Raised Beds
When I was young, my family always had a food garden, and it always looked pretty much the same every year. The garden soil was tilled with a monster roto tiller that was operated by my Dad. There were long, straight rows that were expertly “laid off” with a hoe. Because I seemed to get hives by just looking at vegetation, I mostly watched the process from a distance. There seemed to be a secret knowledge that my parents had that told them how far apart green been seeds should be planted and how to create a hill for cucumbers. Gardening was hard work from start to finish, but the bounty was always impressive and necessary for our family’s survival.
The gardens of my parents and grandparents involved lots of sweat and work, and because I like to avoid hard, physical labor when I can, I was delighted to learn about raised bed gardening. My husband and I built the raised beds pictured above last year. Although building the four, 4 ft. by 4 ft. squares and hauling bag after bag of dirt to fill the beds required some work, once the beds were constructed, the gardening couldn’t have been easier. No tiller is needed for raised beds because the soil is soft and workable (as opposed to hard, Georgia clay). Also, the soil in the beds warms earlier than other soil in the Spring.
I read Square Food Gardening and lots of internet sites to learn how to plant in blocks rather than in rows. One of the best parts of raised bed gardening is that it is easy to prolong the growing season and have something growing all year. Last year we grew tomatoes, okra, broccoli, and onions in the beds, but it is possible to grow almost any vegetable. The raised beds worked especially well for tomatoes. We planted four indeterminate-type tomatoes per bed, and we produced enough tomatoes to can and to share with others.
I appreciate the gardening knowledge that was passed on to me by my parents and grandparents, but I also appreciate the ease of new approaches like raised bed gardening.
