I also have signs that I've painted that say Gratitude, Spring, New Beginnings and then I wrapped the entire fence in green table cloth made a giant bow out of styrofoam and a sign that said Ho! Ho! Ho! for Christmas.
Will you post pictures of your compost too, I'm building mine and if it gets me a garden this awesome...I want to see the "how she did it" so I can make my garden space a beautiful and full
Yes Katy, we made our own raised beds, have even helped quite a few others make their own after seeing mine. We're going to adding to the height this fall so I don't have to bend so far (I'm getting older ya know)! The fence that the sign is on is the wood from our old dock and the signs are all made from an old horse barn we tore down in 2002. Everything gets recycled at our house! I'll have to post my tomato trellis that has 154 year old victorian gingerbread on it!
Julee, what do you plan to do in raising the beds? Will you build a box and put it on legs or just add sides and fill them? I think adding sides and filling would be kind of heavy and potentially problematic in winter. Curious.
Hi Vivian, I plan on adding two 2 x 6's to the existing frames, one on edge and one flat for new tops. My hubby wants to change the design a little so it's probably when he'll do it. He wants there to be rounded or cut corners and support under the flat 2 x 6's. I've caught my knees enough times that we're rethinking the design. I have two places where I can get organic compost and will be adding it and mixing it in with my existing gold (soil).
Hi Nancy, I do have energy, but not a s much as I once did. I've always been VERY active even for someone nearly 54 years old so don't think that I'm that young! I've been disabled because of lung disease since 2008. In January I spent 28 days in the hospital with two major surgeries. I told them I wanted everything put back together in time for planting season and we came pretty close. We used treated wood because it no longer has arsenic in it like it used to.
Dear Julee, sorry to hear about your illness. Glad you are out and about. I suffer with kidney issues and I'm 55 so I guess it's just part of the joy of life. I was very pleased to read that arsenic is no longer in treated wood. I didn't realize that change was made. Several years ago I tore out raised planter beds because they were made from treated wood, and I never bothered to replace them. Now I know I'm not going to be down on my knees pulling weeds but taller raised beds would make
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gardening fun again. Be sure to post pics of your garden when it is "lifted up" :-)
Vivian, I'm also going to be laying down wire in the bottoms of each raised beds to keep the moles out. I never thought we'd have the mole problems that we have now and never thought they would get in a raised bed, but they come up through the bottom. Once one gets in a bed they bounce all around just tearing it up.
You girls are my daughter's age. Yes indeed you are young. Julee you have answered the question on treated lumber that I have been asking for a year among others. Thanks loads. I wonder what year they quit putting arsenic in the treated lumber. I have two logs I bought in May 2011 to keep the grass away from my veggie garden. I always think of them as poison. They came from Lowe's. this is wonderful news to me. I am going to raise my garden into beds as I am sure one of the
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gardens will be my place of demise. Hahaha. What a way to go huh?
I worked in a lumber yard until 2002 and I remember the treated switching over back then. To my knowledge the 4 x lumber can still have arsenic in it because it's rated for ground contact where 2 x material isn't anymore (but it still lasts longer than untreated). I can check the next time I go to Menards though. I want my ashes to be sprinkled over my gardens so we definitely think alike Nancy!
Hi Julee, I love the raised bed gardens, I have 2 within 3 feet of the side of the house. I used to grow lots of veg. until the DEER found them. Now, I use them to start or nurse back to health any bush/plants that are deer resistant. I also buy the faded or half dead plants on the bargain tables at the big box stores and throw them in the beds and generally can get them back to a healthy plant for transplanting later or give away to friends. Do you have an irrigation system in place? I don't, except for a hose and attachment.
These look GREAT! I have raised beds too, any suggestions on what to plant and when? what does great in raised beds? Getting stumped here lol, thanks so much!
Hi Magda... No, I don't have and irrigation system, just a looooooooong garden hose. I always water by hand and never water the leaves on my tomatoes or cucumbers, squash, zucchini, or pumpkins. I mulch around the majority of my plants to help hold in the water, keep any vegies from touching the dirt and keep things tidy. We have alot of deer here in Michigan but none have ever gotten into my raised beds or my shade garden. We see them in the yard all of the time but they have never bothered anything.
Hi Stephanie... Plant what YOU like to eat! Lettuce and beans can be planted in succession at about any time, but other vegies have longer growing times so it depends on where you live and how long your growing season is. It's short here in Michigan but we have 15+ hours of daylight now and that helps. I have extended my seasons with tarps and sheets and want to use cold frames next year. Having a seed sprouting room or area helps too. I never put vining plants in my raised beds because
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they overtake them, as do herbs. I plant my mints and oregano and the more invasive herbs in individual pots and set them next to my raised beds. My vining things like pumpkins, squash and watermelons I plant in holes in the ground that have been cut through a HUGE tarp I spread out and put wood chips over. That way the grass doesn't come up through the chips and I can easily change out the soil in the holes if I want and the vines can roam wherever they want. It works really great!
I have eight raised beds which is plenty! Did four at a time. Hardest thing was finding good dirt to put in them. The first four we bought wonderful mushroom compost but before we got the second set of four finished the following year the mushroom farm went out of business. After several failed attempts at reasonable dirt we took the good dirt out of the beds, put the not so good dirt on the bottom and topped the beds off with the good dirt. ALOT of work! Now I amend them with compost that
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I make myself in a tumbler, thus what is behind the "Grow" sign! I have five different signs that I change out depending on the season and will be painting more. They are made from wood from a horse barn that we tore down years ago. Always reusing! Even the fence that the sign is on was out old dock material.
they don't bothern the tomatoes but eat the peppers. How can i protrt my peppers
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