Garden Girl TV: Urban Sustainable Living

Building a raised bed doesn’t have to be a weeklong construction project. And don’t expect to spend much on it. (This one cost me just $40.) You also won’t need much space. A 4-ft. by 4-ft. raised garden bed can supply an adult with a salad at lunch and a vegetable at dinner, for the entire growing season. The use of raised beds in my system allows you to maximize your growing space. It also modularizes the garden and brings the garden closer to you, removing the back-breaking work. Raised beds are great for people with disabilities, as well, allowing them to get outside and be physical without having to go beyond what they are physically capable of. Raised beds are essential because in my system they house the chickens that fertilize and till the soil. Raised beds also allow you to extend your growing season by making it easy to create micro-climates using things called hoop houses or high tunnels. Building a Raised Bed is the first step towards living an Urban Sustainable Lifestyle. I start with the lumber. Why? It’s cheap and easy to cut and screw together. The disadvantage is that if the lumber is in contact with the soil, it will eventually rot away. That’s why I recommend installing a gravel base at least 2” thick. I extend the life of my beds by coating them with milk paint a non toxic paint. I have also treated some lumber with linseed oil with decent results. One warning: Never use pressure treated wood. The chemicals used to treat the wood can leach out into your soil. For tools, you will need a screw gun and a saw. I personally get the people at the home supply store to precut my lumber for me, it is easier to transport that way and saves me lots of time. The raised beds I build are based on four foot beds and eight foot beds; this is also the general measurement standard for lumber. Lumber comes in 8, 10, and 12' + lengths, so this allows less cutting, which means less waste. I use 2x10x8' lumber for the construction of my raised beds. To build one 4x4 raised bed I buy four pieces of 8' lumber and have the store cut them into 8-4’ pieces. They’re now lighter and you’ll be able to transport them home easily in your car. Don’t forget to buy 4”galvanized screws to assemble the raised beds. If you’ll be rotating and housing chickens or rabbits in them, make sure you fasten galvanized wire to the bottom with screws and washers so your chickens will be safe from predators. Each four foot bed requires about 32 cubic feet of soil. Today you can buy highly enriched organic soil at your garden center, but I prefer to make my own with my livestock and other compostable materials that would normally be hauled away. Patti Moreno is host of http://www.GardenGirlTV.com, where you’ll find ideas, inspiration, and publisher of Urban Sustainable Living Magazine http://www.urbansustainableliving.com. She lives with her husband, daughter, dog, rabbits, cats, and chickens in Roxbury, Massachusetts.