Preparation for Spring

Even though it is quite cold outside, and there are still some places with snow on the ground, it is not too early to start thinking about what kind of vegetables you might want to grow this coming spring.

In fact, a friend of mine called me the other night, and wanted to discuss just that matter, when to put out tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. (Wait until the second week of April, at the earliest!)

I have found that I get the best vegetable, and fruit as well, production from raised beds. Raised beds are really quite simple to put together, and the benefits are long lasting. In fact, with the notorious Georgia red clay in most yards, raised beds are almost essential, if you are not going to put some serious work and sweat into amending your soil already in the ground.

A raised bed is a garden bed that is built above the ground and native soil, in a raised platform of some sort. The advantages to raised beds are numerous.

First off, as our soil here in Georgia is indeed quite poor, it is much easier to tailor the soil in a raised bed. A gardener can quickly and easily create a perfect growing environment for any plant in this raised bed.

Secondly, soil in raised beds do not become compacted, or packed down, as it would in a garden bed on the ground. Gardeners simply do not walk on raised beds, but around them. This allows the roots from your plants to easily wiggle their ways through your raised soil, thus producing quicker and healthier growth.

With a raised bed, gardeners are able to plant earlier, as well as the soil in the raised environment warms up quicker than it does on the ground.

This allows the gardener to get a head start on all the fine tasting food that awaits. Finally, raised beds are easier to maintain that a traditional garden bed. The gardener simply has to amend a much smaller area, and focus the attention on the raised area.
Making a raised bed is not difficult, with only a few steps necessary.

To begin with, first determine the spot where you wish to have your raised bed. If you are growing fruits and veggies, then an area that gets full sun is best. Next, determine the size and shape you wish to have. Don’t make it too big, as it will be difficult to move around and in it.

After this, prepare your site. I simply place many layers of newspaper down. This covers and kills all the weeds and grass that might already exist there, and will deteriorate into the ground, benefitting the soil.

After this, it is time to choose the materials and build your bed. Materials can be rot resistant lumber, which is quite popular, or large rocks, which is what I have in my own gardens. After you have leveled your frames or adjusted your rocks the way you want them, then simply fill the beds with a good mixture of compost, top soil, and if you can find it, rotted manure.

Don’t pack down too tight. Finally, place your plants in, and surround them with a mulch of some kind. Now, you are off to a great start for your future dinner time table. Enjoy!