Now that you know how to water your garden let’s talk about building one.

First things first. Do you know what your soil is like under that beautiful grass you have growing? More than likely clay. I have lived in Indiana and Texas and have had to do a raised bed in both cities because you just cannot grow on clay.  I know that there are one or two of you that will tell me otherwise and I think it is great that you can grown right into your ground I wish I had your soil.

I know you are thinking …Well Sarah, what do I use to build my garden?? I have some thoughts on this and some facts to go along with it. This year when designing my garden I have decided to go with a plastic raised bed kit from Menard's http://www.menards.com/  each kit was $70 and allows you to build either a 12 inch high bed that is 4 foot by 4 foot or you can build 2 six inch high one and so on. Now this is not something that I would choose if I was in my “forever” home but this will work for the next few years. I will fill this with organic topsoil and back fill with some organic mushroom compost. If I was however in my forever home I would be using 2x12x12 cedar. Why? You do NOT want to use pressure treated lumber… more on this in a minute. So your options most of the time for untreated are Pine and Cedar. You use the Cedar over the Pine because the Cedar will last at least 10 years where as the Pine you are only looking at 3-5 years at best. You use the 2 inch thick because the one inch will split within a year and you will be back in the same boat.  The average cost of a 12x6 foot raised bed in Cedar will be about $200, but you will have this garden for a long time to come. In short, plastic for short term, Cedar forever.

OK, so why no treated wood??? Here is a great article about the process and what happens to your wood over time http://www.finegardening.com/design/articles/pressure-treated-wood-in-beds.aspx  The article basically says that what they treat the wood with can leach into the soil and cause it to become very toxic and causing the veggies in your new garden to become toxic as well. NOT GOOD.

When you go to build your garden talk with the people at the store you go to. Ask them about what they recommend. They have a ton of knowledge and would love to tell you all about what they do.

Next week… veggies in your garden….

Sarah, 004