Tag: Raised Beds

Building Hugelkultur Raised Beds
Gardening · Homesteading

Building Hugelkultur Raised Beds

Sarah

Hugelkultur Raised Beds: it’s the fancy German word that plays into permaculture. When Kirk and I took a class on permaculture last year, I planned to incorporate the practice into rebuilding parts of our homestead gardens. Then I hurt my arm and sat out the summer. Then…we moved.

As spring turned into summer, and I started building my raised bed garden, adding many more raised beds, I knew I needed to think it over more deeply. Soil isn’t cheap.

For example. I finally found great bed soil locally, from a Mennonite Nursery across the river, in Maryland.

The soil is $4.99 a bag – it;s heavy in weight, and I would guess is a cubic foot bag each. Price wise that is good compared to the “garden soils” sold at big box stores.

It is a blend of screened topsoil, leaf matter, and mushroom compost. It smells good, not how often “garden soil” smells (usually heavy in animal matter).

It’s on the right, next to the other garden soil. It is a fine soil.

I filled the first two raised beds with bagged soil so I could build a herb bed and one for strawberries. For the third bed, I needed to do it quickly, so I added a thick layer of chipped wood and dried leaves. Then piled in the soil.

The clumps are mushroom compost. The bed was done, but I definitely had to spend far too much to get it ready. An 8 ft by 4 ft by 1 ft bed will take over one cubic yard of soil. This soil by the yard is $58. It’s worth it, though.

It will become the raspberry bed next year on both sides. For the fall, I transplanted a dual-crop red variety that I had been growing. They don’t require caning. Next spring I will add more red and also golden dual crop.

For now, I planted a couple of rows of Patio Pride Peas, which are bush, so they will grow fast. I will transplant my lettuce starts in a week or two.

With so many beds to prepare for next year and so many trees to trim, I put that to work. Save money and have healthy soil.

We trimmed all the branches we cut down (the trees here hadn’t been pruned in many years, and some were in terrible shape). It’s work we can do in the shade and isn’t physically taxing, just tiring from using loppers constantly. We used our chipper to process many branches, but the minor items that the chipper doesn’t like often get jammed.

Haul them to the beds and spread out.

I am filling the beds to the top with the cut branches and leaves. Then I will place the trimmed logs on top to compress them. With rain, the wood matter will break down over the fall and winter seasons. I will also be adding lawn trimmings on top.

Once we have the beds filled and fully prepared, I will purchase the garden mix soil to add to the top, allowing the wood to break down more effectively.

So, as always, it’s a work in progress.I will talk about it more in the coming months.

Now then, is it true Hugelkultur? Not quite. But that is the best part of gardening…You can do what works for YOU. My beds won’t be mounded up and high. They will be in pretty, standardized-sized raised beds. They will look just like they were filled with 100% ready-to-use soil. But I will have a vested interest in it. I oddly took that away from our Permaculture class. Use the principles and make it work for you. Perhaps that isn’t exactly what was being taught, but then my mind has always worked a bit differently.

~Sarah

The New Garden: Getting It Ready
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

The New Garden: Getting It Ready

Sarah

The work continues – through the heat and humidity of a West Virginia summer. My window of having help shortens by the day, when the boys return to school. Start early, then come out after dinner, once the sun starts to settle low. It’s not much cooler, but at least the sun isn’t directly over us.

I decided to risk it with potential deer harassing my garden, and started moving items in the evening, to get as much as I could off the patio. The truth is, the patio doesn’t get enough sun during the day. Mostly what I moved were herbs and grow bags of potatoes, not things deer are usually too interested in.

It was 80° as we started early in the morning, but we got the T-posts up and running. I bought 25 6-foot poles (Tractor Supply seems to be the most affordable option here in the Eastern Panhandle, at about $6 each).

More went in.

Filling in more.

We brought out more of the grow bags, and some were already done for the season, so I put the soil from them into the raised beds to reuse it.

To start the soil in the beds, I added wood chips and peat moss on the bottom. And then dumped in the soil from the now-empty bags. Might as well reuse.

I was also transferring the potatoes I had started in July, as they hadn’t grown. However, once I moved the soil, I found that all my July potatoes were completely rotten – like hot, mashed potatoes. Interesting lesson I didn’t know I would learn. In the PNW, this was never an issue. I must have cooked them in the grow bags for the past few weeks.

I decided to try out felt liners for the bed to prevent soil from escaping from the floorless beds and to keep the area neater. They came in 2 packs, and are 4 by 4 feet, with four sections in each. I paid $19.99 for each two-pack. Which fills one raised bed. We are using eight-by-four-foot beds, which I spent $70 on (they came 2 to a package)..

I got an herb bed in, of all the herbs I had started this spring. That left me very happy.

I did the lower half of the fencing – while hardware cloth isn’t actually fencing, I had brought four rolls with us. Paid for fencing is better than buying new fencing – and since I won’t have chickens, my need for it has decreased.

We built more raised beds. I thought about putting a pop-up greenhouse into the bed….

I had brought up all the small pots that I had kept on the patio. These were strawberry and herb plants.

It really is.

I was getting all fancy and had filled in the base of the greenhouse with pea gravel, made of granite and similar, in a light color.

The strawberry bed is half alpine, half regular. Both sides will fill in eventually.

I only moved one tomato plant, a cherry plant, into the new garden. It was easy to move.

And sometimes one learns lessons, whether they want to or not.

I was so proud of my work. Then we received a warning about a potential severe thunderstorm approaching. I went outside to check on everything.

When suddenly the wind showed up, howling out of the Appalachian Mountains across the Shenandoah Valley. I am finding the wind here? It can be far worse than the wind back on Whidbey Island, even off the Salish Sea. The wind was hammering anything tall. I was about to have a kite on my hands. And I was outside, with a potential thunderstorm approaching. Not my most brilliant moment. We got the greenhouse out and ran for the patio. With two holding it down, we got the cover off and then ran inside.

It might have been some of the strongest winds I have ever experienced. I ended up inhaling far too much dust and was coughing for a good hour afterward.

I whined the next day, and then got back to work. I figured out I couldn’t have a pop-up greenhouse out in the garden – it is too exposed. Neither can I have tall structures. The greenhouse will stay where it has thrived, which is under the patio, between two support beams. And use it as a shed till spring, for all my garden gear.

So I moved five of the large pots into the area I had built as a focal area.

I added more herbs to the herb bed.

The sun came back out, and we added more raised beds.

The look of the garden was starting to come together.

It’s still my happy place. Lessons exist for a reason.

I started the upper fence, adding favorite garden signs I had brought with me.

Some I just don’t point to the road is all.

Kirk picked me up the cutest statue kit, and I added it to the focal area.

The herbs are doing so much better in the main garden. The Comfrey is growing well.

I have one raspberry plant growing. Soon it will be planted in a raised bed, but now that it is getting enough sun, it is producing berries. Next year I want one side red, the other half will be golden.

Sweet Potato vines. growing up the fence. I bought slips on a lark earlier in the sun. Now in the sun, they are growing fast.

Ten raised beds have been built so far. We finished the upper fence today. We have another four beds to build. Then more planning.

I upgraded the grapes into larger pots and put them in the front corners, so they can start growing up the fence.

My goal is to add more grapes next year and eventually have the fence covered in vines. I will get bigger pots. That are designed for large trees.

But now…go build more beds and find a source for a lot of soil.

~Sarah

The Start Of The New Garden
Gardening

The Start Of The New Garden

Sarah

At the end of April, I had posted about my planning for the new garden bed. Then it got hot. And I had so much else to do after our move.

However, with less than a month left before school starts again and a week with lower humidity/temperatures (mid-80s), I decided we needed to get moving on it. So that by early fall, I could work on this on my own terms.

First, I marked out the perimeter of the new garden. It will become bigger, but I wanted to see what 40 by 4o feet looked like. I took it almost to the edge, where the lawn drops off (down below is the septic drainfield).There is also a tree that needs to be cut and taken to the ground.

To start, I had Kirk mow this side of the house. He cuts to about 5″ in height. Then I went in and mowed it with Ol’ Crappy to about 2″ or less. I went as low as that heap could do it. It finally had a break in the rain this week, but the lawn was still soaked. Last week, we experienced multiple days of heavy rain. And while it might be warm, it can take forever to dry out.

I will keep using this mower till it finally dies. It is being held together with duct tape.

Working with heavy-duty farm fabric. The first roll was 5 feet 5″ wide. We cut it into 40 foot long sections.

First strip down. You want to be sure to peg down the edges well.

Three rows down. We overlapped by about 4 to 5″ on each section, so grass cannot easily push up between it.

Four rows in we ran out of the first roll of fabric, 160 feet used.

I had to wait for the new roll of fabric to ship overnight, so I had them bring out the two raised beds Alistaire had built for me. The raised beds are 8 feet long by 4 feet wide. I plan to give them three feet from the fence, so I can walk around and work.

At least get an idea of what we are doing—four more sections to lay down.

The new fabric showed up, a 500-foot roll.

Now onto finishing the ends.

So much more to do – but it is happening finally.

When we moved, I left behind a couple of essential items in the greenhouse at the old place. A bonus for the new owners, I suppose. One was a roll of farm fabric (one got packed. The other didn’t). I also left behind a nearly full box of fabric pins. So I had to buy a new box, but what I got was better in some ways. The FEED brand comes with plastic disks that you insert the galvanized landscape fabric pin/staple into, and then use a plastic or rubber mallet to drive into the ground. This helps prevent the staples from bending and getting bent as you pound in. It also helps with the fabric not tearing around the staple. A win for me.

Part 3 is already happening, and I will write more later.

~Sarah

Gardening 101: Why Density Planting Matters
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Gardening 101: Why Density Planting Matters

Sarah

Long ago, I followed the “rules” of gardening. Such as using a measuring tape to ensure I planted my seeds and plants correctly “x” apart, as dictated by the back of the seed packet, or on the start’s tag. But as I got deeper into gardening, I started squeezing more in, wherever I found space, for it is easy to buy too many plants or to grow too many and run out of space, when following those rules.

And let’s be real here: why do those rules even exist? Much of it comes from people who decided they were an expert and declared that was how to do it.

I won’t disagree that it can have a valid point – for example, with root crops like beets and carrots, the size between plants does matter if you want large individual harvests. Or you want a perfect-looking permanent garden (where the items are not pulled out at the end of the season, for example).

But lettuce? Not so much.

You have to know when it matters. And when it doesn’t, cram the plants in tighter.

An example is square foot gardening, often used in raised beds. If one were to follow the directions and use a template, one would find one’s garden to be pretty spare and open. Yes, those plants will grow and leaf out. But during that time, you could be growing spring crops that harvest in early summer. Plant tomatoes? Surround with lettuce, basil, kale, and such. It will grow before the tomato plant gets massive.

It also saves you time and money, such as reduced watering and weed suppression. When your rows are narrow and stacked more tightly (for example, the seed packet instructs you to have rows 36″ apart, but you plant 18″ apart), or when you plant 2″ apart in a row instead of 6″) you may find you don’t have to water as often. and that there is less open space for dandelions and similar to pop up.

Currently, I am growing only in containers at our new place until I can build a big garden. I have multiple plants that I am growing in large grow bags so that I can move them to the new garden this fall. I have found the Olive Tree, Blueberries, and Grape Vines are loving having flowers crammed in, under their leaves. It attracts pollinators and helps regulate the soil.

Examples from the past gardens we have had?

I nearly always grow peas for more dense than called for on the packet. Just make sure they stay well-watered and fed, and they will grow great.

Herb gardens/beds? Yes, they will grow quite a bit once established. But you have room to add more than you think. You can always prune back herb plants as they grow, so that it continues to fit into the area.

In this area, two houses back, we were putting in new areas in the ground. We had the crops just inches apart, but with walking paths where I could reach in at least 2 feet over to work on the items growing. This worked well. The weed suppression was excellent.

As it filled in during the summer.

Another example is that the beans would take a long time to grow, so consider planting something like carrots below. They’d be harvested before the beans covered the entire bed.

Enjoy your time growing, and get the most you can!

~Sarah

Building A New Garden Using Raised Beds
Gardening · Homesteading · Urban Homesteading

Building A New Garden Using Raised Beds

Sarah

A month into our new place I finally found the batteries for our push lawn mower (and ancient Greenworks), which was….something desperately needed.

Our new place is almost nothing but lawn (oh yay) and we were looking very unkempt. The rain this spring has led to very lush lawn, which then gave a place for these annoying gnat like flies to hide in, that swarm on warm days.

As I pushed that awful broken down mower, it gave me a lot of time to think about where to put a garden. Having a month here, I have had time to watch the sun shift. My original idea, behind the house, doesn’t really feel like it will be a good choice after all. It only gets sun in the afternoon for a few hours, and is in the shade by the house by 5 pm, and is sloped downhill in general. It’s also in an area that holds the water better, so the grass grows deeper back there. There is a seasonal emergency creek that divides the properties here, in case of heavy rain, and we can’t build anything within a certain distance, so I realized that a garden there might just have far too many issues.

(The trees in the mid right of the photo below are just above the creek area)

Not long after this, my awesome neighbor offered to mow the rest of our lawn on his ridie. The worst parts – super thick and heavy down by the creek. He saved me at least 6 hours of mowing and many charging of those batteries. By the next time I need to mow, we should have the flail mower on the tractor, and it won’t be hard.

Instead, there is an area to the left of the house that is nearly flat, dry and hard packed. Not great for in ground, but raise beds? Yes. Perfect. It needs a tree taken out (an unattractive pine tree), and it gets nice sun exposure.It is in the sun by mid morning, and holds sun till well past dinner time.

It’s also more importantly, mostly flat. It’s on very hard pack land, so not good for an inground garden at all. We also have rock seams around the upper parts, and I am sure under this area it has lots of rock buried. So, great for raised beds!

I will have to work out water for the site, but I think it will work well over time.

The bed will have pro farm/garden fabric laid down, to ensure weed free growing, and to block rodents as well I am considering laying under that hardware cloth. It will be properly fenced in, as we do have some deer, though they keep to the edges, near the farm a bit away from us. No need to offer an all you can eat buffet though.

The goal is to have a garden big enough to have a greenhouse in the center, with beds around it, and pots as well. With walking space between the beds, that I can line with chipped wood to walk on. Unlike the last 7 years, I want/need this to look like I planned it, and have it nice looking as it will be visible from the road.

This is the start of the new garden – it will be major work – but beyond worth it.

I have to do something. The container garden is crazy down on the patio – I can’t help myself. I love plants way too much. It encourages me to get moving on the project.

The raised beds:

In the past years, and last 3 properties, I was more about just having beds and not the look. So I would use a hodge-podge of materials. Reclaimed pavers, cinder blocks, felled trees. Whatever I could source, preferably for the lowest cost. This time I want them to match. It pains me to spend the money – but I want it nice.

I have been using grow bags on the patio this spring, and they work pretty well, so I was intrigued to find that I could source grow bags that line metal raised beds. And they are compartments, so you can grow things like mint, and keep them from growing under and taking over. They are 4 feet by 4 feet and a foot high. If you are using 8 by 4 foot raised beds, you can fit two of them in.

I picked up a twin pack of 8 by 4 by 1 foot beds for $69.99 from Amazon to try out, to see if I liked the look, were they durable and such. They have a rod in the center for stability.

The grow bags I picked up (I ordered two packs of them). They were $19.99 for each two pack. They are the same felt materiel as most grow bags are. The compartments are 2 feet each, giving you 4 compartments per bag, or 8 total in an 8 foot raised bed. They can seem overwhelming when you open them up, but once filled and in a frame, do just fine.

So not square foot gardening, but 2-square foot gardening!

Why use liners?

There are a couple of reasons to use liners:

  • Soil stays in the bags and doesn’t leak out over times as it settles (which happens in the raised beds).
  • It offers weed protection, from coming up from below. Too often (and me included) it’s easy to lay down cardboard and think you won’t have weeds in your beds because of that. Well, you won’t the first year. But after? Eventually grass comes up and so does dandelions, thistles and more.
  • It helps hold in moisture.
  • It controls plants with compatibility issues – such as peppermint, lemon balm, well honestly ALL plants from the mint family. It keeps their roots from spreading everywhere.

I ended up buying more.

With the risk of China tariffs, I went back and bought more, to prepare for the garden. It’s going to be done, so might as well get ready!

I’ll post an update once I start the building of the garden – first I need to get any potential utilities flagged so I know where they are, since I will be putting posts into the ground.

FTC Disclosure: This post contains affilate links.

~Sarah