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This is what the raised beds look like when nothing is planted in them. But the true intention here is to gloat about the fact that there is officially no snow in the immediate area. YEAH!!!! Nothing is greening up yet but when the snow actually leaves, there is cause for celebration. My beds are made out of 2x12 lumber which is not pressure treated. They will not last as long but the possibility of bad stuff leaching into the dirt and veggies was enough to be OK with rebuilding them in 5 or so years. I may even get more time than that out of them. We will have to see.
These barren pictures show the layout pretty well. The grates on top are made from cattle panel (?) with about 6 in. squares in them. I have them cut so that nothing over hangs the bed, therefore no leg injuries when you walk by. The purpose of this is to keep the pets out of them. I had tall growing plants in the ones without last year. I will add them this year. You can plant right between the squares and plants come right up through them without any problems. Very great when the cats don't use them for, well you know. We filled these beds with compost only the first year. They were very hard to keep wet enough for good growing. I added Miracle Grow Garden Soil the following year. Only 2-3 bags per bed and they held moisture perfectly. I am going to try mulching them this year. Maybe with grass clippings? I have always been hesitant but I think they need some good additives as nutrient leach from the soil of raised beds very quickly.
very nice.
ReplyDeleteYou will have an awesome veggie garden. Wish you could send me a few of your beds-so much room!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather~~ Very nice spread. I bet it looks gorgeous in the summer with lush foliage partitioned within the large grid. I look forward to updates.
ReplyDeleteWa Heather, Good job! And what a big land you have.Fantastic!
ReplyDeleteIt all looks wonderful. Looks like you are ready now!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather. Grass clipping make good mulch, just be sure they are dry and loose before using them. Fresh cuttings will mat and prevent air/water penetration. Also greens, like grass, will rob some nitrogen from the soil as they try to break down. Otherwise I've used grass clipping for years, although they do tend to introduce some weed seeds into the bed. I envy your layout. Truly a nice place to grow! :-D
ReplyDeleteThat's what I need for my veggie garden! Otherwise, there will be more grass & weeds than produce. The idea of topping them with fence panels was brilliant! If we can afford to do so, maybe I'll have a couple of those for myself this year. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteheather, wow i love your blog! thanks for finding me at gardenfool! your raised beds are beautiful, and interesting that you made the same wood choice that we did. i hope the beds last 5 years. i want to get some of those fence panels, but it may be a challenge here in ny. so, i love your garden layout! we had limited space, and i wanted something fancy because we can see the garden from the deck. but - my layout is not as efficient as yours. it's really hard to navigate the garden wagon around the sharp corners. well, i'll have fun following this great blog! i love the goats too!
ReplyDeleteYour beds look beautiful, Heather! So neat and gorgeous, and so much potential. We'll be remaking some of ours this year, since we too use non-pressure-treated lumber, but it's worth it!
ReplyDeleteGreat looking plot, I am looking forward to seeing all your veggies.
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