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gardening for beginners

Evaluation of my raised bed menagerie.

Jen Fulkerson

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Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

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posted 2 years ago

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Like a lot of people I started out rototilling, and planting in the ground. It's the way my parents did it, and it is the way I did it. For the most part it worked. Then the garden area that was once a horse corral became the chicken yard.
The new garden went in a spot that was a weedy lawn. I tilled the soil planted my garden and grew weeds. At this point I decided to try raised beds. I bought 2 4'X4'X 4" on clearance. Used a wooden twist bed frame my niece was taking to the dump, and some concrete blocks we had. They all had weedcloth bottoms, and were filled with whatever soil I could afford. These worked fairly well for quite a while. I did add a pine fence board to the 4'X4's to give more depth.
In the beginning I had no idea what permaculture was, chop and drop, no till, hugelkulture, never heard of it. I still used chemical fertilizer, and weed killer. I didn't know any better. At some point I started to grow organic. Then one fateful day I stumbled upon Permies and my life was changed.
I stopped using weed killer. Built a hugelkulture.
At this point I have added to my garden. I have bought more cement blocks, because they are fairly cheap and last forever ( at least my forever) . My son wanted to know why I didn't make all my garden beds using the blocks 2 high. I told him it would be too expensive. That year for Christmas he got me a pallet of concrete blocks.
I built 2 hugel beets. With 2 blocks high. ( Now know I have to put hardware cloth at ground level to keep gophers out.).
Sometime after my daughters boyfriend gave me the redwood fence boards they were replacing. They were still perfectly good. I decided to make some raised beds with them and some corrugated steel we had. I'm not a builder, but I was happy with how they came out.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 2 years ago

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I built several redwood and corrugated steel beds. Several times I have said I'm done, only to decide I need another.
I have started to make raised beds out of pallet wood. My redwood is dwindling, and I need to save the corrugated steel to fix the barn roof. I can get pallets pretty cheap at my work. Even better if it is an off size, or doesn't meet certain standards it's free. I only use the heat treated wood. It's a little more work because I have to disassemble the pallet, but free is worth the effort.
I line the inside with weed cloth to keep soil from spilling from the cracks. Linseed oil is used to help the wood last linger. Again I'm not a builder, but I'm learning, and happy with the results.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

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posted 2 years ago

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I made my walkway big enough to get the wheelbarrow through. I wanted to plant more peas. So I built 2 beds from redwood fence boards. 2 high that's about 11" and about 11" or 12" wide. It's a long the fence, and believe it or not works very well. I honestly didn't know if it would be big enough to grow anything. Peas grow very well, kale, strawberrys and Alyssa have been happy to grow in this compact bed.

Since this works so well I scrounged up a few more redwood boards and made another adding a chicken wire trellis to the back so I could plant sweet peas by my door so I could enjoy them every day.

My newest is my a planter instead of a bed I would say. I'd bought 3(actually 4) new mint, and I needed a place for them. I built 3 boxes. I used mostly scraps everything was different thickness. The boxes were the ugliest things I ever built. I purposely made 3 sizes. I hated the way they looked. I got the idea to put them together. It's not a beauty, and if this was the plan all along I would have made it different. All in all it was free, took a short time to put together, and used a bunch of scraps. Now the mint has a home. I wish I hadn't painted it. I was just thinking it hid some of the flaws. Oh well it's done now.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 2 years ago

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Last two honorable mention the first bed I built. I made it out of pine fence board I bought and put together with metal corner brackets. It actually lasted several years. It was so full of Bermuda grass I didn't know what to do. My son used the bobcat to lift it and dump it. It took a little damage, but I rebuilt, and reenforced it. Put a larger piece of weedcloth under it. I'm going to add wood chips, but haven't gotten to it yet. It's full of flowers about to bloom.

The other is a raised bed I got on clearance. It was very expensive, and I got it very cheap. I like the look of it. This year I'm happy with it. Last year I heated it. The way it's made it gets quite shallow in the front and back. Planting shallow roots things like strawberry in the shadows, and things like a small pepper, and some short bush beans seem to be doing the trick. I haven't had this problem in some of the other shallow beds. Maybe because it's black metal, it may get to hot???
I have spared you getting pictures of all my beds, but I think I have at least one of each style.

My next one is for strawberrys. My plan is short. Maybe weedcloth across the top where the strawberry plants come through so the berry's never touch the soil. There will be a top covered in chicken wire. It will have to go out by the greenhouse because there's no room in the garden. With the top it should be fine. I've had the most amazing productive strawberrys this year, and between the slugs, bugs and birds we had gotten very few.

I would love to see other examples of raised beds. Or any style of garden actually. I love to be inspired.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Shari Clark

gardener

Posts: 219

Location: East Beaches area of Manitoba, Zone 3

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posted 2 years ago

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Jen Fulkerson wrote:

My newest is my a planter instead of a bed I would say. I'd bought 3(actually 4) new mint, and I needed a place for them. I built 3 boxes. I used mostly scraps everything was different thickness. The boxes were the ugliest things I ever built. I purposely made 3 sizes. I hated the way they looked. I got the idea to put them together. It's not a beauty, and if this was the plan all along I would have made it different. All in all it was free, took a short time to put together, and used a bunch of scraps. Now the mint has a home. I wish I hadn't painted it. I was just thinking it hid some of the flaws. Oh well it's done now.

Jen, I think this planter is beautiful and I love the paint colour! You inspire me so much by the way you just go ahead and build what you need from whatever you have on hand. Love it so much!

Best serotonin-booster ever: garden time.

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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Adding to the menagerie. I've been building a greenhouse. ( It's almost done and I can't wait to share it). I'm a little worried about a rock from the orchard breaking a window. I built 3 shallow beds with trellises. My hope is the hardwire cloth and climbing flowers will give it a little protection. It will be East to West, so it won't shade the greenhouse. I will probably paint the outside. I would like to paint them the same color as the greenhouse, but I don't have enough left. I will probably use the trim paint.

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shallow beds with trellises. My hope is the hardwire cloth and climbing flowers will give it a little protection

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trellis for protection from flying stones

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Timothy Norton

Steward of piddlers

Posts: 6965

Location: Upstate New York, Zone 5b, 43 inch Avg. Rainfall

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posted 1 year ago

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I like the idea of a hardware cloth trellis! I have a roll or two left over from a chicken run project that I need to use up... I don't see why it wouldn't work for climbers!

Are the bottoms open on these to the ground or are they an enclosed grow area?

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Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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Timothy two are lined with weed cloth. I build with pallet wood. Some of the boards have grooves down the center. This leaves a good gap. Also the wood is often a bit wonky so sometimes there's gaps between the boards. If magic happens I put hardwire cloth on the bottom ( to keep gophers out) and call it good. If there's a bunch of gaps I line the boxes with a good quality weed cloth. I have never had a gopher go through the weed cloth. Doesn't mean they can't, they just haven't so far. Hardwire cloth is quite expensive, so I don't use it if I have to.

What I do to the bottom depends on where it's going, and what it's purpose. A lot of the beds that have veggies in them have a hardwire cloth bottom. I love hugel beets. In my area, at least for me it's absolutely the best! Unfortunately we have so much gopher activity I have to use something to protect at least some of the roots.
These beds are going by my greenhouse. The areas around the greenhouse will have cardboard, weed cloth, and wood chips. I don't want any mowing, or weed whacking by the greenhouse. One rock could shatter two years of work.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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Strawberries here we come. Last year I had amazingly, productive strawberries, which the slugs and birds enjoyed. We only got a strawberry if we found it before it was totally ripe. This year I built a bed for the strawberries. Ok you know I will put other stuff with them, it's just the way I garden, but it's primarily for strawberries. I decided to paint the outside of the strawberry bed and trellis beds.( The inside is only painted at the top above soil level. Hopefully avoiding the toxic paint). I hope to give them a little more longevity, and make them match the greenhouse. It's the same paint as the greenhouse trim.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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This is a remake of one of my first and crappiest raised beds. I started with one board high and hardwire cloth attached to the bottom. Since this has a hugel beet under it I thought it would be fine. But it's just to shallow. I added a second board. Then I decided to make a trellis/tomato cage, and use it to attach the boards together. Honestly I'm not sure if I like it. Time will tell. I just thought it would give me more options for what I can plant.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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I just can't seem to stop myself. I wanted a space for melons, and my kids wanted corn, plus I wanted to take advantage of the space where my hugelkulture was. I consider them my down and dirty beds because they are made with pallets that were kind of crappy, not to my standards, but it's what I had.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 11832

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

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posted 1 year ago

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I love all the inspiration in this thread Jen thank you for sharing! I love the strawberry bed in particular - the hinged lid is ingenious! My raised beds are like a mini hugel - with twigs in the middle to provide drainage and moisture retention.

I think I'd be tempted to try planting inside the cavities in the blocks to soften them. Maybe chives or small spreading flowers like thyme?

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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Thanks Nancy. Your hugel looks great, and I think it's very smart to put the twigs in, I wish I would have thought about that, it seems like it would really help direct the water down into the hugel.
When I started using the cement blocks I tried planting in them without much success. Weeds grow great in the holes, and strange enough an onion. I think maybe it dries out to fast, I don't know. Maybe I will try again and put some wood at the bottom to soak up water. Might be fun to try. It would look pretty too.
I can't wait to use my strawberry bed. I missed strawberry season this year, so I'll have to get it started next year. Last year I had the best looking strawberries I have ever had. Super healthy plants, large beautiful berries. Between the bugs and the birds I didn't get one strawberry. My Aunt lives in another state. We enjoy sharing our love for gardening. One of the pictures she sent was a bed like the one I built for my strawberries. I told her I loved it and was definitely going to steal her idea, and I did.
Thanks again happy gardening.

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Nancy Reading

steward and tree herder

Posts: 11832

Location: Isle of Skye, Scotland. Nearly 70 inches rain a year

5947

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posted 1 year ago

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Jen Fulkerson wrote:Thanks Nancy. Your hugel looks great, and I think it's very smart to put the twigs in, I wish I would have thought about that, it seems like it would really help direct the water down into the hugel.

Thank you Jen. I hadn't really thought of the sticks catching water - I suppose they must though! They are actually there for the peas to climb up. I am lucky in that I have rain year round, so once plants are established I don't really need to water. Before you get jealous - realise my summer temperature at the moment is only 50 Fahrenheit (10 degrees C). That is a little cool for us, but we rarely get up to 70 Fahrenheit (20C), so no tomatoes, corn or eggplant outside for me!
Shame about the strawberry season, but there is always something to look forwards to.

How Permies works: https://permies.com/wiki/34193/permies-works-links-threads
My projects on Skye: The tree field, Growing and landracing, perennial polycultures, "Don't dream it - be it! "

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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I can't seem to stop myself. I just keep adding raised beds.
I was happy to get a couple of pallets with wider boards. Lots of projects I can use those for. The problem is I can't get them apart without a lot of damage. I have several different methods to dismantling pallets, and they all seem to fail with this kind of pallet. I decided to cut the pallet, keeping it intact, and just filling the voids. It turned out pretty good. The sides I did different from the other beds I made because I didn't want to waist the thickness of the 2x4. All in all I'm happy with the results even if I couldn't use the wider boards for a different project.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

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posted 1 year ago

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For me I find garlic to be one of the few veggies I grow that don't do well in a polyculture. I have only had decent luck with them planted all by themselves. I didn't want to dedicate one of my beds to garlic, so of course I built a couple of new beds. The research I have done says 4" is the optimal depth to plant garlic. The beds are 39 1/2" by 19 1/2" by 9" deep. I used pallet wood. I was only going to put weed cloth on the bottom, but changed my mind and put hardwire cloth on the bottom too. To save the wire which is 36" wide. I screwed a board to the end. I would like to put wood on the top to finish it off, because it looks so much better, but I'm trying not to use much wood.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Riona Abhainn

pollinator

Posts: 1324

Location: Milwaukie Oregon, USA zone 8b

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posted 1 year ago

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Thanks for showing us all your raised beds! You always write such helpful posts about your processes and experiments and what is working for you in your garden.

Celtic/fantasy/folk/shanty singing at Renaissance faires, fantasy festivals, and other events in OR and WA, USA.
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Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

931

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posted 1 year ago

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Ok this isn't a raised bed, it's a planter, but I thought I would share it anyway. I have been wanting to build a little wooden wheelbarrow. This is the practice one to see if I could do it. It's built with crummy pallet wood, and branches for the handle, and a slice of log from our walnut tree. I don't know how long it will last, but I learned a lot, and can't wait to make another.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

Jen Fulkerson

gardener

Posts: 1932

Location: N. California

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posted 11 months ago

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My latest bed I call my reject bed it's made with wood form my reject pile. The boards were crummy for various reasons, and the small end pieces are what used to be the bridge for the chickens. She's not the prettiest bed, but will do just fine for my extra garlic.

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“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” — Abraham Lincoln

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