We've tried several types of gardening—tilled plot of ground, straw bales, containers—but raised beds beats all choices. No weeding, less watering and fertilizing, compact space, aesthetically pleasing, I'm convinced this is the way to grow vegetables.
In these two 24' X 3' beds, we are growing lettuce, spinach, onions, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, peppers, chard, and some herbs that are doing well in spite of not having sufficient rain in over a month. I have watered them from the rain we collected in the barrels and when that rain dry, I started using city water, which I don't like to do.
The initial expense to put in the beds was about $330 not counting the cost of seeds and plants (it took 120 bags of soil and composted manure to fill them!). Next year all we need to do is add some fresh compost, (which my red worms and I are making from yard and kitchen scraps), and buy the plants. Since I plan to collect the seeds from the harvest, that expense should be much less. I plan to cover the boxes with straw at the end of the season and allow that to compose during the winter.
In these two 24' X 3' beds, we are growing lettuce, spinach, onions, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, peppers, chard, and some herbs that are doing well in spite of not having sufficient rain in over a month. I have watered them from the rain we collected in the barrels and when that rain dry, I started using city water, which I don't like to do.
The initial expense to put in the beds was about $330 not counting the cost of seeds and plants (it took 120 bags of soil and composted manure to fill them!). Next year all we need to do is add some fresh compost, (which my red worms and I are making from yard and kitchen scraps), and buy the plants. Since I plan to collect the seeds from the harvest, that expense should be much less. I plan to cover the boxes with straw at the end of the season and allow that to compose during the winter.
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