Mail Call: January-February 2010

By Grit Staff
Published on December 7, 2009
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Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
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Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
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Paul recommends Jonathan apples. What’s your favorite variety?
Paul recommends Jonathan apples. What’s your favorite variety?
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A yearning for New Mexico shows in Bonnie Allen’s Illinois chicken coop.
A yearning for New Mexico shows in Bonnie Allen’s Illinois chicken coop.
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Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
Tall raised garden beds helped put the fun back in gardening for reader Robert Miller.
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Would a rooster crow to warn off the competition of a chiming clock?
Would a rooster crow to warn off the competition of a chiming clock?

Put Pleasure Back in Gardening

You love to garden but hate turning over all that soil. The taste of grilled potatoes, freshly dug, gets your taste buds working, but the thought of all that weeding makes you wonder if it’s really worth the effort. Freshly cooked carrots and sweet pickled beets get the juices flowing, but the sore back and tired muscles from preparing soil, seeding, weeding and the tender loving care that goes into your growing season make you wonder if the payload is worth the trouble.

How about that old saying, “I didn’t have to put in a garden this year. My neighbor has one.” Most large gardens produce a lot more vegetables than the owner can use, and if you are lucky enough to live next to one of these enthusiastic growers, sit back and enjoy his rewards.

So what is the answer? Garden boxes – I mean big, tall garden boxes. Being an active gardener, I began looking for an easier way to enjoy fresh vegetables without back pain and other aches associated with gardening.

Armed with hammer and nails, I built three large boxes using 2-by-4 frames and fence boards for the sides. These boxes are 30 inches high, 30 inches wide and 8 feet long. I chose 2-by-4s and fence boards, but plywood for the sides would do just as well. Since you need good drainage, a bottom to the box is not required; however, all corner joints should be braced. The inside of the box should be lined to prevent the topsoil from seeping through the cracks. Black plastic garbage bags work great. My three boxes were built in a row running lengthwise, leaving enough space between each to allow a lawn mower to do its thing. Add two yards of topsoil, and your garden bed is ready.

Each year, I rotate the growing plan so that each box holds different vegetables. One box will handle nine potato plants, producing close to 100 potatoes. My second box is home to two zucchini plants and two tomato plants. The third box contains a row of carrots and two rows of beets. These three boxes grow all the vegetables I can use; the only thing I give away is maybe a third of my zucchini crop. When they start producing, I’m harvesting about 10 of these good-sized green vegetables a week. There’s nothing like grilled stuffed zucchini, filled with hamburger and onions, to get you thinking about next year’s crop.

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