Wildwood

This past weekend I finally got the chance to build some new garden beds for vegetable at our new home. I didn’t get a chance the past spring and wanted to get something started so we could at least have a fall garden. As the first installment of what will become a reoccurring category of post here at Wildwood, I wanted to share with you the simple steps for creating a basics raised garden bed.

First build yourself some boxes, any size any wood, preferably a hardwood like cedar which will naturally fend off rot, and never use pressure treated wood either. Also you want t make sure they are fairly level with the ground. We had to account for a change in grade here cause the yard slopes off.

Then you want to either remove the top layer of sod with a shovel, or if you are feeling lazy like us either put down cardboard or several layers of new paper to keep the weeds from growing through.

Then if you are using the lazy method of spreading you previous weeks NY Times on the grass you want to soak it with water just to help it begin to break down a bit.

Now you are ready for your dirt. If you are starting a garden from scratch like this you want to mostly use organic matter, so fill em up with straight up compost. If you want to be a little cheap like us through in some peat moss to keep things airy. Also some perlite will help with drainage. After that water the soil real good and wait a day before planting seeds or transplants. We have a bunch of lettuces and greens planted along with onion and garlics which will be ready in the spring.