Vegetable Garden Design Pt.1
2024 Raised Garden Bed Design. 40x40 plot
I’m very excited about the garden this year. This is actually the second garden I’m attempting at this house and in this location. I say attempting as last year’s results were less than stellar! More on that in a bit. The lessons learned from last year have motivated me to research better techniques and soil preparation methods to ensure a better harvest this time around (and fewer weeds!). The anticipation of planting new seeds and starts and watching them grow brings a sense of joy and fulfillment that only a garden can provide. Definite garden geek here!
Now, a little backstory on this particular garden plot: back when this house was being built years ago, dirt was dumped here from the end of the driveway near the road. It was not, and still is not, the highest quality of soil, not to mention the occasional mangled soda can or glass bottle pieces that continue to surface. Despite the challenges, it's interesting to note that Bindweed and Mullein thrive and are excellent crops in this environment, ugh!
The first time I saw the garden was in the summer of 2022, two years ago. Due to a family death, the garden was forgotten for the rest of that year. It was definitely a mess!
I set out that same fall on a mission to clean it all out. It was a chore but not quite as bad as I had anticipated. Because of the years of fighting weeds, landscape fabric had been used. Many of the weeds had grown either on top of the fabric or through it making them easy to pull out with the fabric.
Click the images to enlarge.
In all honesty, the last two pictures were taken very early in the spring of 2023, but they show how the area had been cleared out. You can see that I planted garlic in the corner the previous fall. I had just enough soil amendments and mulch for the top, and it was the right time to plant before winter.
We had a friend with a small tractor come and till up soil and with an idea in my head, I planted the starts I had and the numerous packets of seeds.
Click the images to enlarge.
By planting time, the garlic was looking great and I had plants in the ground. I put back up the latticework for Sweet Peas to grow on and readied small flower beds in front. It looked beautiful, and I was extremely excited! That didn’t last, not even halfway through the season. Rainfall was weird, not too much of an issue as there is water running to the garden. The problem was, to a certain extent, the bindweed, but it was largely due to the poor soil. The soil here is pretty much void of nutrients.
So I was left with three options.
No garden at all.
Move the garden to a new location.
Try to outsmart the situation.
I chose option three of course LOL! The idea is to cover the entire area with a professional weed barrier and place the raised bed frames that I will build on top. Then, I will cut out the barrier inside the boxes, fill them with a mixture of pulverized topsoil and compost, and mulch the walkways. That’s the plan at this point. In a few weeks, I’ll share part 2 of this garden design. Wish me luck!
