The crops get a king-sized bed.
In spring of 2024, we ran out of room in our small, 2 bed 1 bath fixer-upper, for my plant growing aspirations. We also started dabbling with the idea of a garden, abundant with green beans, corn, garlic, peppers, and loofah. The time and effort to till up, border, fertilize, and plant, seemed a bit more than we were willing to commit. However, a Saturday morning filled with some good ole timber, yard waste, and turkey manure seemed reasonable. Commence the raised garden bed.
Ian can tell you more about the build. I’ll give you a brief synopsis. We decided to go with 2’ x 6’ x 2’ (height, width, depth). The dimensions of a king-sized bed for our little crops.
This was just preference based on location, crops, and the fact that we are large humans so bigger seems better. There’s no magic number, just do what feels best for your space! I highly encourage doing some pre-research, though, to make sure whatever you grow can fit comfortably inside.
Space was limited with Esther running a good portion of the yard, having the shed, and the fire pit. So, we opted to put it near the house (water spicket was perfectly located as well). In hindsight, maybe a little further off the house if you’re doing vining plants…but that’s another story!
Let’s fill this sucker up.
First, sticks. The reality of a 6’ x 2’ x 2’ was a lot for a gal who has horrible space and measurement estimation. After seeing the pure size of this bad boy, I was really trying to fill in space. Turns out, if you do a layer of wood, not only does it continuously feed the soil as it decomposes, but it is also an excellent filler. Ever heard of killing two birds with one stone? How about killing two chores with one branch? Ok. Lots of branches that we found in our yard. I suppose you could be neighborly and collect from nearby yards if you’re looking to gain some kudos. That would depend on the Saturday for us, though.
Second, grass and leaves. Yep. You heard it. Now we’re killing three chores with one project. We don’t call you weekend warriors for nothing! Go ahead and bag it while you mow and dump those cuttings right in. Again, super nutrient dense as it decomposes and feeds your crops!
Third, manure. Sounds gross but this is the nutrients of the gods. You can buy bags of it from your local farm store. Or, you can have a best friend who just bought their own turkey farm and has manure out the wah-zoo. Either would work, or any version of the two.
Lastly, dirt. We had recently done some dirt work around the lot. We had some extra, albeit nutrient lacking, soil. So, I took an extra step and mixed that up with a couple bags of gardening soil from Rural King. Add a sprinkle of organic fertilizer and there you go.
So, here’s the breakdown of garden bed filler:
1. Sticks and/or small branches
2. Yard cuttings
3. Manure
4. Dirt
5. Fertilizer
Some people use fancy yard tools, but I’m a sensory seeker and part of the fun of gardening is getting messy. I went elbows deep and hand mixed the last 3 layers of goodness together. We filled her up about 8 inches from the top, then transplanted my loofah plants, and added some seeds for corn and beans! Voila!
Later that day (when it was timely and acceptable), we cracked open a beer and cheers-ed to our beauty of a garden. You can be there, too! Just peek at Ian’s tutorial, grab the blueprint, and start up your inner Weekend Warrior! Happy hammering!