Time to get gardening

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The last few weeks have been a tough few weeks for many people. We have enjoyed several lovely warm days, and due to the lockdown, we’ve had ample time to enjoy our gardens.  Some days have been bright and sunny, but with the a sharp cutting wind, but regardless, the sunshine has been wonderful and really has made the past few weeks far more tolerable for us all. 

 

 

I love spending time in the garden, and I’m always desperate to get out there. During the past few weeks, the grassed areas around the garden have now had their initial ‘tidy up’. My thoughts are now filled with garden plans and aspirations, and day by day, I seem to be spending more and more time in the garden. 

As well as sipping coffee in the garden, I’ve had some hard graft to do. Our raised beds are now years old, well used, and are in need of some considerable TLC. My usual lick of wood treatment will not suffice this year, some of the wooden timbers have finally suffered serious damage from the Towy Valley rains and prevailing winds that have blown up the valley and drenched the gardens each winter and most summers. 

The raised beds have lasted well, served us well and fed us well, but some serious maintenance in now needed. If you are about to embark on a summer of gardening and growing your own vegetables, it’s not too late, now is a good time to get started.

At the moment everything’s very topsy-turvy, but if you fancy creating a vegetable garden of your own, there’s plenty of time, as these simple raised beds can be put together in an afternoon. Order the timber, and the compost or top soil and you’ll be growing your own in no time at all. Here is my quick and very simple way to create your own raised beds. It’s a cheap but effective way to define your growing area, and is a great way of introducing vegetable growing to young children. Next time I’ll focus on which vegetables to grow and how to be aware and avoid hazards.

 

 

Growing Vegetables in a Raised Bed 

There are lot’s of benefits to creating raised beds, here are just a few.

  • Raised beds are great way to grow vegetables in difficult and awkward spaces. 
  • They use a limited space and are easy to maintain, whilst clearly defining an area.
  • They allow children and Mum and Dad to have a space of their own – OWNERSHIP!
  • They can replace pot and patio gardening… Cheaply and easily.

How to make a raised bed

You will need

1 length of roof purlin (they come several different lengths)

8 Very long nails or screws – about 6 inch

Bags of top soil and compost

Method

  • Ask the timber yard to cut a long length of roof purlin (which is pressure treated) into four equal lengths
  • These timbers should now easily fit into your car! 
  • In a suitable place in your garden, either over some existing soil / veg patch or on your lawn, nail or screw the four pieces together to form a square
  • If the raised bed is to be on the lawn, dig up some of the grass to loosen the soil beneath. You do not need to remove all the grass as the covering of compost and top soil will deprive the grass of light and it will die
  • Fill the frame with the top soil and compost, level the surface
  • You are now the proud owners of a RAISED BED! Get planting!