A Raised Bed in Twenty Seconds or Less
I am not a builder of raised beds. Pile up some compost and plant straight into it, that's what I like. I think straw bales make a perfectly fine raised bed (and leave you with some nice compost at the end of the season for mulch). When Fine Gardening was in town a couple of years ago, they made a video about my little straw bale garden, which you can watch here if you're not clear on the concept.
But I'm shifting some things around in my garden, and there's a spot by my kitchen door where I thought a raised bed would be nice for growing a few salad greens and herbs. The garbage cans get dragged past this little area, and we tend to use it as a staging area for any kind of messy home improvement project we might be in the middle of. So putting some structure around this bed seemed like a better idea than just making a mound and planting into it.
So the people at EarthEasy asked me if they could send me a raised bed to try out, and I said sure, bring it on. It was time to get going on that little salad garden anyway. They sent two–one for me and one for Genevieve Schmidt–and we assembled them in my garden.
The video pretty much says it all. No hardware, just slots and pegs. The wood is untreated cedar. They are stackable, and while you could screw in some brackets to hold the stacks together, I'm not sure it's necessary–probably the mass of the soil and plant roots, combined with the expansion of the wood as it settles in and gets wet, will be enough to keep the whole thing upright. (Oh, and if you want to see the full length, unedited version of our assembly process, where it is much more apparent that I stood around and made Gen do all the work, go here.)
And yes! We have not one, but two, to give away! If you'd like a 4 x 8 raised bed from EarthEasy, you're going to have to work for it. Poetry! I demand poetry! A limerick, a haiku, a rhyming couplet–something! You can do it. Or–you could go to Gen's blog, North Coast Gardening, where she's also giving one away, and try your luck over there.)
Posted by Amy Stewart on May 18, 2011 at 5:06 am, in the category Taking Your Gardening Dollar.
a new garden project I do not need,
my list of “to-do’s” is endless.
but a raised bed would make me
fix salads a’plenty,
and healthier I just might be!
Please pick me!!
a haiku(ish)….
four wooden pieces
simply slot together and
bring forth salad
Did you say limerick?
My beds are not raised; they’re on the ground.
So to garden I must crawl around.
My back would thank you,
And I would too,
If for me a raised bed were found!
with brick foundation
underneath the heavy clay soil
raised beds are for me!
Stunted veggies grow
Roots rejected by hard clay;
Caliche below.
Friable soil spread,
An ineffective blanket.
Lift the tilthy sheets!
Lush turgidity
Chard, tomatoes, Princess peas
Rest in their raised bed.
Soil, I long for soil.
Dark, damp, dusky.
Alas, the clay is mine.
slick, slime, slippery.
Up! Raise them up!
Make the earth easy.
at mulching, it seems I am good,
and lord knows, there is still so much wood,
at the rate of my forking
my back is now torqing
a raised bed helps? it should!
A big change from our urban apartment
Is living out on this suburban escarpment
I’ve double-dug so much dirt
It sure wouldn’t hurt
To have a big cedar-board soil compartment!
Do Not Plant Your Beans in the Clay
Do not plant your beans in the clay
They will wither, falter, and droop,
Build ye a raised bed before break of day.
Wise gardeners have no need to spray
and they amend the soil with worm poop,
Do not plant your beans in the clay.
Create a box with boards or with hay,
preferably close to your front stoop.
Build ye a raised bed before break of day.
Masses of blooms will grow for bouquets
and buckets of beans to make beautiful soup.
Do not plant your beans in the clay.
I’ve built my beds of stone
It came with our new home
But for my new herb bed
I’d like some wood, Fred
So the chickens will leave it alone
(Absolutely nonsensical, but I’m pre-coffee, so it’s the best I can do….)
I’m weeding, weeding, weeding more,
it never seems to end.
My knees they ache, my back is sore,
as my garden I defend.
But raise it up an inch or two
and add some nice clean dirt.
A new raised bed, now that would do,
then gardening might not hurt!
It takes quite a bit of cojon-es
To write about my needs in a poem-es
Constantly pulling mint
My energy is spent
A raised bed would stop my malaise!
…Wow, and now that I know how typepad works, it’s totally out there that I tried to rhyme ma-laise with cojon-es. The things we do in the name of gardening, and free.
Raised beds, raised beds
whats best for my garden
Raise them today,
grow bountiful produce tommorrow.
Raised beds, raised beds
Red clay of the South
breaks shovels, bends trowels, so–
raised garden beds!
There once was a gardener in Minneapolis
whose beds were besieged by Sylvilagus
“If I had some raised beds,
my greens would not be in shreds
because surely rabbits can’t jump over this!”
(at least I hope they can’t)
flat garden
no!
raise plants closer to
the sun.
Haiku to Seattle:
If Spring does not bloom
Arizona here I come.
Cold and wet? Think not.
I am Not a Poet
I Do Know It
So a Gardener I Want to Be!
A haiku-ish poem:
raising vegetable beds
raising connected children
raising community
(The Sonoma State University campus garden has a special area for our children’s school students – The Daisies, the Rosebuds, and the Sunflowers. They are all under 5 years old. While our university students are fairly tolerant of gophers, our under-5′s cry when their carrots are eaten! A raised bed would make us very happy!)
OK, here’s a free-form poem describing my annual gardening experience:
My Garden
First, the rush of spring:
digging, weeding, planning,
mulching, planting, dreaming
of mountains of perfect tomatoes,
fragrant basil, gifts of herbs.
Lovely daydreams unaffected by sore knees
or a throbbing lower back.
Then, the warmer blush of summer
turning to humid mosquito days.
An extra dose of Advil here and there,
Dragging out the hose one more time,
Happily thinking of hard work’s reward
This year the June beetles will not win and
OH MY GOD ARE THOSE HORNWORMS ON MY TOMATOES?!
High summer, drought, angry sun.
The weeds dwarf everything.
The beetles ate the basil.
My kids adopted the hornworms.
The peppers protested my intermittent watering and shrunk.
Time to sit on the deck, have a martini,
and ponder the power of nature.
Much easier than pulling weeds.
Dirt so warm and brown
Earthworm pink and glistenly
Gliding through the soil
Amy Stewart needs only to say “jump”
“How High?” ask the poets who bump
into each other as they scramble
and tumble and fumble and ramble
all for a box over which they can slump.
A raised bed? Sake’s alive!
My dad is sixty-five!
He’s retiring next week
and a garden he will seek!
If I win this cool raised bed
I give it to him, instead!
I think that I shall never see
A job as hard as weeding on knee.
A job who’s toll on aching back
Still lingers in the joints that crack.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But a bed araised is sheer candy.
Hi Amy,
It’s happy hour, welcome one welcome all!
Grab a glass and let’s have a ball!
Strawberry basil mojitos are ready to go
Just pinch the garnish from my EarthEasy raised bed on my patio.
Hahaha! That was horrible.
We’re eat up with raised beds here, so I don’t have a poem for you. But I’ve used these beds for school gardens and for clients and they are sweet.
Teachers like the fact that the design is similar to what colonists used in places like Colonial Williamsburg.
Also, double stacking them the way Amy did, puts the bed at a 16″ height,(same height as most chairs if you measure from the floor to where your butt ends up), so attaching a 1×6 flat on the top edges of the bed–if you’re handy–makes for a nice seating space, either for working the bed from a seating position (or taking a Gin & Tonic break, which we consider to be an important garden activity).
But do be aware that the higher the bed is, the more watering it will need.
For those who want to order these beds direct from the folks who came up with this design, check out :
http://gardenraisedbeds.com/
pretty please pick me!
i’ve already planted it
in my garden dreams
I thought the Haiku challenge was right up my alley,
but Im impressed (and humbled) by the admissions so far.
Hats off to you all! Im glad I dont have to choose a winner.
Im going to work on my limmrick skills before your next offer, Amy!
Waiting for spring to arrive, or
just waiting to see what has survived
or waiting for winter to be spent
or waiting for the lilac’s scent
or waiting for the leaves to pop
or just waiting for the rain to stop
or for the sun to shine,
or the smell of basil, lavender and thyme
I am just waiting for a beautiful raised bed to plant a cucumber vine.
Tomatoes are red,
Potatoes are blue,
I’m amending the garden
with worm compost poo.
a raised bed is great
for adding dimension to
one’s planar garden
Our mission is beautification
of old rails and canals in the Nation.
We only use natural
its sooo satisfactual
anything else
has no justification!
Oh, I would love a raised bed,
Or I could ruin my back
Instead.
What talent!
I already have raised beds.
With deepest apologies to Elizabeth Barrett Browning …
How would I plant thee ? Let me count the ways.
I would plant thee to the depth and breadth and height
My tomatoes can reach, with cucumbers growing out of sight,
And melons and peas and berries of sweetest taste.
I would plant thee to the brim with tiniest seed,
and watch by moon and sun and flashlight
for predators munching by day or by night.
I would protect the produce I need.
I’d fill thee cleanly with soil and manure.
I’d tend thy tenants as I would a child.
Each seed and seedling may run wild,
But my care for them all would be pure.
Your walls would hold the soil,
The roots and mycorrhizae –
For you and yours, I’d toil.
Don’t enter me in the draw – but I couldn’t resist taking a moment to create a lil poem based on my own gardening experiences!
–
A garden bed, wide and tall,
Built in 20 seconds, just last fall.
Now comes the spring work,
Shovelling dirt and picking weeds,
Praying that plants will sprout from the seeds.
As the days pass I ask the garden
“Why is it the weeds grow with vigor,
But my lettuce won’t get any bigger?!”
Eating the ripe tomatoes,
Still warm from the sun,
Reminds me gardening is as much about hard work
As it is HAVING FUN!
–
Thanks Amy (and Gen!) for doing such a great job
Ben Seaman
Eartheasy.com
There once was a gardener named Amy,
Whose blog brought her fortune and fame-y,
When she raised up her bed,
Her hair did turn red
And her life was ne’er the same-y!
Rather lame-y, I guess!
Fresh cilantro for her salsa,
zucchini for a verde?
Never-ended generosity she hands;
Effortless as we meet ’round the table in her kitchen.
Her hard work we admire
her compassion for all who walk.
She takes us in and feeds us full and blesses us as we leave.
She is my Grandmother, my Abuelita.
A garden I want to build
in her lost backyard.
A place to pull from the earth,
health to give her back.
Tired are her knees and back,
sore are her feet,
She told me the other day.
Abuelita, no more giving.
Let me pull for you.
Let me bless you and feed you full,
With my small garden.
These poems are fantastic. What glory there is in poetry and gardening…the perfect solution of what to do when you clean the dirt out from under your nails! Here’s my reason to win your raised bed garden (linked senru):
_______________________
Spring awakens me,
meets me at the porch, smiles in
sunshine adoration.
Earthworms move slowly,
sense the soil, the wind, sun
pause in my shadow.
Birds peck eager at
seeds falling from my dry toast
stone ground wheat bread.
Buds adorn the trees
their softened coats losing hold
dropping to the ground.
The wind whispers, laughs
tickles hair across my face
announcing “It’s Spring!”
Raised
garden
beds
see
Salad days
Abundant
life
from
planted
seed
There once was a gardener who begged
for a raised bed held together by pegs
She made up a rhyme
(And didn’t have much time)
So now you are left with her dregs
Salad greens aplenty
strawberries galore,
your giving away just one raised bed
but I need even more…
Fill one bed with greens
Another with zucchini
Crispy crunchy green beans
Broccoli and rapini.
(My kids are shaking their heads and groaning. They’re very disappointed in my poetry skillz.)
With neighbor cats galore
and no potty manners to be found
A garden plot is only safe
When several feet off the ground
The fate of my soil,
fragrent herbs and healthy plateful
is in your hands –
To win, I would be so grateful.
It was last year, 2010
When the rains came.
The downpour drowned my garden
Which was looking pretty swell
And even with all my hours of hard work,
Everything looked like HELL!
I deserve a happier tale to TELL!
weeds rising from ground
quick! construct raised bed atop
beauty reigns from above
(written in 5 minutes – don’t judge too harshly)
Dear Hubby, I do beg your pardon,
But I’d like to install a raised garden.
Soon comes July
And plants wither and die.
“Oh wait, I was s’posed to water ‘em?”
Dear Wife, I’m lookin’ at you askance.
Another go at the gardening “dance”?
You’ll sweat, fret and flail,
But, sadly, plants fail.
With your brown thumb they don’t stand a chance.
There once was a girl from Carolina
Who’s garden was less than fin’a
A raised bed she desired
For the garden she aspired
Ahhhh… to dine on fresh produce on my china
(yeah, well… I never claimed to be a poet!)
Less lawn – more food!!
Since the food bank is promised half my produce this summer, I need more space to grow my veggies. You’d like to give me one of these fabulous raised bed kits? Yes please!
Lift the garden up
To plant seeds and plants as well
Closer to the sun
A shared passion for life
and all things living,
a sister without mobility
directs a brother with garden plans.
The pansies, tulips and marigolds
bedded to bring her joy of eye
while honeysuckle and lilac tickle her nose.
Bleeding hearts grow tall
like memories of a mother gone.
All planted in pots on the porch
where she can watch them grow
because the soil is harsh and futile below.
A raised bed
brings her to the yard
and extends her smiling season.
There was a wee lass in the ‘hood
She thought that raised beds looked so good
She begged her strapping lad to craft one
But month after month it was not done
So she bypassed him and won one of wood.
She began to put it up for her plants
Said he, “Doing it YOURSELF? No chance!”
Alas, the wait for him to dress would be long
And she found (once again) he was wrong –
That wee lass finished it ‘fore he was in pants!
A raised bed by Earth Easy You Say?
If we give you poetry, you’ll give one away?
But what if poets we’re not, but garden’s under our collar so HOT, that to crawl on our belly to till, sometimes like a pig to swill-it makes us feel?
But oh, such beauty in the garden, I’m thinking – with lush strawberries feeding my husband, I’ll be winking
Without having to garden with our bellies on the floor, such senses we could all but adore; the scent of the flower buds enticing, the site of the butterflies pollinating, the sounds of the insects ruminating, the taste of fruits exploding in our mouths; juices flowing, and the feel…oh, the feel….of the bounty… within our grasp.
Earth Easy, Earth Easy, please do not deny me. Earth Easy, Earth Easy, please sublime me.