it begins. We have planted the beds. added a couple of things. Tilled up a bit of the "old garden" space and added a few more items. More about that in the next post.. I promise it won't be so long. Well, maybe I better not promise. You know how I love to talk.. LOL I hope you are enjoying your summer and growing something.
Posts
