Raised bed

Dear Friend,
well spring is here or will be in a couple of days. I must say that I have spring fever like a big dog. I've been sitting behind this glass prison for the last 4 months and can't wait to get out. We've got a lot of damage from the storms last winter, and I've got a lot of work to do............
I've decided to build and use a raised bed down the fence line next to our house. I'm hoping that it'll be a success, but as you know I am a master gardener (gardener who has killed more than there share of plants). This will be an experiment in my continuing attempt at grand master gardenership...........
I'll need the following supplies

  1. First I'm gonna need several 2x10x10
  2. 1 2x4x10
  3. galvanized deck screws
  4. compost
  5. newspaper
  6. slow release fertilizer
  7. Epsom salt

Once I've gathered all my supplies I will:

  • Take my boards and lay them out on the ground. I don't need to cut these first boards because the first raised bed section will be 10' long. (You can purchase 2x10's in lots of lengths, I just need this first bed to be 10' long.)
  • Take a third 2x10 and cut 2 pieces that are 24" long. These I will use to go across to connect the 2 2x10's.
  • Connect the 4 corners of the wood with the deck screws. I have to make sure that the boards are screwed together vertical to form a box.
  • Take the 2x4x10 and lay it on top of the front side of my box. This will look like a T. I'll use this for a seat for when I work in my raised bed.

Now that I've made my box I'm ready to put it in the spot I've picked. Before I do that I'm gonna take newspaper and lay it over the entire area that the box will sit on. I use at least 4 pages thick so that weeds won't come up also when the newspaper decompose it'll add to the soil. My DH will have to help me put it in place.

Because the box is so big if I can't get enough soil then I'll first put down grass clippings. Then I'll mix compost, Epsom salt, dirt, ground up egg shells and slow release fertilizer together and add it to the box. Once I've filled the box to at lease half way full I'll start adding my plants.

I'll see if this works or if I kill a bunch more plants. Till then from one master gardener to another, Happy planting..................................

No comments: