The Number One Way To Build A Gardening Bed
Lettuce and green beans and peppers, oh my! My, how healthy such fresh veggies are.
But my, how expensive they have become to buy in a store.
And my, how you would like to learn to grow your own.
But you have a problem.
You live in an area with soil that is absolutely lousy for growing food.
You know will have to do raised bed gardening, but you have estimated the cost of using a potting mix to fill your beds and it will almost equal a mortgage payment.
You know you could also doctor the native soil up with amendments, but that will require more work than you're willing or have time to put out right now.
As well, you have heard that using this method of building a bed requires several years of growing food and adding compost before any plant will be at its healthiest and produce a good crop.
There is an option.
It is the one I recommend above all others, because I have personally used it successfully.
The number one way to build a garden bed is a raised "found material" bed.
What I mean by that is that once you have built the borders of a raised bed-either with bricks, wood or plastic-you fill the beds with organic materials you can mostly find for free or at a low cost.
There are two main ways to do this.
With either way, you first line the bottom and sides of the empty raised bed with ten layers of newspaper, or with cardboard.
The first way is the easiest and cheapest.
Simply collect grass clippings and raked leaves and layer them in the bed on top of the newspaper or cardboard.
The layer of leaves should be twice as high as the layer of grass, and the total height should be at least fifteen inches.
This will be considerably lower when it completely breaks down, so don't go any lower.
If you don't need to plant right away, leave the bed as-is and water the material every week or two.
It should turn into a rich, dark soil within six months to a year.
If you do want to plant right away, add three inches of compost-either your own or purchased from a nursery-on top of the leaves and grass.
You can plant into the compost, and as your veggies grow, the leaves and grass will gradually break down.
The second way involves a bit more cost, but is still economical.
On top of the newspaper or cardboard layer, throw down some vegetable or fruit scraps.
Next, layer two inches of compressed straw (four inches loose).
Alfalfa is the most nutrient-rich, but any kind of straw will do if you can't get a hold of alfalfa.
On top of that, sprinkle a light layer of blood meal of finished chicken manure.
Then, a four-inch layer of loose straw or grass clippings.
Finally, spread two inches of finished compost on top.
You can begin planting immediately into this bed mixture.
What are you waiting for? Find some organic material, build your gardening bed and get going on the tastiest, most nutritious produce around: your own!
But my, how expensive they have become to buy in a store.
And my, how you would like to learn to grow your own.
But you have a problem.
You live in an area with soil that is absolutely lousy for growing food.
You know will have to do raised bed gardening, but you have estimated the cost of using a potting mix to fill your beds and it will almost equal a mortgage payment.
You know you could also doctor the native soil up with amendments, but that will require more work than you're willing or have time to put out right now.
As well, you have heard that using this method of building a bed requires several years of growing food and adding compost before any plant will be at its healthiest and produce a good crop.
There is an option.
It is the one I recommend above all others, because I have personally used it successfully.
The number one way to build a garden bed is a raised "found material" bed.
What I mean by that is that once you have built the borders of a raised bed-either with bricks, wood or plastic-you fill the beds with organic materials you can mostly find for free or at a low cost.
There are two main ways to do this.
With either way, you first line the bottom and sides of the empty raised bed with ten layers of newspaper, or with cardboard.
The first way is the easiest and cheapest.
Simply collect grass clippings and raked leaves and layer them in the bed on top of the newspaper or cardboard.
The layer of leaves should be twice as high as the layer of grass, and the total height should be at least fifteen inches.
This will be considerably lower when it completely breaks down, so don't go any lower.
If you don't need to plant right away, leave the bed as-is and water the material every week or two.
It should turn into a rich, dark soil within six months to a year.
If you do want to plant right away, add three inches of compost-either your own or purchased from a nursery-on top of the leaves and grass.
You can plant into the compost, and as your veggies grow, the leaves and grass will gradually break down.
The second way involves a bit more cost, but is still economical.
On top of the newspaper or cardboard layer, throw down some vegetable or fruit scraps.
Next, layer two inches of compressed straw (four inches loose).
Alfalfa is the most nutrient-rich, but any kind of straw will do if you can't get a hold of alfalfa.
On top of that, sprinkle a light layer of blood meal of finished chicken manure.
Then, a four-inch layer of loose straw or grass clippings.
Finally, spread two inches of finished compost on top.
You can begin planting immediately into this bed mixture.
What are you waiting for? Find some organic material, build your gardening bed and get going on the tastiest, most nutritious produce around: your own!