Garden Log 5-19-19
I’m feeling much better today and thanks to some heavy lifting help from my son Matthew I was able to build the raised bed planter box out of some old lumber I rescued from the bugs. It’s not pretty but it will provide the base and later we will add some better wood to the outside of the box.
I’ll be mulching the rest of my leaves and putting them in the bottom for composting. Because it will take about a year to turn into good composting soil and the bed is so big, the bed will be a home to both composting and container gardening. As the compost breaks down I’ll add the spent container soil to it and eventually turn it into a working raised bed.
First we chose a spot to place the box. Here is a view of the area before building the raised planter box. I’m not worried about the vines the amount of mulch and compost I’ll be putting in it will smother any growth underneath.
Matthew measured and cut the first four boards and I measured and cut the second row.
The first layer was complete just as the mosquitoes came out for their afternoon snack so we took a short break.
Eventually the second layer was assembled, it’s not pretty but it will do the job. I’m anxious to get the mower out tomorrow and began mulching the leaves as well as adding some additional cut grass. This will be in addition to my mulch pile, which by the way is not really heating up as I was hoping for.
I turned it today and added lots of water. It seemed to be way too dry. I’ll keep you posted.
If the beer/soda combination doesn’t make the pile compost soon, like it was promised, I’ll be adding that to the raised bed box as well.
If you have lots of leaves each year and issues with bending I highly recommend you consider building a raise flower bed. It will give you a place to compost for years then it will become an easy to reach raised bed for gardening.
Tomorrow I plant radish seeds! (If I’m not too sore!)
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