Katherine Baker and all commenters on this thread,
I have enjoyed reading your thoughts and planning and experiments and photos immensely. My brother said he was going to do this same raised bed garden this year and I have asked him several questions in email that he hasn't answered yet. These comments have helped give me ideas a great deal. I have been composting leaves, soil, vegetable waste, coffee grounds, old tomato plant potting material, and some sand and ammonia over winter. It's starting to look like compost now. I think I started it in November. It's mid-April. I'm growing some tomato seeds (hopefully) indoors, have moved to back porch out of direct sunlight. Not sure if I will do this this year as it takes a lot of soil to fill the bag and I am very short on space that gets full sun.
I had a couple of thoughts for securing the bag to add structure: one was to use pool noodles to put around the top of the bag that would help keep it from sagging on the long sides. You can find them cheap at thrift stores. Also could use in yard, but not in driveway, rebar stakes and connect with PVC parallel to the ground-one top level or several parallel rows at different heights up the rebar. Only need a drill to make holes. Hay and straw have gotten expensive around here in the mid-south so I don't know if rebar and PVC would cost less or more than a straw perimeter support. Just a thought.
I really like this forum and I'll be back to hopefully hear more about this interesting method of gardening.
Mr.D
