Saturday, February 3, 2018

Building a Raised Bed-Part One

Actually, revamping an old bed.  I have this long bed along my front walkway that is full of tree roots.  I decided to bring it up higher.  I dug out all my plants and they are heeled into a long pot and a kiddie pool for the transition.  This is the only photo I found with the whole bed in the picture.  You can see the outline of it.


I formed the old small castle bricks in a circle around the lamp post and used 8x8x16 blocks for the main flower bed.  I then put two layers of weed block on the bottom of the bed, the soil couldn't be dug through from all the roots so the inside is about 4" high to start.


I then added branches I trimmed and bags and containers of straw, pine shavings, chicken coop cleanings, and goat pen cleanings.  I guess I'm doing a cross between lasagna gardening and permaculture on the bottom.  I did this in my garden beds and had tons of worms but...  I didn't put weed block on the bottom of them so I may have to add worms after I'm done since I put the weed block in.


Another view.  I will eventually fill the blocks with goat poop, yes, goat poop.  I get a lot, after the bricks are full I will put caps on top to make it look nicer.


I then put ten bags of this on top and spread it out.

 At this point, this is what the bed looks like.  Now, to fill it, I'm going to rake leaves next and fill more with them, then put regular dirt for a few inches.  I have a in ground garden spot I've been amending for several years that is higher than the surrounding area so will relocate it to this bed.  Then I will top off with compost and if I have to add more top soil and mix all in before I actually put the plants back in.  This top soil smells like it came from a feed lot so I'm sure it is "hot" and would burn my plants right off so will mix in other stuff.




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