As I sit at my desk, I am looking out into the yard and watching it snow. Here in Ohio, we have green grass and some of my flowers are still green with life, not giving in to winter yet. I saw a bloom on a dianthus just last month. Even with the tranquility of the pretty, soft snow, there is nothing I would like more than to get outside and start planting in my new garden!
Last fall, I put in a new raised bed garden. The plans started smaller than the project ended up! I was having such a good time building the frames that I got a bit carried away. I have 10 in all, varying in size and depth. The longest are 12 feet long by 3 feet wide. These are for strawberries, raspberries, and veining plants. The deepest is for when I try my hand at growing sweet potatoes and the largest square, 4 feet by 4 feet, is for rhubarb. I'm using one of the small 6 feet by 3 feet beds as a holding place for flowers I have divided when doing my fall bed cleaning. I have always wanted a place to put plants that, at the time, I had no place for and now I do! ( It is the little things in life that make me happy.)
My boxes are built on the cheap, using cedar pickets instead of cedar boards. Much less expensive! I used scrap 2x4s for the corner boards and center supports. My husband is in the process of adding onto the pole barn, so I had great supply of short pieces of scrap. The boxes were then lined with chicken wire or wire mesh, (I used what I could find in the shed) and cardboard~Wire is to keep varmints out and cardboard to keep weeds out.
1/3 each peat, vermiculite, and compost
Newly planted strawberries. My mouth is watering!!
Original Posting Date: 1-7-2021