We move in two weeks and already, I’m planning raised beds for the back of the property. Since this property has a lawn that has been “treated” for the past five years, we’ll be digging out the grass down to the soil below and filling that with our nitrogen-carbon contents to rebuild the soil to a state of ultimate health. I’ll likely dig down four inches, then raise the bed a total of four plus eight – 10 inches for a nice rich, deep topsoil layer.
Obviously, it’s important to consider the wood you use when building walls for a contained raised bed (recommended) – nothing treated with chemicals that could leach into your food or deter microbes from growing in the soil. There are websites offering pre-made components, but you can just as easily create your own, keeping in mind the type of wood, metal or other materials you choose to use as a surround.
Moving into an association will be a first for me and I must admit, a part of me is bucking the idea already, but this will be an opportunity to address the need to educate the least experienced backyard gardener. The toughest issue for me will be the neighbors on either side of our property, spraying their lawns with broad-leafed killers and chemical fertilizers. My garden will need to remain a safe distance from either border and will not have an immediate hedge-row to embrace it’s development. We’ll be starting literally from the ground up.
For now, I’ll continue day-dreaming about my seed-order next spring.
1 Comment
June 4, 2009 at 11:56 am
Hi Again:
No, I haven’t visited Johnny’s yet, but my parents went earlier this spring and said it was a nice place to visit. I ordered all my seeds from them for my square-foot garden project.
I, too, live in an association, and it has it’s pros and cons. A really tough tree-cutting policy makes it difficult to create sunny veggie garden areas AND to plant food-bearing trees. I’m hoping to change the rules to allow “tree replacement”, i.e. take down the old pine and replace it with a walnut or apple tree.
Good luck with your new place!