How To Build A Raised Garden - Chapter Three

With the final assemble of the two raised bed planting boxes site prep was next.  A trip to Home Depot snared a couple of rolls of Vigoro 3 ft. x 50 ft. WeedBlock Weed Barrier Landscape Fabric with Microfunnels.  The product is designed to channel water away; yet maintain some semblance of moisture.  We'll see.  Like I said previously, this raised bed gardening is a learning curve.

My site was not level and was going to require some earthmoving to level it out.  It was with some trepidation that I went to start the tractor; which fired in the first crank.  Whew!  We had a couple of yards of soil on hand but moving it was going to require the use of the loader.  There was additional soil amendments and mulch - all of which are better hauled with a loader.  More on that episode momentarily.

As best I could I transferred dirt from here to there, leveled it out and stapled-down a layer of weed barrier.  

Following that, I carefully lined both planters with a layer of weed barrier fastening it with stainless steel staples.  A further nod to extending the life of the cedar by means of delaying immediate dirt to wood contact.  We'll see.

The Missus and I placed the boxes in position, shimmed them with treated wood blocks and added three inches (give or take) of untreated, natural wood mulch.

This was followed by a thick layer of additional soil from our stash.  At which point a high pressure hydraulic hose blew on the loader.

This added a day of delay in the project as I had to remove the culprit hose, make a trip to Sturgeon Bay to get a replacement fabricated and install it.  

Crisis averted.

On top of the first layer of soil went ten total bags of organic raised bed soil.  And don't get me started about what I found in that "organic" blend - shredded plastic, bits of debris, and sorta whatnot and nonsense including a stainless steel bolt.  Sheesh. 

An additional bag of composed manure was added over all.

Then everything was dressed with more natural wood mulch which I'm happy with as there's no mud to my gardening experience.

Nevertheless, we did have delivered three yards of "fancy" wood mulch for general landscaping purposes this summer and some of that might find its way to the raised bed project.  Time will tell.

Anyway, be sure to check back periodically for updates on what's growing, harvested, cooked, consumed or preserved.

This old man is looking forward to no longer raising vegetables on his hands and knees.

Praise the Lord and Vive le Jardin Magnifique!

Speaking of which; I've got a solid-running rototiller that I'm willing to part with for not a lot of money it it goes to a good home.  If you're interested you know where to find me....