A Raised Garden Project 5: Going Vertical

A lot has been going on in the raised bed garden. The plants have really taken off and work on the garden bed has become surprisingly easy. As usual, click each photo for a better view.

One thing that has become quite apparent is that weeding will not be a problem. I simply take a hand spade and lightly turn the earth around the bed and the disruption tends to almost completely remove the weeds. I've also been pretty bug free so the coffee grounds around the edges seems to be working.

As you can see from this photo the raised bed is almost weed free based on about five minutes of turning the soil about once a week. Can't get any easier than that!

The pop bottles are also doing their job and the raised bed only requires about two gallons of water every two days, and if it rains not even that. Once I put the bottles in, the plants instantly responded to the underground water source and started growing at a rapid pace.

I'm certain you've also noticed I have put in the training cages to support and begin to grow the vegetables that vine "vertically" or up. The cucumbers have taken to the cages like a fish to water. The squash and green peas will require a little more assistance but seem to be doing OK without a lot of spacing. I've checked a number of other sites that have done similar vertical gardening and in full bloom the squash should look like the photo to the right.

I even ran into a picture where the squash grew up a trellis and could be picked  from over head. No trellis here but this arrangement should make harvesting pretty easy. I will probably need more cages because every one of the tomato plants survived the transfer to the raised bed. That means I now have about 15 plants and they grow like the grass on your lawn even with pruning. On the bright side, I will have loads of juicy tomatoes for salads and even my Doxie assistant loves cucumbers right from the garden as a treat.

Speaking of treats... I already have the beginnings of squash sprouts. If you look closely at the photo on the left, in the center, are two baby squash eager to grow and hit the table. The cucumbers are not far behind. It won't be long now...

Next installment: Raised garden in full bloom

A Raised Garden Project 4

I have been learning fast as the raised garden takes shape. A few tips have also come into play to make the task even more fun than I had expected.  Click each photo for a better view.

I planned to let the seedlings grow in size before moving them to the raised box, but following the success of the experimental squash planting, after the initial trauma of the move, they seemed to do quite well so I was willing to go ahead with the other seedlings. 

I'm learning as I go and have discovered that used coffee grounds around the edges of the box deters pests, and letting used grounds sit in water a few days and then watering the plants with that water also deters various fungus. So a few words to a dedicated coffee drinker, Corey Miller: Who knew...?

I was also been helped by the data mining of my friends over at Pinterest. They have been sending me pins on gardening and a very interesting one caught my eye. Basically, if you use a 2 liter pop bottle when the seedlings are young and bury it strategically near them, it allows you to water into the soil and not from above.

My suggestion is to use fewer holes than shown in the picture. Getting the bottles had an interesting twist because I don't drink sodas and discovered few of my friends do as well. But a plastic juice bottle seemed to work as well. Also to my surprise the difficult part was making the holes. The bottles I discovered are pretty sturdy. I ended up using a wine screw. A girl's gotta drink something other than juice and water...

What really surprised me was how well it worked. if you limit the number of holes it acts as a slow release of water that the plants almost instinctively look for. Watering this way cuts down even more on the amount of water needed to grow your veggies. And, there is no waiting for water to reach the roots so less water is lost to evaporation. I experimented with one and plan to install more now that I understand how to do it and the number and distribution of the holes for each bottle. 

I will end by saying the plan to use the garden for stress reduction is definitely working. Weeding and tending have become great pastimes that allow all the stresses of the day to float away. I'm also problem solving on a small scale that seems to be helping my decision making in other areas. I'm really looking forward to the rest of the season. 

Next Installment: Supporting the vining plants