Tabula [Not-so-] Rasa

Here is the raw material, the spot I would like to put my raised garden beds:

Well, it's sort of a crummy photo, but there was a cardinal just sitting there, looking all happy and spring-like.  (and plus, my friend Amy says cardinals are a sign of good luck) So...here's a better photo to give you an idea of size and placement.  See how sunny it is at 10:00 a.m.?

The problem is, it's not exactly a blank slate to start with.  I have all sorts of plants--miscellaneous, unplanned perennials, both planted without planning by me, or inherited from the previous owners.  See the peonies already coming up?  I know from experience that if we transplant them now, they won't come up again for a couple of years.  These peonies are special to me, though, because they originally came from my grandmother's garden over 50 years ago. They were transplanted to my parents' house in 1981 or 1982.  I transplanted them to my house in 2005.  The peonies with history will need to find a new home, unfortunately.

There are also things I can't identify:  some stray tulips?  some ramps or green onions?  a weed?

And then there's this monster weigela, which is just gorgeously resplendent with red flowers through the summer, but needs to be trimmed back to not throw too much shade on the beds.

Here's what all this looks like in the early summer, from a different angle.  Lovely blooms, but much of this will need to move, as the raised beds will be to the right of the weigela.

Before learning about raised beds, I would have moved the plants, then tilled the space with a roto-tiller or by hand.  Our soil is good there, but all the previous vegetation would have created a weeding nightmare.  With a raised bed I can put down a layer of landscape fabric or self-composting newspaper, and even a layer of chicken wire to prevent moles or voles from coming underneath, then add my soil on top.

The weather is going to be nice this weekend, so here's my overly-ambitious to-do list:

1. get rid of yard waste, leaves

2. trim weigela

3. measure space for two 4' x 4' raised beds or one 4' x 8', if possible

4. try to identify, then move or give away desirable plants

5. clear and level space for beds as much as possible

I haven't decided if I'm going to buy a pre-made structure or try to make my own.  It will require a few more nights of sleeping on it.  Meanwhile, I'm already having dreams of luscious tomatoes and huge leaf lettuce salads.

The Local-est of All: My Backyard

You can’t get more local than growing food in your own back yard.  Well…to be perfectly accurate, in my case it’s my side yard.  Quite a few years ago, before we re-built our garage and totally re-landscaped our house, I decided I wanted to have a garden.  As I’ve mentioned before, I grew up with a huge vegetable garden, a strawberry patch, raspberry bushes and a grape arbor.  My current back yard is not big enough for my son to even have a satisfying soccer kick, so I had to scale back.  I had seen models of raised gardens around town, but was always put off by how dingy the boards look after a couple of seasons.  Never one to do something halfway, my husband found some salvaged street pavers and made a beautiful 9’ x 5’ raised bed.  I found tomato plants, some from a friend who had grown them from seedlings.  I gleefully stuck my own seeds in the ground—beans, eggplant, melon--and waited.  I watered.  I waited.  Eventually, some little plants came up.  The tomato vines wound their way around everything else.  The broad eggplant leaves became lacy with some bug infestation.  I weeded, I waited.  After weeks and months of tending my beautiful little walled garden, the yield was….well….pitiful.  Well aware that we were fighting against the shady nature of the back yard, we didn’t know that the beautiful tree creating that shade was also poisoning our garden. Juglone, a chemical emitted by the black walnut, wreaks havoc on most anything growing below it or around it.  After two seasons of trying to find hardy plants resistant to juglone, we gave up, took up the pavers, and joined a CSA.

Last summer was the first year I didn’t join a CSA, mostly because I would be gone for most of the summer, and my husband would have been inundated with produce he wouldn’t have the first clue what to do with.  I missed the weekly haul.  When I returned from my trip, I went to the farmer’s market and paid a small fortune for vegetables I know are ridiculously easy to grow in our climate.  I vowed that this year, 2014, I would once again plant a vegetable garden.  We’ve been saving compost for quite a while, and I’ve had my eye on this sweet little spot on the south side of the house.  It’s currently got all kinds of flowers and ornamental perennials, but it’s low on shade, black walnut-free, and—now, more importantly—a dog-free zone as well.

Trouble is, I don’t know the first thing about how to build a raised bed.  Hubby used all the salvaged street pavers to make a path and retaining wall in our back yard.  I’m sure we’ve got the wood, but a handy-person I am not.  Planting time will coincide badly with Hubby’s end-of-the-semester PhD-ing, so I can’t really rely on him to build the thing.  So…I will do this the same way I do anything:  I start on the internet.  “How to build raised garden beds” yields a zillion sites and lovely photos.  (I mean, just look!  Here!  They’re all wonderful!).  It’s early April, and raining, and I’m dreaming of getting my hands and arms dirty in all that beautiful soil.  I’m dreaming of sun-ripened tomatoes, flavorful green beans sautéed in garlic ramps, leafy greens, and piquant peppers.  Surely my enthusiasm counts for something!  I still have some time, and lots of resources at my fingertips.  I’m sure I could find something at our local salvage yard if only I can think creatively.

I think they have old bathtubs for sale…