Raised Vegetable Garden, Part 1

Raised Vegetable Garden, Part 1
Planning your bed and leveling the earth
Finished dimensions: 102"L x 42"W x 18"H

Creating a vegetable garden in your yard can be a fun and exciting undertaking. You'll get to grow a variety of different plant and you'll also reap the benefits of eating the freshest possible foods. It can be very rewarding but also a lot of work so be sure you have the time in your schedule to tend to your garden before you build it. Take the time to plan your garden.

Choose a space in your yard that has enough sunlight to accommodate the kind of plants you want to grow. Most vegetables need about six hours of sunlight a day. Another thing to consider is water. Your veggies will need a healthy amount of water to grow and give you a good harvest. If you already have plumbed waterlines that operate in your yard, you could run a drip irrigation system to your new bed. If not, a hose works just as well but just remember to water your seedlings at least every other day and possibly more often as the summer sun begins to heat up.

Lastly, and most important for me, is garden pests. Are there a lot of squirrels, rabbits and gophers in your area? You may want to put some wire mesh at the base of your bed to stop animals from burrowing under your garden. Do you have dogs that like to dig? I have two dogs that love to run and that is the main reason this bed is 18" high. Take the time to consider your life and your yard before you rush to the store, you'll be happier in the long run that you took the time to plan the garden that works for you.

Now that you're ready to get planting, here's everything you'll need.

Supplies:
9 6x6" pressure treated lumber, 8' long
12 3' pieces of rebar
heavy black plastic
wire mesh
36 total cubic feet of soil, compost, peat moss, and manure
plants and seeds

Tools required:
circular saw
18" drill bits, 1/4" and 1/2"
tape measure
4' bubble level
rake
spade
shovel
rubber mallet
sledge hammer
scissors
staple gun

To begin the raised vegetable bed you will need to create a level space in your yard that is large enough to accommodate your new garden. We chose a fairly flat space near the bottom of our yard. We measured the space and roughly staked out the area we planned to level. Using a metal rake we and the 4' bubble level we evened out the area where the boards would eventually sit. And as you know, a job can't be done around here with out the help of two furry friends.

We finished up the leveling and measured out exactly where the boards would go. It's a good idea to place your stakes in each corner then measure each edge and then measure corner to corner. This will help ensure you have a squared and even plot of land.

See Part 2 where we cut the boards and build the bed.

Veggies coming soon!

At least I hope they'll be coming soon anyway. I am seriously over the moon to show you my newest endeavor. A big raised vegetable garden! I can't wait to see little seedlings peeking out of that big pile of dirt. I will be posting the whole story over the next few days, so check back to follow along!

There's snow in my heart

There is something so wonderful about a big snowfall. I have fond memories of sitting inside by the radiator and watching the snow inch its way higher with big fluffy flakes. I love the purplish-gray color of the snowy night sky, and the way snow can balance itself on power lines. I also love the calm that comes with a big snowstorm. Nobody goes anywhere. Nobody expects anything. Everybody just wants to sit in the warmth and listen to the quiet.

I don't have those moments in California. "Summer year round," as my friend Phran calls it, has its low points. "This time of year, most gardeners around here are on a break from outdoor chores," Phran says in her Garden Report on Philadelphia's KYW News Radio. A break from gardening to lay inside and watch the snow fall sounds so delightful that I almost, for a second, thought I could live in the cold again. That was until I remembered shoveling.

A little rain goes a long way

Gardening wasn't a hobby of mine before I bought a house on a quarter acre of nearly bare land. I had some idea of what to do with plants from helping my mother in her garden as a child. But gardening in lush and green Pennsylvania is not like gardening in the coastal dessert we call San Diego. I finally figured out that the sprinklers in the lawn were there for a reason, a good reason, it never rains here. Well, as Thomas says, never say never. We get about 11 inches of rain annually compared to the 45 or so inches I grew up knowing. And those 11 inches come this time of year meaning I have more gardening to do in the winter than in the summer.

I didn't know how much water to give plants, and as a result I lost quite a few plants in the early days of my California garden. Then winter came and plants began to sprout and bloom and grow. But then warm spring days led into hot summer sunshine and my garden suffered. Many of the plants are drought tolerant but I didn't understand they first needed to establish themselves before they could use less water. Now that I am equipped, albeit through trial and error, with a better understanding of what these California plants need to survive many more of them are doing just that.

Gonna eat a lot of peaches

Because of the recent peach explosion around here, I've been hunting out every peach centered recipe I can find. So far, I've come across Bellini Pops from Fine Cooking. These are peach popsicles with Prosecco, Italian champagne. Yum. I'm making these now and between the recipe and me I've nearly finished the bottle of Prosecco. Oopsie!

I found these five recipes for Peach Salsa. Yum. I'll be making some of those when my tomato plants start producing red ripe fruit. I found Raspberry-Peach Chicken and Chicken with Peach Stuffing. Yum and yum. Then there's Peach Pie with Brie adorably tucked into cupcake foils. Yum.

And now I'm STARVING. Do you have any peachy favorites?