Raised Bed Recipe

Thanks to Steve Schultz for his raised bed "recipe."

Ingredients for 4 x 8 raised bed (makes one bed)
6 5/4”x6”x8’ cedar decking (referred to by builders as “five-quarter decking”)
.5 4”x4”x8’ (you get 2 beds out of one of these pieces)
32 2.5” deck screws (these are sold in 1 and 5 pound boxes; I think you get about 2 and a half beds per pound)
Procedure
Cut two of the pieces of decking in half (4’ lengths). Pre-drill two holes in each end of all 8 boards. The holes should be just big enough for a deck screw to pass through without grabbing. In the short ones (4’) drill the holes 1.75” from the end. In the long ones (8’) drill the holes 2.75” from the end. Cut the 4x4 into 11” lengths.
Lay 2 4x4 pieces on a flat surface like a driveway or deck, four feet apart from each other. Use 8 deck screws to attach two 4-foot boards to the corner posts. Try to make it square, so the boards are at right angles to the posts.
Repeat for two other posts and two other short boards.
Stand the two short ends on their edges parallel to each other and 8 feet apart. Use 8 screws to attach two long boards to the short end assemblies. It might help to have a second person to help hold things in place. Repeat for the other side.
Carry into place and fill with good soil or mixture of peat moss, vermiculite and compost!

The pictures are one completed bed ready to position and fill and the ingredients for the second on the porch.

Is anyone hearing the question "What are these wood boxes I'm seeing all over Princeton?"

Happy Gardening!

TwoGardeners

Time to Garden

Hello again Lawn to Food participants (and to those who just want to see how we grow)!

We had a long winter and now we are planting early crops and planning for the heat lovers.
Last fall, we smothered an area in our front yard for a future vegetable patch. At that point we weren't planning on raised beds. In the meantime WEC and Lawn to Food have made raised beds available so we are joining in. Ours is located in that front yard seen in a previous entry. Raised bed gardening is a completely new experience for us. We'll all learn together!

Speaking of learning - be sure to keep Dorothy and Fran's Lawn to Food brochure handy. There's a wealth of very practical information in there.

For more detailed reading our standbys are The Vegetable Gardener's Bible by Ed Smith, Rodale's All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening, and The Garden Primer by Barbara Damrosch. All three offer a good common sense approach to gardening issues. A new addition to our list is All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew. This is another practical gardening book written specifically for the raised bed gardener.

There is always something new to learn as we garden. Enjoy the excitement and experience of growing some of your own food!

TwoGardeners
(aka Merrie and Paul)