moved our beds

Well, we decided to move all of our beds together. Here's a shot facing North. We now have 15 beds, close to 300 sf?? There will be an arch in the middle, with (hopefully) sweet peas growing up!  

I may do something similar.

How did you transport your Mel's Mix? I assume you lifted the boxes first, moved them, then filled them.

Donna, yes, that's it in a nutshell. This area was lawn yesterday. We pulled out the lawn, covered in weed cloth, set up the boxes, cut out the weedcloth under the boxes, so they are open to the native soil, brought the soil over, covered the area in gravel and voila!! There you go. We had some people do it, it was a lot of work, but really happy with the results.

SG, Very, very pretty.

Looks easy to get around and work in, or meander nibbling in  
I love the idea of the sweet pea arch. Maybe next summer it could be a winter squash arch. Arches are so cool, figuratively and literately.

I have been doing some of the bed moving regimen this fall as well. Not quite as drastic though. I am dreaming of putting sand in the paths, slugs hate that. But I will be doing well if I just manage to get this one U shaped bed moved 6" so it is tight up against the greenhouse. My back hurts thinking about it.  

I wonder how many other people are playing musical garden beds this Fall.

I've been moving small beds from the ground level up on top of 2 layers of pavers.  It means scooping off the wood chips, removing all the MM onto a tarp, ripping the weed cloth and roots from the ground, husband cutting, drilling and screwing bottoms on the boxes.  Then removing roots and a few grubs from the MM, mixing in new compost, lining the boxes with new weed fabric so I don't loose MM out the bottom, and replacing the MM. drip lines, and covering with plastic for the winter.  The tomato (99%) seeds that survived composting are sprouting in these mini hot boxes.  I'd rather have them sprout now than next spring!

I don't know how you guys with large boxes do it without help!

oh gosh sanderson, we had LOTS of help. I am still having health issues, so I'm pretty much useless I HATE it. I am good at planning and pointing though...lol We have chosen to take the bottoms off of the beds, so that's a help.

Turan: I hope the sweet peas come up OK. We just bought a BUNCH of flower bulbs, daffodils, rananculas, and have a bunch from last year, tulips, hyacinth we are going to plant in the boxes with the sweet peas. IF everyone cooperates, it'll be really pretty! I planted them out front last year in my "pig manure" garden, and they were gorgeous!

Will post as we progress. Have a good night all!

sanderson wrote:I've been moving small beds from the ground level up on top of 2 layers of pavers.  It means scooping off the wood chips, removing all the MM onto a tarp, ripping the weed cloth and roots from the ground, husband cutting, drilling and screwing bottoms on the boxes.  Then removing roots and a few grubs from the MM, mixing in new compost, lining the boxes with new weed fabric so I don't loose MM out the bottom, and replacing the MM. drip lines, and covering with plastic for the winter.  The tomato (99%) seeds that survived composting are sprouting in these mini hot boxes.  I'd rather have them sprout now than next spring!

I don't know how you guys with large boxes do it without help!

Are you trying to keep out flooding, or critters, or both? I figure it can't be for back relief or you would have gone a bit higher.

Termites. I realized after I set them up that I had recreated the same environment we did when we moved in and set up 4 rose boxes under the 4 windows. Fast forward and that wall had termites! Treated wood or not, eventually, termites will eat the wood. I've seen a piece where they ate around the treatment spots.

As far as the height, I would love for them to be even higher. But not to be.

Termites, yecch. Best of luck with those; they're a nightmare. My mother fell through the foyer flower in our house while she was pregnant, because of terminates. Within a year she had fallen through the same (repaired) floor again.

They used to fly in choking swarms, so crazy and confused they would actually bite us and lodge under the skin. Jeez I hate those things.

Ouch! Your poor Mother!

Termites ???
Check on the relatively new method of elimination.
Material keeps them from shedding (then they won't grow).
Will eliminate entire colony and not be risky to any crops.

Termite bait stations their called

Here's a little update. It's a panoramic shot, so a little distorted, but you can get the idea. We made an arch in the front/middle. It has sweet peas planted on each side with about a hundred spring bulbs planted on each side. Moved the bird baths over, put in solar lights which makes it pretty even at night!  We made several "garden swords", which are watering wands. These have really turned out great! We can water our whole garden, which is close to 300 sf in about 1/2 hour! I'm sure it might take longer if we had to really deep soak the beds, but the wood chips are really really holding in the moisture. We want to plant some pretty flowers in the beds to the left and right of the "arch beds" for more color. The beds on the right are loaded with potatoes, all the other beds are planted with carrots, beets, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, peppers, swiss chard, tomatoes, collard greens, peas, beans, chives, turnips, probably more, that's all I can think of! Some may not make it, but hey, it's only seeds right??  

Jimmy,  Is it an Insect growth regulator?  Where it affects the larva?  That would be great!

SG,  Beautiful (and bountiful)!

sanderson wrote:Jimmy,  Is it an Insect growth regulator?  Where it affects the larva?  That would be great!

I've been using a Co. called  Ehlrich.
First a bait station is installed, consists of a tube with delicious looking termite wood inserted.
Inspections were once a month,  when any termite activity is noticed these pieces are removed and other material is added.
This other material that is also eaten by termite's will keep termite's  from shedding.
It does not kill them, however they will die a natural death when not able to shed.

(note) it's my understanding, anything that kills a termite will only serve to keep the colony away from that area.

I've had 2 episodes in the past 30 years with termites.
The 1st was a barrier, 1 foot holes drilled inside and outside of one's home.
If you think that's a blast, that was an absolute nightmare.
2nd was with these bait stations, and they worked...

Remember a barrier will only keep them away from a specific area, (they can find areas that were not treated)
The bait stations will in time eliminate the entire colony....it has worked for me..

If I had a termite problem in a garden area I'd look into these self serving bait stations.
I have seen them at lowe's, and their sold on amazon also.

Your garden is great looking!  Nice work.  I'm looking to add maybe add some beds around our deck (tearing out some ugly bushes) and I'm leaning toward wood (I use tan cinder blocks for my main garden, but think wood would look better by the deck.).  What dimensions and types of lumber did you use, what kind of screws (stainless?) and how do you anchor the boxes into the ground?

Thanks!

jmsieglaff wrote:Your garden is great looking!  Nice work.  I'm looking to add maybe add some beds around our deck (tearing out some ugly bushes) and I'm leaning toward wood (I use tan cinder blocks for my main garden, but think wood would look better by the deck.).  What dimensions and types of lumber did you use, what kind of screws (stainless?) and how do you anchor the boxes into the ground?

Thanks!

Thank you jmsieglaff. My hubby did them as I am unable to do it , but hey at least they're done!! The lumber is 2x6 on the bottom layer and 2x8 on the top layer. We are in the process of covering our soil with wood chips/mulch, so we added another layer to hold the chips. They are made of just the inexpensive pine at Home Depot. May not last forever, but we've had some for years with not much problem. Most of our beds are 2x8. The screws are black and about 2 1/2 inches long? I think he said drywall screws?? Not sure, lol. We did not anchor the boxes to the ground, they are plenty heavy enough. He did, however, screw the top boxes to the bottom boxes to keep them on top of each other, but I think they are heavy enough they wouldn't move, but my hubby likes to make things strong! Hope this helps!! Post some pics of your progress when you can!

another little update. We harvested a bunch of carrots and beets, and my grandson who's 5, amended the soil with fresh compost, then planted carrots, beets, radishes and turnips. Then watered everything well, and then was admiring his work. I love the fact that he really likes to garden. It's amazing how easily kids "get it". What a sweetie pie

That's wonderful!

Awesome! How cool that he's really getting into it. Great that he gets to do it himself and own the results, which is so much more satisfying than just being an unpaid helper.

My sweet hubby got me some Adirondack chairs for Christmas!!  I wanted a royal blue color, and I LOVE them! You can also see our garden growing in the background. We have lots of stuff growing, and are eating just about daily out of it too!  Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! I'm going to go sit in my chair, and have another cup of coffee  It's about 75 degrees here today in sunny Southern California!!

SG, I. Am. So. Jealous. Such a wonderful spot to have your coffee. I absolutely love the size and design of your garden.

It's beautiful! All your hard work and initial frustration is paying off!   

boffer wrote:It's beautiful!  All your hard work and initial frustration is paying off!   

Thanks Boffer..yes, it's been a long haul, for sure! We have done things a lot differently and are having much better results. I think as time goes on, it'll continue to get better. Sure do love the chairs tho, they're soooo comfy! Sat and had coffee this am while "watching the garden grow" Happy New year!!