Friday, April 22, 2016

How To Start a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

Hello everyone!

My husband's first "honey do" while on retirement was to start our vegetable garden.  He always looks forward to doing it though, so it wasn't a problem.  I thought I would show you the steps on how we put ours together.  

We start out each year with the left over soil from last year's garden.  My husband rented a small tiller to till up the soil and pull out any old weeds etc that have grown in there.  





Next, he pours in some of this soil and compost.






He spread it around.


Then, used the tiller again to mix it into the existing soil.


Then he used the back side of his rake to smooth out the soil.


My husband likes to plant in raised rows.  So, he formed those with his rake.


Here are the vegetable plants we are planting.  We have squash, tomatoes, peppers, and okra.


Since they come in peat pots, you'll need to soak them in water to help break up the container before you plant them.


Now, you can begin planting them in the rows.




Wire cages were added to some of the plants that will get tall.  Also, some fence pieces were added to help control the trailing plants (such as squash) over the edges.  


Because our garden is small, my husband decided to add some mini bark nuggets around the plants to help keep moisture in it.





Next, (and probably should've been done before the bark nuggets) he sprinkled this fertilizer on the garden.




And of course the final step to any garden is watering it.


So, I'll keep you updated on how this garden grows.  We've usually had good luck with it in the past.  It's amazing how fast these plants will grow!

Hope you'll consider a small raised bed vegetable garden in your own back yard if you haven't before.  It's a lot of fun and nice to eat from what you grow yourself.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!

~ Kelly ~

16 comments:

Stacey said...

How exciting Kelly! ;)

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

I miss my raised beds so much! I don't know how close to the house your beds are, but we added a drip irrigation system to our raised beds to keep them watered. It was set on a timer and made it so much easier!

Doreen@foxdenrd said...

We put together a raised bed a few days ago, and in fact used some of the name brand materials you did. Ours is almost three ft high, so it took a lot of material! The one thing that we have to address are critters, particularly birds. Maybe chicken wire or hardware cloth. Do you have any issues with animals helping themselves to your bounty? Sounds like you don't, but this is our first time and I can already see the birds hovering...

Pondside said...

Raised beds and a potager are on my list for this new-old house - such a lot to do! Your raised bed is just so neat and tidy!

Lisa @ Texas Decor said...

I love this! Pretty smart to add the fence pieces for the trailing ones too. We have plenty of room, so I don't know why we've never done this before. I might at least try growing tomatoes, even if it's only in pots. Would you believe I've never eaten okra??? I mean, for a southern girl, that's pretty unbelievable. :) I was just watching Tiffani Thiessen's cooking show, and she made fried okra and it looked so good!

Unknown said...

Looks good Kelly! My daughter and I just planted our garden this past weekend. I mostly went with green leafy veggies and herbs. I also added marigolds, I heard it helps keep away critters and insects. And then we decided to add another yellow mounding flower too, because we just can't help ourselves! lol Have a wonderful weekend!! xo

This N That said...

It won't be long before you have 2 or 3 of them...Enjoy..Have a happy weekend..

Finding Grace Interiors said...

How exciting to grow your own veggies!! I planted a couple of days ago tomatoes, red peppers and cucumbers. I just dig small holes in the ground and put the seeds there. Then water and call it a day. I should of take the time and do it the right way like your husband did. But the kids had fun planting!!
Dumb question, why vegetables need to be planted in a raised bed instead of in the ground? Everyone I know that grows a garden uses the raise beds, I am sure there is a reason!
Thanks Kelly!

Linda said...

This is on my list things I want to do as soon as Louis Dean gets 'Sanford and Son' to move out of our back yard!! I bet you don't even know who 'Sanford and Son' is!!! It was a TV show back in the 70's of a junk yard father/son team!

Vickie @ Ranger 911 said...

I would love to grow our own veggies! One of these years I'm going to put in a raised garden. There's nothing like fresh produce on the dinner table! Now I just need to get my hubby interested in helping out with the hard work!

Lisa @ Fern Creek Cottage said...

Such a great idea to put the little fencing on the sides so the squash doesn't get out of control. When Halloween was over I put my green pumpkins (that we didn't carve) in the back yard and just let them rot. The birds have been enjoying the seeds all winter and now, much to my surprise, we have 6 pumpkin plants growing! My 7 year old is so excited! The only thing I was worried about is them sprawling everywhere and taking up too much room. Now I know I can contain them a little bit!

Blondie's Journal said...

This post was so helpful, Kelly. Your guy is wonderful. I learned a lot, like soaking the peat pots. I really want to start raised bed in the big patch I used to have a big vegetable garden in. Not sure how to really build one or the material involved. Any ideas to pass on?

Jane

Betty said...

It looks great. I have a raised bed too. I have to ask, does the bark have chemicals in them? If they do they will leach into your veggie bed. I sometimes use straw around our plants.

Bliss said...

Does the raising of it help with weeds?

Little Farmstead said...

This is a great post, Kelly! I enjoy seeing how other people garden and picking up tips along the way. I appreciate this set-by-step tutorial. We are thinking of renting a tiller this year too... we've got lots going on in our raised beds that will need to be tackled before we start planting. Because we live on what was once a horse property, our soil is very fertile. :) So that is helpful as I try to turn my thumb green. Hope you enjoy the weekend and tell your husband thanks! ~julie

Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes said...

Funny, when you said "small" garden, I was thinking "big!" I don't have enough sun in my backyard to have a garden, so I have to settle for a couple of containers on the deck and a small herb garden. Yours looks great!