New raised beds in the back yard

[CathyA]

I still have a "regular" garden, which is mostly vertical stuff 'cause I HATE leaning over. But I wanted some things closer to the house in the back yard, so I went with this.
They are Behlen Country food-grade 70 gallon stock tanks. We filled them with home-grown compost. The back one is up on bales of straw. I hope it does okay for at least 1-2 years. It's very stable.

The one in front we just put up yesterday. It's on cement blocks and 2"x6" cedar boards. I drilled holes in the bottoms of the tanks and covered the bottoms with 1/2" hardware cloth.

So far, I'm growing lettuces, spinach, carrots, broccoli, kale, collards. Next week I'll plant more lettuces and onions.

We're not into lookin' good here..........just practical things.........so I couldn't be happier with this set-up!
The small white food-grade Tractor supply 5 gallon bucket to the right has a cherry tomato plant in it. When DH is out in the back yard with our dog, he likes snacking on cherry tomatoes and sharing a few with our puppy dog.

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_0929_zps8e32c928.jpg

[catherine]

Cathy, I LOVE that idea!! I'm doing raised beds this year but haven't gotten around to buying them yet. Those stock tanks actually would match the color of my house. I'll have to think about that. I'm going to do our regular garden (which really is not great in terms of full-day sun and compaction of soil), and also just go one more baby step: if DH and I could compromise I'd do a 4' x 8', but I don't trust us to be able to get along so I think we should do a "his and hers" garden, each 4' x 4'. With your system, we could each have our own stock tank.

[CathyA]

They come in different sizes too catherine. I don't know if it matters to you if they are food-grade poly or not. Lots of people use the galvanized steel stock tanks, but there's been talk of the zinc leaching into the soil.
Just be keeping your eye on where the sun hits where you'd like your stock tanks, so you're sure to put them in the best spot. You can always move them, but dang they're heavy when they're filled!
Good luck and let me know how it goes!

[JaneV2.0]

Oh, those are great! I'm not in any way a gardener, but you've got me thinking of a salad/herb garden. And a yard to put it in.

[Blackdog Lin]

What a great idea. They look awesome Cathy. Oh I wish we could switch to raised beds, but the expense would be hideous.

[rodeosweetheart]

Thanks for the pictures; these are very handsome! You are brave to put them out--do you have to cover them at night? Reason I ask is because this morning about 10 am it was snowing here. . . Not for long, but definite snow flakes. Supposed to get to 31 tonight.

[CeciliaW]

Well Done!

[CathyA]

Thanks everyone. I would love to have ALL raised beds instead of the big garden we have that grows from the ground. That ground gets further and further down each year!
Rodeo...........so far the temps have been above freezing. But when I planted the first one, there were a couple nights when I threw a tarp over it. I know in the past we've had a frost/freeze much later. The good thing is, it's alot easier to protect these beds than the stuff in the other garden. I was a bit worried about squirrels and chipmunks and racoons, but so far, they don't seem interested. (Knock on wood). I was thinking of making an arch-type thing of utility wire to put over the tops......at least to keep out larger animals. Hopefully I wont need it. And I did buy some material that's made to protect against freezes. I'm also thinking of using something similar to keep squash bugs from getting on my winter squash in the big garden. Supposedly, it lets the sun and rain in, but not the bugs. Those squash bugs are obnoxious!

I'm off to the next town to buy the veggie plants for the big garden. They need to harden off for awhile before planting them.
I can't wait to have marinated tomato and cucumber salad!

[Gardenarian]

Nice - that looks so easy on the back!

[CathyA]

It's perfect for the back! It's so nice just to walk up to it and not lean over! The broccoli heads are forming and the onions and carrots and radishes are coming up. We've been eating the lettuces and spinach. I LOVE not leaning over! :)
I planted some flat-leafed parsley and dill in 5 gallon buckets. It's mostly for the black swallowtail butterflies. They are host plants for that butterfly. It's fun to watch the caterpillars grow.
I would love to have everything in raised beds, but for now I'll grow vertically in the big garden.

[gadder]

Wonderful pictures! Most folks who have raised-bed gardens have them ground-level 6 inches high but yours are really RAISED beds. I take it that back issues is the primary motivation but also consider there will be far fewer pests at that height.

I would love to see pictures of other peoples gardens from start to harvest.

I will post my modest balcony pix soon, just cause sometimes peaceful solitary gardening, as wonderful as it is, can also be a lonely past-time one is dying to share and non-green-thumb friends get tired of hearing about it.

[CathyA]

Thanks gadder.

I don't really have back problems, but when I lean over much, my stomach seems to want to end up in my chest........then I have alot of irregular heartbeats. I think I have a sliding hiatal hernia.
Also, leaning over alot bothers my knees.
Here's an updated pic of the stock tanks. I'm having fun just walking into the backyard and picking a salad!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_0950_zpseabddb6a.jpg

And I'm posting a pic of my bigger garden from last year. Dh had just weeded it........and I was afraid it would never look this good again, so I snapped a pic of it.
I am using my kids' old swingset and also some other trellises for cucumbers and various peas and beans. Once everything got going, it looked like a jungle! But still......it was so much easier to pick everything from higher up!

http://i46.photobucket.com/albums/f129/Catherine50/IMG_8770_zps190dff3f.jpg

[gadder]

Wow - those pix are fantastic! I love the way you are re-purposing items like the kids swing-sets! Seems you could grow some stuff up those side fences too.

I am only slightly jealous of your weather. Here, in the Great White North, my balcony radishes and mesclun have just germinated and my living room floor is half-full of yet-to-germinate pots (so as to get a head start before putting outside come June). It is a mess but I was never a Martha Stewart type (and I do not want to wear her ankle bracelet either).

[CathyA]

Thanks gadder! I'm glad I didn't get rid of the swingset. It's been really great. And a house wren comes back every year to nest in the open tube in the middle support.

I could grow things up the outer fence.......but I fear the deer would munch on it most of the time! I'm sure they could jump the fence too, but I think all the trellises discourage them. We had an old falling-down, rusty chicken wire fence for alot of years, and the rabbits lived in the garden and the deer would mosey through it........so we're really enjoying this fence. We put it up Fall before last, and I felt very rich afterward! :)

Good luck with your balcony veggies. Trust me, the garden being this neat only occurs for just a couple of days every year..........otherwise I'd never show a pic of it! haha