Not that we had a real winter here in the PNW, but Spring has most definitely shown up. I consider that has happened once the Lilacs open up – and call to the hummingbirds (we’ve had two amazing red ones this year all over our yard).
And while I worked all fall and winter on the gardens, I keep finding space to fit in “one more raised bed”, over and over. This one is a narrow bed, easy to tuck in. It is 2 blocks across and 4 down, for 12 blocks total (and at around $1.07 a block, it is a bargain).
All winter and into early spring I babied my Yellow Wonder and White Soul Strawberry plants I grew from seeds. In this bed I planted half of each. Always go for the unusual – and you can never have too many strawberry plants if you have children 😉
Once filled I let it settle (I usually water the beds to encourage the soil to tamp down).
I opted for this bed to become another can berry bed. To make it, I pound in U-posts with a rubber mallet, then string them . This bed I added an end trellis I had, as the back two plants are blackcaps and will need/want more area to climb. The front 4 are various red raspberry plants.
The first bed I built for my other raspberry plants I used a thinner gauge metal wiring. This worked considerably better and is easier on the hands as one is stringing the posts.
This was my first dedicated raspberry bed I put in this summer. I added two new plants, a moved plant and I starts I transplanted from it, to make 6 plants. And always….more strawberry plants. I mulched it after this (you can see it below).
On a lark, and with extra building stones I had, I built a bed that only gets good sun exposure from early April to October. Not quite sure what to plant in it, I have decided to go with more blueberries, and put in a variety that only needs partial sun to succeed. Did I mention more strawberries? (Oddly enough, just recently I read a person proclaiming how one shouldn’t plant strawberries in with other berry plants due to risk of disease – and maybe they are right – but I have yet to ever have an issue!)
This.
So it led to a Pinny-project that I was able to get my oldest son to help me with (at 17 he can operate a Sawzall way better than me….). This raised bed experiment? Two pallets, They don’t need to be perfect (just look at them to see if they have the right stamps for garden use). He sawed out all the slats, top and bottom on one (leaving the center bar in, and the edges). The second pallet, he left the bottom slats in.
Taking yard fabric, cover the bottom pallet and use a staple gun to liberally attach. You may need to do two layers if your fabric is thin, or as I did, two sections. Flip over and do the sides, then put the top pallet on and work up.
Move into place (it takes two people, move by the edge boards). Trim and finish stapling to the wood. All over. Drive your husband batty by using all his staples up 😉
Pick your soil carefully with this one – keep it light. I went with potting soil and compost.
High density planting is the key here, with plenty of tomato cages inserted and zip-tied together.
It is hosting tomatoes, peppers and soon, hopefully, cucumber plants.
Speaking of spring…nothing says it more than pea shoots coming up!
Or well…maybe a lot of June Bearer Strawberries going crazy in April!
And a small pano showing how the back fence is going these days 😀
Until later….now I am off to finish building a set of mini raised beds, one for each boy, for his personal blueberry bush and, duh, strawberry plants. Each will have a tiny fence and sign. They are very excited!
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