Gardening - Setting up a raised bed

A great way to keep yourself in fresh, tasty produce for pennies is by growing it yourself. This can seem like a daunting task, but really it doesn't have to be. My best advice is to start slow. I am one of those people that tend to jump into a project with both feet - lasers set to fire!  Then...I burn out, because I've tried to do everything at once instead of breaking it down into smaller, easier to digest pieces. This is VERY true in gardening.

Start with containers if you aren't comfortable or ready for a full blown garden. Grow some pots with your favorite herbs this year. Next year, try some tomatoes, potatoes, or green beans in planters. Mint makes everyone feel like they are a master gardener. Just, please take my advice on that one and keep it in the pot. You can not drink that many mojitos and juleps without losing your job, your spouse, or both.

There are 1,000 different ways to grow vegetables. I, personally, use raised beds. They are more efficient (in my humble opinion). You get more produce from less space and you spend less time weeding. As a lazy gardener, it is right up my alley!

Here is, basically, how I started. I decided how long I wanted my bed. I choose 8 feet. It is three feet wide, so that I can reach the middle of the bed from each side. You never step into a raised bed to avoid compacting the soil. I laid down a layer of cardboard in an 8x3 rectangle in the Fall. I threw my vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and eggshells on it all Fall and Winter, adding a layer of newspaper as the scraps composted down. I repeated this process until planting time (usually the first week of May in our zone). Though, if you are just starting now, you can forgo the scraps. I was just trying to get a jump start on the composting process.

We put down concrete blocks around the rectangle. You can use boards, branches, straw bales, whatever to hold in the soil.  We filled it in with 1 part peat moss, 2 parts top soil, and 1 part compost. These are all readily available at your local garden center. I have since matured my own compost enough that I shouldn't have to buy it again.

Now your bed is ready for planting!  I'll have future posts about starting plants from seed, how much to grow per square foot, harvest and food preservation, and things of the like, but I highly recommend the book The Weekend Homesteader by Anna Hess. She goes much more in depth about gardening than I ever could here.

Pinterest is always a wealth of information on...pretty much anything, including gardening. I do have a Pinterest board titled Grow It. My user name is eatingelephants if you want to peruse my gardening pins.