Set stage. Need to add more growing space for growing herbs. Have some back yard, sun. I have several raised beds, started as flowers, now mish mash, don't ask! Everything evolves. Right?! So got, yes I did a couple of those raised garden thingies from Home Depot. 4 x 4, cedar, 7" height.
Next. Didn't rain for a couple days running, mowed that area. Figured tomorrow, scheduled to be pretty.....work on 1 bed. Farmers Market in AM, can come home with another bucket of worm pooh. Lay out area. Got edging (rigid plastic 4" deep, 4' long). Put down to ground level, as I have worked on with other beds. Do wood frame stuff. Put down yesterday's newspaper. I got a couple bags of composted manure and compost at the box store. Figured to put that on paper. Then start building. Top soil, cotton burr compost, worm pooh, other compost etc to rim.
What's going in?! More basil. Then pineapple sage, lemon verbena, chives, lavender. I have all of the above, just need more! Now, that's a nice area for some yarrow, cone flower, rosemary....
Help me before it's too late! Or, does this look like viable plan for the little bed?
Seven inches deep will be very frustrating very soon. I did that in 2008, my first year back in gardening after some long years of just the roses and blackberries....I used Mel's Square Foot Gardening recommendations (2005 edition) to a T, including his 6" of soil...stuff...NO GO NO GO NO GO THERE. bad bad bad unhappy plants.
ahem
anyway...Your plants will become frustrated at the lack of depth. I found that 10 to 12 inches of soil worked much better.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
ahem
anyway...Your plants will become frustrated at the lack of depth. I found that 10 to 12 inches of soil worked much better.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9
Thanks for comments, Cynthia. I was back at the market today,and of course got another bucket (5 gal) worm pooh! To digress, we tie this to on post of the flippity 10 x 10 canopy to weight it. Bill worm guy suggested forking the grass lawn to open it.
Move on. Lay out stuff. Fork and open the sod. (note, good soil, delta, easy stuff). Laid out boards. I couldn't get the plastic edging stuff to go down without major work, or busting stuff. Boards up. Laid out yesterdays paper, a couple of bags of pooh and compost. Watered good.
With pretty, or did they say summer weather scheduled, can go up from there. This will be a mix of dirt, compost, worm, cotton burr etc. At 7" looks I am OK and won't have that hard-pan effect. I know this is shocking to some, but there are no rocks! This is the Delta.
Whoops. Now I need more plants. Somehow this is a never ending situation. All I know between the yarn dyeing, weaving and garden.
Trial and error, I am great at both!
Move on. Lay out stuff. Fork and open the sod. (note, good soil, delta, easy stuff). Laid out boards. I couldn't get the plastic edging stuff to go down without major work, or busting stuff. Boards up. Laid out yesterdays paper, a couple of bags of pooh and compost. Watered good.
With pretty, or did they say summer weather scheduled, can go up from there. This will be a mix of dirt, compost, worm, cotton burr etc. At 7" looks I am OK and won't have that hard-pan effect. I know this is shocking to some, but there are no rocks! This is the Delta.
Whoops. Now I need more plants. Somehow this is a never ending situation. All I know between the yarn dyeing, weaving and garden.
Trial and error, I am great at both!
Update. Had the base laid yesterday with everything, good watering, and with loosening the sod went down. A plus is this micro spot a couple inches higher than others and doesn't puddle.
Today, worked up the potting mix and boards, anchored corners. Used some funky re-bar nail things/stakes that came with the 18th c tent I recently got. I worked in a healthy dose of fresh worm pooh, and there are some squiggly babies (and eggs) in there
Then plant! The starts are so small, I can put so many in. NOT! Basil (8) chives (8), 1 each savory, hyssop, pineapple sage, lemon verbena, lavender, and yarrow (pretty med purple). Basil obviously annual, verbena and sage iffy.
On the chives, had one older clump was digging and dividing, and got a Bonnie chives for $3.50 at HD. Roots out all over the place, still looks good. Got 6 good clumps out of that one!
Yarrow, another story, not sure where I am going with that! It being a medium pot. healthy, from garden center, $8. Ouch. Pulled out and dividing to 4 pretty clumps (2 in this space).
Trial and error, call me great at both!
Thanks for listening. Hey, who else would be interested?
Today, worked up the potting mix and boards, anchored corners. Used some funky re-bar nail things/stakes that came with the 18th c tent I recently got. I worked in a healthy dose of fresh worm pooh, and there are some squiggly babies (and eggs) in there
Then plant! The starts are so small, I can put so many in. NOT! Basil (8) chives (8), 1 each savory, hyssop, pineapple sage, lemon verbena, lavender, and yarrow (pretty med purple). Basil obviously annual, verbena and sage iffy.
On the chives, had one older clump was digging and dividing, and got a Bonnie chives for $3.50 at HD. Roots out all over the place, still looks good. Got 6 good clumps out of that one!
Yarrow, another story, not sure where I am going with that! It being a medium pot. healthy, from garden center, $8. Ouch. Pulled out and dividing to 4 pretty clumps (2 in this space).
Trial and error, call me great at both!
Thanks for listening. Hey, who else would be interested?
symbol. I found that out when I had a list of things from 1) to 9) or more. Just go back and edit your post, putting a space in between the 8 and the parenthesis.