Building a raised bed

A big Labor Day weekend project.

I have often thought of building a raised bed. I have heard speakers, read the book Square Foot Gardening and know that anything will grow in a raised bed with the best soil.

A friend gave me some old Trex (non-wood deck material) so I recycled it into a frame that Mike built and I was on my way. We made it 3 boards high, less stooping, but then realized it would take much more of that yummy soil to fill all of that space. So, I filled the bottom with a layer of upside down empty (recycled again) plastic nursery pots. I have done that in large containers before.

The second day we added a drip system by hooking into the existing sprinkler line.

It took 8 wheelbarrows of special soil...mixing 1/3 each of Sphagnum Peat Moss, Compost and perlite. The bed measures 3ft. by 8 ft. and 16 in. high. That was a lot of work. But next is the fun part, planting seeds. So I bought Heirloom seeds of carrots, radish, spinach, lettuce, beans, cilantro...all the stuff we like to eat. I soaked them overnight in water. You should have seen my kitchen counter covered with all these little dishes with seeds soaking with their seed packet close for ID.