From this....

Sherry has wanted a raised bed since this spring when she saw the wonderful bed a gardening friend had done.  Well, actually, she’s wanted one a lot longer than that, but this was the impetus.  And she finally figured out where to put it — between our drive and our neighbor’s.  She had hesitated to put it in the front of the yard, because she wasn’t sure how it would look, and because it’s going to be 90% vegetables (our garden is 99% flowers).  I think it’s going to look great.

At the top of the list of reasons for wanting a raised bed was to get away from the clay soil.  It seems that no matter how much you amend it, the clay just keeps rising to the surface.  You would need to add about two feet of topsoil to have really good dirt, and frankly I don’t know how long that would last.  We added at least a foot to the front yard, and the clay just keeps reclaiming it.  It’s frustrating.

To this.... Built, but not installed.

I’ve mentioned before that our city gives away free leaf mulch.  Sherry took my truck and got a full load (I think she’s going back again this Saturday) and she’s using that for part of the fill.  She also got half a truck load of organic topsoil from a local dealer.  So she’s using the leaf mulch, the organic topsoil and the coffee grounds from Starbucks to create one big compost pile.  It’s going to sit over the winter (being turned every once in a while) and should be ready for vegetables by spring.

It was already heating up really well the day after she finished filling it.  I told her to be careful and not start a fire.  She laughed, but I really wasn’t kidding.  A compost pile can get pretty darn hot.  She finally convinced me that there was enough actual soil in the pile to keep it from setting the cedar frame ablaze.

Next season's vegetable garden.

Filed under: Our Garden