Raised Garden Beds

I know it's the middle of summer and if you have a garden it was probably started a long time ago. I've been wanting to share this project with y'all for a while now. I always had a fear that when I started blogging I might run out of things to say. That's definitely not the case. I have too much to say and not enough time to actually share it all. Is it just me or is blogging a little more time consuming than you envisioned? We do it because we love it though, right! Now onto these awesome boxes.

Raised garden beds aren't just for people with small spaces to work with. They are very helpful for a variety of reasons. And when I say raised garden bed that's what I mean. Not something that just a few inches off the ground with a pretty boarder.

I could write a very long list as to why raised garden beds are awesome. For me the main reason was that we just moved to a new area and know nothing about it. We don't know what grows here, what the soil is like, what the seasons are like... This makes for some challenges when starting a garden. Of course I've done all sorts of reading and learned a lot about the area in a short period of time but just like anything in life the best way to learn is hands on. 

These type of garden beds allow for you to be in control of the soil. You could really do some fun experiments and plant all tomatoes but use local soil in one box and use store bought soil in the others. Raised Garden beds also are MUCH easier to maintain. There are very few weeds that grow and it's so easy on your back and knees because you can stand and work. Even better they can be handicap accessible as long as they are on an easy path to get to. We placed ours by the creek so they would be easy to water. The good thing is it's no problem to move them around. In case there are strong storms, frost or just because. 

We actually have plenty of property in which we could have a garden but this seemed like the best way for us to ease into gardening. It was something I wanted to figure out for a while and then when I saw these drawers just laying on the side of the road I knew exactly what I was gonna do with them. This project was much simpler than building raised beds myself. Of course if you don't have much space for a garden this would definitely be the perfect option for you. 

Here's how I made my raised garden beds:

I chose to paint mine the brightest colors I could find. Since I was doing this project right after what seemed like a long, dreary winter I was desperate for color. My husband was shocked at first thinking maybe they were a little too bright. What do you think? 

I've found lots of uses for the slate that came off the original roof of our farm house. I used them as plant markers and wrote with a paint pen, which looks like chalk, but is actually durable. You might remember Apple Brie I made and served on slate. It's so fun to be able to reuse the shingles in this way. 

You might be wondering what I actually planted in my boxes. I decided to choose whatever sounded good at the time and just go for it. Of course I wanted to keep it limited the first time around so I only chose 4 things: peppers, tomatoes, watermelon and okra. The tomatoes are doing fabulously. Although I can't say the same for the other plants, only time will tell. It's always a good sign when tomatoes start to flower!

Hope y'all will enjoy something from the garden this summer whether it's from yours, a friends or a local farmers. Nothing beats fresh!  As always don't hesitate to write :)