Build it right & food will grow!
I grew a traditional tilled garden for years. It worked just fine, but I found that my back was really beginning to hurt last year. My body just won't take the pounding like it did in the past.
Raised Bed Gardening became an option.
Charlie and I put together a plan of how we wanted them to look, how big they needed to be & and what we planned to put into each bed.
We tried gardening in 2 raised beds built with wood and Aluminum roofing last year to see how well it worked out. To our surprise, they performed magnificently! We harvested squash that grew to monstrous size and gave abundant crops & had more lettuce and spinach than we could keep up with. It was a SUCCESS!
Naturally, we had the proof we needed that this method would work for us, and we planned to expand this year. For the first time, we are growing our entire season of food in our raised beds. I'm optimistic that we will see the same results.
In fact, I'm already impressed. The cabbage & broccoli are off to an amazing start with dark green leaves and nearly an inch of growth since I planted them in April. This tells me that they are rooting in the compost and soil well, and are getting plenty of water.
These were plants that I started indoors and transplanted into the garden when the weather was warm enough. Sometimes plants go through a "shock" period when the growth is stunted. I used my own compost from my garden to get seedlings started this year instead of buying from the store. It was an experiment that worked out well. I noticed plants were much stronger starting off.
The raised beds we put in this year were made of all wood. Non Treated. We used a torch to "Flame" the wood to help preserve it. This process is an ancient tradition.
"Shou sugi ban, or yakisugi, is a method of preserving and distressing wood by applying an open flame to it. The fire chars the wood, turning the top layer into black ash, but only lightly so."
We really like this method. We found that the beds using metal on the sides look pretty, but when the sun hits them the neighbors are blinded. It was also more cost-effective for us to build these using only wood. We can replace boards over time as they rot, but we did our best to preserve what we've started.
There are many books on Amazon about building raised beds. This can be as easy or as complicated as you desire. You can build your own in any style with any material you like.
My first raised bed was created using small tree logs that remained when we cleared our land. I placed them where I wanted them and filled them with soil and compost.
This option was FREE and that's always nice, and it worked just fine. You have options so have fun!
Here's a link to a book on Amazon to get you started with raised bed gardening if you prefer.
I've added 2 more links at the end of this article of great books to check out.
What We Filled Our Beds With
Our raised beds are 40-50 feet long. One side is 4 feet wide and the other is about 2 1/2 feet wide. They are approx. 26 inches deep I believe. These take a lot of material to fill. Buying in bulk is definitely the way to go! If you can source materials cheaply or at no cost is best.
As of this year 2024, we found a local nursery that sells compost by the bobcat scoop for about $48.00 a scoop. We have invested about $600 to date in filling our raised beds that will serve us for many years to come. Keep in mind that this is an initial investment. Broken down over time, money spent is minimal as we will only have to do annual maintenance of adding compost in the future.
I like to add homemade compost at this scale using grass clippings, chicken manure, leaves, bedding from animal pens, etc. There are ways to keep costs down. Look around! Buying in bulk has sped up our gardening conversion. I needed to be able to plant this year.
We don't have a lot of space due to living on a hillside so doing a slow conversion was not the option I wanted to take. We saved up and spent the money. No debt.
We layered materials from the ground up using only natural resources.
On the bottom, we packed in old fallen tree logs and branches. Dead wood is best but use what you have. The wood will rot, bringing in good bug life, building compost, and helping to retain heat and moisture.
Next, we added leaves, grass clipping, hay, or straw. Really it was whatever natural composting item we had on hand. We mixed it and layered it on top of the tree debris.
Finally, we found a local nursery that sold soil and compost in bulk. We added this to the top of the beds finishing them out. Planting can resume at this phase.
Let me tell you. THE PLANTS LOVE IT!
I've planted seeds directly into the beds with wonderful success. We use mushroom compost. If you are getting compost that is "hot" and not quite cured, it's best to add additional soil to the mix.
Once plants are established this method is relatively low maintenance, and much easier on the back and knees. I joke with my husband that I can easily garden at 80 years old with this method one day. In fact, I plan to!
I wish you the best in your gardening venture. Please follow along with my Blog and YouTube channel. I love to make friends and learn together!
So now go! Grow Your Own Food!
I'll include a few more links to raised bed gardening books for you to check out. Keep that knowledge streaming in! The more you know, the more success you'll see! That's what we want.
Raised Bed Revolution - Book
Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners - Book
Disclaimer- In clicking the links and purchasing recommended products on this blog I make a small commission that allows me to be able to continue to create content and to live my dreams. Thank you for your trust.
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