| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 05:57:00 AM
My dh and I are at odds about how to do our vegetable garden. He says that we should plant it on the flat, as he can always get a tractor in there to disk it up, and also that planting on the flat is much less costly. I say that, because of where we have our garden (the lowest, sandiest place on the Plantation) a raised bed garden would be better. No matter what, I still have to bring in dirt and compost, either to raise the land or to fill the boxes; a tractor won't be necessary if the area is done properly, and that the initial cost of the boards and other items used in building the beds will be a one time thing and pay for itself in the long run; and I'll have a better chance of keeping the weeds and dratted pigweed at bay. I plan on using cedar boards, possibly some recycled watering troughs whose bottoms have rusted out, and a claw foot bath tub that's sitting in my junk pile for root veggies. Has anyone done both and found one to be better than the other? Or does anyone just have any thoughts, comments or advice? I'd really like to figure this out by this fall so I can prep my garden one way or the other!
from the hearts of paradise... |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 06:35:36 AM
Julie- Sand and clay are both hard to deal with! I am not going to stress too much about this place's soil though since I have a feeling we will be moving next year. Ugh :(
I am glad your DH is coming over to the raised bed side! :D I can't wait to see pictures once they all get finished!!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 26 2008 : 05:03:42 AM
Ooh, Ladies. I'm in BIG trouble! I sat down this weekend and drew up plans for the ultimate dream raised bed garden, with my PINK bathtub in the very center. Yikes! I came up with (count them) 75 beds -- some 4x4, some 4x8, some 4x12 and 8 of them corner beds with 8' outside borders and 4' inside borders. Of course, that is the ULTIMATE raised bed garden. Since one of our biggest goals at Paradise is to become 85 - 95% self sufficient, this garden will accomodate every vegetable we eat, with enough for putting by and a little bit to sell -- including 10 different heirloom beans to dry and use for 10-Bean Soup mix. DH just about passed out when I told him about how much it would cost. However, I have to pat him on the back. He didn't flinch -- much anyway -- and just said that if I wanted to paint the bathtub pink he would cut out a silhoutte of a pigs head and get some copper wire to curl, and put them on either end of the bathtub. I just laughed, and quickly explained to him that we COULD do the garden in stages. I think that made him feel a little better! Thanks, guys. For all your WONDERFUL input!
Alee -- I sympathize. We had solid clay when we lived in Shreveport, and, although it took seemingly forever to get my soil right, I finally did, and got to enjoy if for ONE year before we moved to the country. Now, I have exactly the opposite -- pure sand, and I get to start all over. Ah, the joys of gardening!
from the hearts of paradise... |
| Alee |
Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 11:16:15 AM
I drove past a salvage yard having a sale. They had a bunch of bathtubs out for sale and I thought about you ladies!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| herbquilter |
Posted - Aug 25 2008 : 10:04:23 AM
Diana,
You are welcome. It was my hope to share "real" info that people could use, along with encouragement.
Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many, MRET & Wellness Coach
http://herbalmommasda.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #97
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| frolicnfibers |
Posted - Aug 24 2008 : 06:43:56 AM
I love my raised beds! Keep out the gophers and the weeds also! I had quite a few weeds in the "paths" between the beds this spring (didn't get them pulled in time :() but when I finally got that under control, I've had very few weeds in the beds. Kristine, I love your blog with your great looking family! i went in to look at the raised bed pics and got stuck there reading and copying down recipes! Thanks for that.
Diana
Please come visit my animals and my Etsy store on my new blog!
http://www.frolicnfibers.blogspot.com |
| sleepless reader |
Posted - Aug 23 2008 : 10:02:10 PM
Raised beds = NO gophers and no weeds! We are planning on building more around the picnic table area in our back yard. Slow and steady building over the winter and we'll be ready to plant come spring!
Sharon
Farmgirl Sister #74
Life is messy. Wear your apron! |
| DairySue |
Posted - Aug 23 2008 : 03:26:21 AM
I love having raised beds. I purchased a watering system from LeeValley.com that really helps with watering.
Sue in CT
http://frumsglassmenagerie.blogspot.com/ |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Aug 22 2008 : 11:27:02 PM
Definitely pink!!!
Handmade Soap and More! - http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
The Rustic Cottage Blog http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com
PROUD FARMGIRL SISTER #100 |
| herbquilter |
Posted - Aug 21 2008 : 5:00:44 PM
Check out our blog with the garden updates. It shows some of the raised beds.
Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many, MRET & Wellness Coach
http://herbalmommasda.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #97
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| Alee |
Posted - Aug 21 2008 : 08:35:42 AM
Kay- The soil around here is almost 100% clay. I am hoping that by the time I leave here both the yard and garden will have rich composty soil! :D
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| therusticcottage |
Posted - Aug 21 2008 : 01:09:52 AM
Raised beds are definitely the way to go. Especially if you have sandy soil. Once they are built and filled all you'll ever have to do is add compost every year.
Alee - I love lasagna gardening. We have horrible soil here with lots of rocks. My flower beds for next Spring are going to be lasagna beds.
Handmade Soap and More! - http://therusticcottage.etsy.com
The Rustic Cottage Blog http://therusticcottage.blogspot.com
PROUD FARMGIRL SISTER #100 |
| Celticheart |
Posted - Aug 20 2008 : 10:10:26 PM
We have both but just put in the raised beds this year. We have 3 beds that are 4 x 8 and 12" deep with paths between. The rest of our garden is flat and HUGE. The raised beds are so much easier to maintain that we are already planning on converting the whole garden--or as much as I can get--to raised beds. It is alot of work in the beginning but DH even thinks it works better. Good luck!
Marcia
PS: Love the claw foot tub idea. We had one but had to leave it when we moved.
"Nature always has the last laugh." Mrs. Greenthumbs
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| herbquilter |
Posted - Aug 20 2008 : 11:52:38 AM
Pink sounds wonderful!!! Gotta love farmgirl attitude.
Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many, MRET & Wellness Coach
http://herbalmommasda.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #97
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| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 20 2008 : 09:43:17 AM
Okay. So the consensus is -- RAISED BEDS! Ooh, poor dh. I'm going to go to the planning board and start working on a layout. The only thing I know for sure is the clawfoot bathtub (that I'll use for root veggies) will go in the center. I'll need to paint it -- what do y'all think about pink??????:)
from the hearts of paradise... |
| Bear5 |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 4:36:06 PM
Hi Julie:
We have three long raised beds. I'd have to agree on you with the raised beds. Less weeding for us, for sure.
Marly |
| herbquilter |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 3:16:13 PM
Julie,
Congrates on the chicken coop & happy _______, whatever it was!!!
Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many, MRET & Wellness Coach
http://herbalmommasda.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #97
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| Bellepepper |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 3:14:51 PM
Julie, I have not heard "the hoe dosen't fit my hand" except from my Mom. Brings back memories. Mom and Dad have been gone for a very long time but think of Dad every time I plant and harvest, Mom when I can or "put up" the harvest. He brought stuff in by the buckets full. Mom wouldn't say a word, just go to work with her pareing knife. |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 2:43:16 PM
Kristine: Fear not. That's exactly how I got my chicken coop! Gotta LOVE those Home Depot and Lowe's gift cards! And, AMEN to the back issues. I keep trying to tell dh that the hoe really doesn't fit my hand very well, but he just refuses to listen!!!! I also like the pallet idea. I just may try it!
from the hearts of paradise... |
| herbquilter |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 12:27:24 PM
Julie,
We have both & I agree with the others go RAISED!!! They are so much easier to maintain & work with!!! Especially for my body.
How about asking for 1 for Christmas, another Mother's Day, birthday, anniversary....wow, that's already 4 beds.
We have 2- 4'X25, 2-4X8' & 1-4x4. But next year there will be 2 more large ones for strawberries & hopefully 1 more large one for other veggies. This year I'm using pvc pipe over part of a large bed with plastic for extended season salad greens.
Thank you gals for the glimces into your gardens. There is so much pleasure in gardens!!!
ps-we usually do potatoes in 3 sides of pallets & as they start to grow add hay. Easy to harvest a bunch of clean tattos.
Blessings,
Kristine ~ Mother of Many, MRET & Wellness Coach
http://herbalmommasda.blogspot.com/
Farmgirl Sister #97
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| Alee |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 12:26:11 PM
Julie-
To make the most of my growing land until I can do all raised beds, I am going to go ahead and plant on the flat. But I am going to do my version of 'borderless lasagna gardening'. So hopefully by the time spring rolls around I will have weed free hills all ready for planting!!
Alee
Farmgirl Sister #8
www.awarmheart.com
Please come visit Nora and me on our new blog:
www.farmgirlalee.blogspot.com
Put your pin on the farmgirl map! www.farmgirlmap.blogspot.com |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 11:28:05 AM
Oh, Diana, I love it!
from the hearts of paradise... |
| Ms.Lilly |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 11:27:47 AM
Yes, my garden is fenced for deer or I wouldn't have a garden. This year we put up construction fencing (the orange stuff) to extend the chickens "free range" area and we used one side of the garden as their fence boundry. When the garden was first being planted this spring we noticed that there were no slugs on the one side of the garden- the chickens had eaten them before they made it to the garden. So we bought more construction fencing and ran it all of the way around the outside of garden fence and the bug population has really decreased, plus the chickens know garden = food and will follow me around the garden waiting for me to throw a goodie over the fence into their area.
Lillian
PS-the chickens are counting the days until they are allowed back into the garden. |
| gramadinah |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 10:53:10 AM
[http://i524.photobucket.com/albums/cc325/dlpoulton53/2008_0814flowers0018.jpg[/IMG]
This is my kitchen garden corn sunflowers strawberries tomatoes squash potatoes and some flowers. All is in oak barrels and 5 gallon buckets and wire fencing with trash bags in for the potatoes
I really like this garden
Diana
Farmgirl Sister #273 |
| StarMeadow |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 08:38:06 AM
I have two raised beds. They are 4x8 feet with a "walk" between them. It's all grass but I'm going to put down plastic to kill the grass and then put in some wood chips. We used old fence rails that were already on the property. I also put down some wire on one bed but not the other. The stuff I bought was soooo expensive, it wasn't chicken wire but I can't remember what it's called. Then I just layered shredded newpaper right down on the short cut grass and layered up from that with some organic peat and top soil. Around my plants on top I put down doubled shredded straw. Weeds have not been a problem. I think I'll have hubby add another this fall for next spring. I need to start a compost heap as well. I think I will do a plot of sweet corn on the flat though and maybe some pie pumpkins. I planted acorn squash/cucumber/patty pan but none of it did very well this year and the vines spread out way into the yard anyway. I may try the cukes going up through a tomato trellis next year and see how that works. |
| paradiseplantation |
Posted - Aug 19 2008 : 08:15:47 AM
OOh! I like the idea of the blocks, to. If nothing else, dh can use them again, if the raised beds don't work out. Do any of y'all fence in your gardens as well? I'm thinking it'll be a must do for us, as our chickens love to eat our new seedlings!
from the hearts of paradise... |
