Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Preparing a raised veggie garden for spring

It was 44 degrees this morning as I was loading chicken manure compost into my truck.
I was bound for a lovely residential garden in Northern California where I would spend the day preparing a garden for the upcoming spring vegetable garden.

The vegetable garden at this home is comprised of raised boxes.
They are about 24 inches high, which I find to be a wonderful height for my short stature and ageing back.
I used 2 bags of chicken compost in the large planters and one bag in the 3x3 square box planters.
They will be planted with the summer tomatoes, squash, and peppers in mid March.

I had planted the winter veggies; spinach, kale and 3 different types of lettuce about 2 weeks ago.
I also planted some herbs too.

From Loropetalum chinese


An added extra bonus in this garden is the built in work bench and sink which came in very handy today as I spread out the terra cotta pots and scrubbed them clean before adding new soil and plants
From Loropetalum chinese


When I designed this garden about 10 years ago I found a neat old bronze hose bib knob in the shape of a watering can and had it mounted on the faucet .
Despite its rather large size, it fits comfortable in your hand as you turn the water on and off.

From Loropetalum chinese


The winter citrus crop was in full fruiting mode. - Yum, I pocketed a few lemons.
From Loropetalum chinese


From Loropetalum chinese

8 comments:

EAL said...

That faucet fitting is awesome.

Jon said...

I love the layout of this veggie garden....good plan and design. Now I wish I had a practical workbench arrangement like that!

And what a cool idea for a faucet!

You rock!

Jon at Mississippi Garden

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

Thanks for stopping in Elizabeth and Jon.

Yeah, I wish I had a nice big work table and sink outdoor to help with garden chores too !

Michelle

creations landscape designs said...

I love your blog and would love to add you as link to mine in exchange for a link on yours.

www.earthfriendlylandscapes.blogspot.com

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

Hello Rama,
Glad that you enjoyed my blog.
Unfortunately I haven't quite managed the skills needed to add links or anything other than the simplified blog format.

When I get the time and rustle up the patience I'll add you to a list.

Thanks Michelle

Shirley Bovshow "EdenMaker" said...

Hi Michelle,
I like the look of the aged wood in the edible garden. Where did you find that hose bib? I want it?
Shirle

Deviant Deziner, aka Michelle said...

Hey Shirley,
I found it at Smith and Hawkins.

Their used to be a company in Gualala CA that made these called Flora and Fauna.
Not sure if they are still in biz.

Smith and Hawkins bought a lot of stuff like this from them.

good gardening to you.
Michelle

Phrago said...

Hi Michelle,
The older I get, the more I appreciate raised beds. I have a few of them at my farm house in Coldwater MI and love them. I want to add more. Hopefully this Summer I can add two more in the back yard where I already have two large ones. I see see you are actively doing maintenance gardening again. In this shaky financial time, its good to have a skill to fall back on. Hope you are doing better with your lung...
My potting bench consists of three Alluminum saw horses, a wooden board top, a garbage can that slides underneath, and a galvinized wash tub on a stand with a drain. The water soarce is a hose with a shutoff valve at the end. The bench in your photes is a dream. Even as funcky as mine is, it is such a pleasure to pot outside in the Summer, I don't mind at all... Patrick