Anybody ever build a raised garden?

I see the kits, that's not hard. I'm wondering how I prepare the soil under it. has anyone done this and what soil recipes did you use?

You put dirt in the hole dwags

All I did was put some landscape fabric down first to keep anything from growing up from underneath. Seems to work pretty well.

I built my own, DWags. The kits seemed small for the price, but if you don’t want anything big, they’d do well, and overall, it was less expensive than everything I put into my cedar beds.
Definitely use a weed fabric, and I speak from experience when I say don’t go on the cheap with that.
I used a 2 to 1 ratio of good topsoil to compost. Blended it all together. I know some just put the compost on top and let it leach down, but I wanted those roots getting top dollar poop.

I was talking to someone the other day that I've never seen anyone tend a suburban home garden for more that 2 years. It sounds fun the first year and people tell you how awesome it is and how they are one with nature. They give you some tomatoes, onions and asparagus from their garden. The next year it becomes a pain in the ass and they only give you a tomato. Year 3 they have a dirt patch in their yard.

if you're talking an ornamental garden (versus vegetable garden), make sure you utilize a good organic compound for soil that drains well, use a higher-end fabric to keep weeds at bay.. be creative, plant various annuals for consistent color throughout the beds, while sprinkling in perennials that allow for intermittent color and growth.. utilize plants that compliment each other while maintaining a contrast with the house and rest of the property.

I've planted a lot of grasses over the years (they also transplant well in the fall) - miscanthus, fescues, pennisetum, etc - they provide a great height and depth throughout the summer and into the fall while also feathering out with a plume in the fall (most do, anyway).

if you're considering a vegetable garden, I have no idea - my wife just goes to Whole Foods.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

if you're talking an ornamental garden (versus vegetable garden), make sure you utilize a good organic compound for soil that drains well, use a higher-end fabric to keep weeds at bay.. be creative, plant various annuals for consistent color throughout the beds, while sprinkling in perennials that allow for intermittent color and growth.. utilize plants that compliment each other while maintaining a contrast with the house and rest of the property.

I've planted a lot of grasses over the years (they also transplant well in the fall) - miscanthus, fescues, pennisetum, etc - they provide a great height and depth throughout the summer and into the fall while also feathering out with a plume in the fall (most do, anyway).

if you're considering a vegetable garden, I have no idea - my wife just goes to Whole Foods.

This guy gardens.

Nordic wrote:I was talking to someone the other day that I've never seen anyone tend a suburban home garden for more that 2 years. It sounds fun the first year and people tell you how awesome it is and how they are one with nature. They give you some tomatoes, onions and asparagus from their garden. The next year it becomes a pain in the ass and they only give you a tomato. Year 3 they have a dirt patch in their yard.

Hopefully I only live in SE Michigan for 3 more years max. We'll see.

Watch Out Pylon! wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:

if you're talking an ornamental garden (versus vegetable garden), make sure you utilize a good organic compound for soil that drains well, use a higher-end fabric to keep weeds at bay.. be creative, plant various annuals for consistent color throughout the beds, while sprinkling in perennials that allow for intermittent color and growth.. utilize plants that compliment each other while maintaining a contrast with the house and rest of the property.

I've planted a lot of grasses over the years (they also transplant well in the fall) - miscanthus, fescues, pennisetum, etc - they provide a great height and depth throughout the summer and into the fall while also feathering out with a plume in the fall (most do, anyway).

if you're considering a vegetable garden, I have no idea - my wife just goes to Whole Foods.

This guy gardens.

the key, really, is establishing the foundation of your garden, how you want it to reflect to those who might observe it, how much work you want to put into it, etc.

in all honesty, once you establish that - 90% of the work down the road is maintenance: spring clean up, weeding in the summer, watering as needed, cutting down perennials in the fall, along with splitting up and transplanting plants that have overgrown their space. I give away so many hostas and daylillies every fall to people - and those spaces come back even thicker the next season.

DWags wrote:

Nordic wrote:I was talking to someone the other day that I've never seen anyone tend a suburban home garden for more that 2 years. It sounds fun the first year and people tell you how awesome it is and how they are one with nature. They give you some tomatoes, onions and asparagus from their garden. The next year it becomes a pain in the ass and they only give you a tomato. Year 3 they have a dirt patch in their yard.

Hopefully I only live in SE Michigan for 3 more years max. We'll see.

Someone else's problem then

"Weird" that I get an email from Popular Mechanics containing this article within a day of this thread creation.

How To Build a Raised Garden Bed

Heat Miser wrote:"Weird" that I get an email from Popular Mechanics containing this article within a day of this thread creation.

How To Build a Raised Garden Bed

I've received two or three magazines in the mail recently with articles on how to build them, must be a big thing this year.

I don't know how to raise a garden.. but I know how to raise the roof.

Robert J Sakimano wrote:I don't know how to raise a garden.. but I know how to raise the roof.

Did you take that at the Springsteen concert where Courtney Cox got up on stage and "Danced in the dark?"

BTW, that guy looks like Mike Stone, from Stoney and Jamie. He's also a big Boss fan.

Nordic wrote:I was talking to someone the other day that I've never seen anyone tend a suburban home garden for more that 2 years. It sounds fun the first year and people tell you how awesome it is and how they are one with nature. They give you some tomatoes, onions and asparagus from their garden. The next year it becomes a pain in the ass and they only give you a tomato. Year 3 they have a dirt patch in their yard.

That does happen. Tomatoes can be especially frustrating, particularly to someone in their first couple of years. You can overwater them, you can underwater them, and the one I especially love, where it’s not your fault whatsoever—they can get blight. I went three years in a row getting blight, and it’s damn maddening. Now I use a copper fungicide to pretreat tomato plants. Had a good year last year and we’ll see about this season.
Gardening isn’t the easiest and definitely not the cheapest way to get vegetables, but as you mentioned, I’m one of those who finds it very relaxing (except for that motherf%$|€$&!!! blight). And the truth is, there really isn’t a better tasting vegetable than one that was just picked from your own yard. I’m not one to eat raw tomatoes often, but I love how they taste when I grow them.

And DWags, remember to plant a few marigolds around your tomato plants. The smell keeps away certain insects that would otherwise munch on your babies.

DWags wrote:

Robert J Sakimano wrote:I don't know how to raise a garden.. but I know how to raise the roof.

Did you take that at the Springsteen concert where Courtney Cox got up on stage and "Danced in the dark?"

BTW, that guy looks like Mike Stone, from Stoney and Jamie. He's also a big Boss fan.

yep - that is literal footage of me at a Springsteen show.. courtesy of my wife.

Made a raised garden. First year rocked. Tomatoes for days... By the third year we had some sort of fungus... couldn't get the tomatoes to grow past July. So the wife planted jalapenos. Got 4 bags of frozen jalapenos in the freezer if anyone wants some.

tGreenWay wrote:And DWags, remember to plant a few marigolds around your tomato plants. The smell keeps away certain insects that would otherwise munch on your babies.

Dear tGreenThumb,

How do I keep the deer and rabbits from eating my hostas and flowers?

Thanks,
Nordic

Nordic wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:And DWags, remember to plant a few marigolds around your tomato plants. The smell keeps away certain insects that would otherwise munch on your babies.

Dear tGreenThumb,

How do I keep the deer and rabbits from eating my hostas and flowers?

Thanks,
Nordic

This.

Fuck. Rabbits. They annihilated my burning bushes a couple of winters ago. (Insert joke here)

I don't go Uber raised, just square foot gardens with moderate rise above ground. I keep a few patches normal for viney stuff. But, If I can get my old MF tractor running soon, I'm committed to a hoop-house green house this spring...which will also have square foot gardening underneath.

AvgMSUJoe wrote:Made a raised garden. First year rocked. Tomatoes for days... By the third year we had some sort of fungus... couldn't get the tomatoes to grow past July. So the wife planted jalapenos. Got 4 bags of frozen jalapenos in the freezer if anyone wants some.

Throw a popper party.

Nordic wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:And DWags, remember to plant a few marigolds around your tomato plants. The smell keeps away certain insects that would otherwise munch on your babies.

Dear tGreenThumb,

How do I keep the deer and rabbits from eating my hostas and flowers?

Thanks,
Nordic

No idea. I’ve never had a problem with deer, and rabbits don’t eat my hostas. I guess you could try planting allium. I use that to keep squirrels from eating tulips. No idea if your varmints dislike the smell of onion.
There’s also Liquid Fence, but IDK if it works. I used to use GreenScreen, but stopped because my dog would eat it and roll around in it. It’s all natural, and contains blood meal.
One last suggestion is spraying predator urine around your plants. I’m going to get some coyote urine to spray around the yard to scare off skunks. This store sells all sorts of animal piss: thepeemart.com.

Wanna see my Tulips tGreenThumb? They just starting to pop.

Co-worker has built his own raised beds (about 15" tall) out of cedar. Says it helps keep bugs away, which makes sense. Said he doesn't use any fabric. Uses a mix of topsoil, perlite, and worm castings (worm poop).

Worm Castings: Plant Superfood

Said to avoid Miracle Grow or similar products.

tGreenWay wrote:

Nordic wrote:

Dear tGreenThumb,

How do I keep the deer and rabbits from eating my hostas and flowers?

Thanks,
Nordic

No idea. I’ve never had a problem with deer, and rabbits don’t eat my hostas. I guess you could try planting allium. I use that to keep squirrels from eating tulips. No idea if your varmints dislike the smell of onion.
There’s also Liquid Fence, but IDK if it works. I used to use GreenScreen, but stopped because my dog would eat it and roll around in it. It’s all natural, and contains blood meal.
One last suggestion is spraying predator urine around your plants. I’m going to get some coyote urine to spray around the yard to scare off skunks. This store sells all sorts of animal piss: thepeemart.com.

Just eat a lot of meat and then go out and piss on everything yourself.

Nordic wrote:Wanna see my Tulips tGreenThumb? They just starting to pop.

Post em if you got em.

The Pantry wrote:Co-worker has built his own raised beds (about 15" tall) out of cedar. Says it helps keep bugs away, which makes sense. Said he doesn't use any fabric. Uses a mix of topsoil, perlite, and worm castings (worm poop).

Worm Castings: Plant Superfood

Said to avoid Miracle Grow or similar products.

That’s interesting. Gonna have to give them a try.
Cedar does help with bugs, and it lasts longer. First time I built a square, I used wolmanized wood, forgetting about the chems leaching into the soil. Realized my idiocy, bought the cedar. Turned the treated bed over, on the 4”x4” feet, and turned it into a gardening prep table. Lemons, lemonade, yadda yadda yadda.

Good advice on Miracle Grow. It works, but I don’t want to eat that stuff.

tGreenWay wrote:

Nordic wrote:Wanna see my Tulips tGreenThumb? They just starting to pop.

Post em if you got em.

I bet I could get my Cobb to grow 8 inches if Nordics tulips pop. But my cob has yellow bumps all over it and isn’t that attractive

Jake from State Farm wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

No idea. I’ve never had a problem with deer, and rabbits don’t eat my hostas. I guess you could try planting allium. I use that to keep squirrels from eating tulips. No idea if your varmints dislike the smell of onion.
There’s also Liquid Fence, but IDK if it works. I used to use GreenScreen, but stopped because my dog would eat it and roll around in it. It’s all natural, and contains blood meal.
One last suggestion is spraying predator urine around your plants. I’m going to get some coyote urine to spray around the yard to scare off skunks. This store sells all sorts of animal piss: thepeemart.com.

Just eat a lot of meat and then go out and piss on everything yourself.

You mean more than usual? Imma have to drink more fluids.

DWags wrote:

tGreenWay wrote:

Post em if you got em.

I bet I could get my Cobb to grow 8 inches if Nordics tulips pop. But my cob has yellow bumps all over it and isn’t that attractive

I’m afraid to ask what the hell this means.

Here are the first of my Tulips tGreenThumb. These buds were straight from Amsterdam 3 years ago. The orange one is a quadruple?!?

Turtleneck pm'd a pic of Greenway's two lips

The rock makes the garden. Nice.

The Pantry wrote:Turtleneck pm'd a pic of Greenway's two lips

You're such a lib snowflake.

You're such a great American

The Pantry wrote:You're such a great American

THIS