Garden

[fthunt]

I bought one about a decade ago and love it - however, there are many styles and types. I purchased a "frame" that sits on the ground about 5 ft long 4 ft wide - it's made of fake stone panels that you just hammer together with a steel rod on the corners - no bottom, just sits on the ground.

Easy to work on - fill it with flower plants and/or I've done, and will again this year, plant tomato plants. One regular plant grew and grew and had over 100 tomatoes - soil was filled with Miracle grow with added fertilizer weekly. This year two cherry tomato plants go in along with flowering plants.

You'll love it - if it's high like mine, you can sit on the top frame ridge and work but it does require more watering - soil gets really hot in mid summer.

[scruffsmom]

Aldi has a kit for about 30$, I bought two last year and stacked them. They were great.

[FastDogWalker2]

We have a raised garden made from cinder blocks. We fashioned it after ones we had see on Pinterest! It has been wildly successful! I even plant the ""holes"" in the blocks with marigolds - it looks lovely and deters pesky bugs. Good luck and Pinterest is very inspirational!

[geezerette]

That's a great idea, Macy! My husband grows a huge veggie garden every year, but it's getting to be too much for him at his age. I keep suggesting some sort of smaller raised garden we could keep right near the house. I'll have to show him your photo. He might go for something like that since he could get the pallets for free. (He's a pretty cheap guy!)

[wildcat fan]

Thanks for these great suggestions! I'm hoping to do some shopping tomorrow--weather permitting.

[nun ya]

On 4/6/2015 Macy said:

if you join Pinterest, there are many boards that have excellent ideas on raised garden beds. I have already started putting mine together.

I went to Lowe's and asked one of the guys in the outdoor area if I could buy a couple pallets real cheap and he said go around to the back of the store and take as many as you like, we just throw them away. They were stacked by the hundreds.

I don't have a truck so I could only manage to take 4 of the small ones, but I sawed off the extra slats and left the outer boards of the pallets so they are now square and stacked them 2 high, then filled with dirt and mulch. They are now ready for planting.

I am going to use my BIL's truck next weekend and go back for 2 big ones. They are identical to those expensive kits or making one yourself and FREE.

I've used pallets the past 3 years, they work great. I have to water a lot and add more soil every year but it's a great space saver and really cuts down on the weeding.

[blueskies]

I was thinking about this too , tho to grow a butterfly & hummingbird flower garden . We have deer here , so I have to be careful what we plant . Would love Roses , but deer eat them like candy , lol. Regular gardens are too much for us too now & we've been putting salad ingredient plants in pots on deck for a decade now . Love it ...no weeds ....no deer or other critters . Convenient when preparing supper & want a salad .......tho a raised bed garden holds so many more plants . Thanks for sharing !

[kitty60]

I tried it last year for the first time. We have terrible soil, southern clay, and the raised bed was the answer. Definitely easier to control weeds, (the one thing I can always grow.) Would like to add a second but the one produced enough with little work so it may not be worth it.

[ChouChou]

I bought my raised beds at gardeners.com They are wonderful and I they have different sizes and configurations for different needs.

[ChiliPepper]

Oh my goodness - I LOVE this pallet idea! Why didn't I think of it LOL! Thanks Macy! So, do you just throw them on the ground, fill them with dirt & plant? I'm thinking if you stack up a couple you would'nt have to stoop over as much. I have a raised garden but I don't have enough room & wanted to add more this year but this would be so much easier.