Karl's Garden Blog

Last weekend, I loaded up the Accord at Home Depot and put together a garden, which a friend and I filled half full of composted horse manure that we got for free from a local farmer. The bed is sitting on clay subsoil, so there’s no digging down or turning the soil or anything — it’s just sitting right on top of the clay!

When I was done, I had an 8×8x16 raised bed. It’s assembled with screws, so I can take the wood with me.

This weekend, I’m going to be mixing the existing fill with some sandy loam soil that was delivered this morning, and then I’ll raise the sides of the bed to their full 20″. I also need to mount the chicken wire, build the gate, and reinforce the posts on the top with braces before putting bird netting over it.

Since I’m not sure how long the manure was composted, I’m letting the bed sit for a good six weeks in the sun before the first plants go in it. In the meantime, I’m starting all of my seeds indoors in seed trays. So far, the lettuce and the kohlrabi have sprouted! I’ve got a few trays of annuals that I’m also starting from seed, and today I picked up a pot of lavender that I’m trying to decide what to do with, seeing as I’m planning to move next year…