Thursday, August 16, 2012

Raised Strawberry Bed

I'm so delighted with our new strawberry bed! The new bed is my second time around for this bed because the one I did last summer was a big disappointment this summer. Plus, I wanted a real raised bed where I didn't have to bend over!
After the greenhouse left, my 'new' garden space looked like this in the spring of 2011.
- 2011 -
Fast forward to the summer of 2012.
Mr D made the box out of scrap cedar wood and is 16 ft L x 26" W x 24" H. He made it sturdy by re-enforcing it with 2x4's inside. I filled it with a two-year supply of compost dirt. This is what I found in the bin as I was emptying it...eek!
I transplanted the five raspberry plants and took the strawberry plants out of the old bed and piled them in a box till the new one was ready. Then came the fun part!

After four hours of transferring the dirt from the compost bin to the new bed, I 'hilled' the dirt in the box.
After adding a fifty-foot soaker hose that was placed on the sides and middle, I used my home-made version of u-hooks to keep it in place.
And ta-da! my new bed! The plants transplanted well, I harvested several gallons of potatoes and onions, and seeded a fall crop of radish and lettuce. Because the straw was left from the little potato patch, I used it to cover the whole bed, giving it shade from the hot sun and protection from the winter cold. Best of all, it was a mostly free project - the biggest expense was the soaker hose and it was on sale.
 The radishes were seeded on Saturday and by Tuesday they were up, having several rains the last few days.
Incidentally, both of these projects were done by Mr D in both of his cancer diagnoses. I'm especially grateful to him and to God that he's given me these gifts. My prayer is he'll be here next spring to enjoy the fruit of his work! If you want to follow along on our cancer journey, 'like' my Fleur Cottage face book page where I post frequently about it.

Link to:
Cottage Garden
Time Travel Thursday
Under $100 Linky
Transformation Thursday
Grace at Home

13 comments:

Yael at Home Garden Diggers said...

Esther,

A wonderful raised bed. May you have bountiful harvests for years to come. Hoping that you have a good weekend.

Yael from Home Garden Diggers

Liz @ Sit With Me In My Garden said...

Hi there! Coming to you from Fishtail Cottage. Bless your husband's heart for building that for you! What a nice size and height! I hope it brings you many years of service!
Sorry about your husband's cancer. We went through it with our 4 year old daughter (21 years ago) and she's fine now. It was quite an experience- one I hope to never experience again.

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

I was surprised to see Mr. D...doing the work in the pictures. So glad that he was able to do this for you. I'm praying with you for his continued health!
...strawberries haven't been my thing so far! Pat

Anonymous said...

How would you get that amount of pot in such as all space?

Fishtail Cottage said...

fabulous transformation...can't wait to see it filled with delicious strawberries. Your husband is amazing to be out there working on that project...probably felt good for him to get out there and do something...but hope he found himself resting afterwards!?! thanks so much for linking up to Fishtail Cottage’s garden party! xoxo, tracie

Richella Parham said...

This is wonderful, Esther. I like the way it's right by the house. I want us to try constructing a raised bed in time for next spring--maybe we should go ahead and do the construction this Fall!

Thank you so much for joining Grace at Home! I'm featuring this post. :)

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Incredible how hes built and have the strength at the finish looks great wait for delicious strawberry's . This would be a great family project to share time and enjoy it.

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