Growing the Good Stuff...

Today I am excited to share with you the best Mothers day gift I have ever received (besides Lucy, and yes it is only my second one...which means Cole set the bar high for himself for the years to come. Poor guy). Cole and Lucy made me a raised bed for our backyard. It is magnificent and beautiful and exactly what I wanted. The best part, is that it really was a cheap investment for the crop it "should" yield. OK I have my doubts, only because I don't know how green my thumb is and we have rampant deer on our block. Just last week my neighbor came over with a stack of pictures and said, "hey darling, before you plant all those pretty flowers I thought you should have these." Well he handed me a stack of pictures of a family of four deer bedded down in my front yard, one weekend when we were away. Great, right!? So I am sure this will be the first of several raised bed posts.

Let's first take a look at my inspiration for this project... Click here to go to the Sunset site. I really liked this raised bed but its suggested cost for building it was high so I was bound and determined to build it cheaper! Which we did...!



Saturday morning we headed out to the fabulous Home Depot where we purchased out materials:
2 12x2x2 boards $11 each
1 box of nails $4
Liquid Nails $2.50 for the tube
4x4 board which I stole from the side of my father in laws house. Thanks Neil!
Dirt

Then we got to constructing my new box in the front yard. Cole cut the boards down to make an 8ft x 4ft bed.

Add the liquid nails to each board before adding the nails this helps as the boards expand and warp over time.

 Lucy working hard... (She knows that this baby will be producing strawberries so she's pumped.)

 Looking good babe...

 Almost there...

Last night we set it up in a full sun spot...Ha ...like we get full sun in Astoria.. And Cole lined the bottom with plastic.

 Then the boys filled it with dirt...

 looking good...

 Raking it flat...

 OK I was too anxious not to plant anything in it last night. Cole suggested my herb garden because they kinda stopped growing. I was hesitant but so glad I planted them.

 They were totally root bound which I didn't realize and needed badly to be replanted.

 Cole and Lucy were also anxious to get some pumpkins in the ground so they did.

I also used old wine corks I have been saving for something and viola plant labels!

 All pretty in rows...

 One last look. ...

 Now I am anxious to get other plants into my bed but I am a little gun shy because I fear the deer will jump my hideous chain link fence and feast on my bounty. I might be investing in some mesh netting soon or maybe a shotgun. However, I am sure that my garden will soon look like this....
PS.... Better Homes and Gardens has some great garden plans that you should check out... Do any of you have any vegetable/ fruit gardening goals or tips to tell me about? I would love to hear them.. Especially if you have some deer proofing tips.