Getting Started: Raised Garden Beds

In March it began. "R" dug out spaces to build the beds while I hauled out the rock. The assembly was quite simple. Each box required 9, 6' long redwood landscape poles at a cost of $2.99 each. Three of them were cut in half to make the short sides. At the corners, the poles were bolted together. A power drill and a saw were the tools needed.

Within each box, we mixed the native soil which is largely clay with two bags of organic potting soil and 1 large garbage bag of already decomposing manure and wood shavings from our family stable.  Be careful where you obtain manure/bedding combination.  I have direct control over the pile, what goes in it and what the horses producing it are eating or not.  For example animals can be routinely fed antibiotics or feed through pest controls, de-worming chemicals... you name it and this goes directly into the manure that is "composted" and offered for free at local stables and yards. This mixture was tilled with an electric roto-tiller until it was fluffy and well mixed.

The end result is a raised garden bed that looks like this. I back filled the cut away slope with the rock extracted from the ground to secure the wall from erosion and help with drainage. This particular bed housed squash and artichoke which did extremely well. You see the edges of branches from fruit trees growing on the terrace above.

These garden beds were easy to assemble and cost about $35 per bed... twice the size and a third the price of most of the commercially available kits we found. Additionally, they are not plastic, or PVC which can potentially leach chemicals into the soil. 

Winter Harvest- persimmons to pumpkin seeds

As new farmers, we have much to learn. We also went about this whole adventure by jumping in with both feet. I knew generally that certain plants were harvested into the fall, like squash. I didn't know how long squash would stay fresh for cooking after it was cut from the vine. For Thanksgiving, we stuffed butternut squash, acorn squash and a pumkin. All three had been cut and sitting in the dry warmth of our house for the past 4 weeks as decor. They cooked up wonderfully!

We also have a persimmon tree which though small has had a bountiful harvest. Our meals regularly include eggs from the chickens, persimmons and squash. The peppers and eggplant held on until the frosts this past week though I think if I'd not been so busy, I'd have had them covered for protection. In that case, I think they would have survived. Either way, its December, and we have delicious fruit, some vegetables and our eggs to give us steady food into the start of winter.

And our oranges look like they'll be ready to harvest in a few weeks! I'm simply amazed. Further, as I type this I'm munching on seeds we roasted out of our home grown squashes. Winter gardening can be just as productive. This weekend, I'm looking forward to getting the garden ready for a winter season of composting and preparing for spring--at least for those areas not still in some type of production mode.

Pumpkin Seed Roasting Recipe (I mixed the acorn and butternut squash seeds in too):

This is my mother's "old fashioned" way of serving up natural pumpking seeds.

1. Thoroughly clean off all the pulp from the seeds then rinse them under cold water in a strainer to be sure they are good and clean.

2. Boil them in salt water for 10 minutes.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees F.

4. Spread the seeds out on a cookie or baking sheet.

5. Roast them for 10-25 minutes. Depending on the heat of the oven this may take a little longer. You really have to watch the seeds to be sure they don't burn. Use a spatula to turn them occasionally so that each side just barely begins to turn a golden brown.

6. Remove and allow to cool.

7. Enjoy!