Gardening

Anyone have recommendations on raised planting beds? My girlfriend and are thinking of starting a small garden on our patio. We can’t actually plant in the ground but we’re looking at various raised beds online and settled on this VegTrug. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but I think that’s the one we’re going to buy. My mom and grandma both have that same one and I remember building for them years ago and it being very sturdy.

 
Anyone have recommendations on raised planting beds? My girlfriend and are thinking of starting a small garden on our patio. We can’t actually plant in the ground but we’re looking at various raised beds online and settled on this VegTrug. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but I think that’s the one we’re going to buy. My mom and grandma both have that same one and I remember building for them years ago and it being very sturdy.


Raised beds are pretty easy to make without special kits and would cost less.

I would mostly grow herbs in it also. They are expensive at the store and you should be able to grow enough that you will have a steady supply.

things like thyme, basil, sage, rosemary and mint always end up molding in my refrigerator after I spent a 1.50 on it when all I needed was a little bit.
 
Raised beds are pretty easy to make without special kits and would cost less.

I would mostly grow herbs in it also. They are expensive at the store and you should be able to grow enough that you will have a steady supply.

things like thyme, basil, sage, rosemary and mint always end up molding in my refrigerator after I spent a 1.50 on it when all I needed was a little bit.
That one isn’t actually available until June to ship so found another that’s much cheaper. We were thinking of some lettuces and herbs, maybe grape tomatoes. Our back patio area is semi shaded so things would need to be able to survive without 100% direct sunlight.
 
Plan 2 (because I have nothing else to do at 4:30 in the morning).
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what's your sunlight situation on these? i presume the nw side of the page is furtherst from the house and gets the most light throughout the day but the most moisture is where the drain is? Do you want a lawn? or do you just want to use the space for planting and recreating? because some trees / height in the center or near the center might be cool and provide some shade if you have a deck/patio/seating area.

thanks for sharing these. it's cool to see other people's yards and what they do with them
 
Anyone have recommendations on raised planting beds? My girlfriend and are thinking of starting a small garden on our patio. We can’t actually plant in the ground but we’re looking at various raised beds online and settled on this VegTrug. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but I think that’s the one we’re going to buy. My mom and grandma both have that same one and I remember building for them years ago and it being very sturdy.


You can grow a lot in 5 gallon buckets and if you want it to look nicer you can build or buy a wooden box to set them in. Buckets are also nice because they are easy to move about. If you can tie some string up and build a bit of a grid you can train the tomatoes to grow up and be supported by the string. You need enough sun to grow them and some herbs. If you are on the shadier cooler side of the building leafy greens, lettuce, and some cooler season herbs might work.
 
You can grow a lot in 5 gallon buckets and if you want it to look nicer you can build or buy a wooden box to set them in. Buckets are also nice because they are easy to move about. If you can tie some string up and build a bit of a grid you can train the tomatoes to grow up and be supported by the string. You need enough sun to grow them and some herbs. If you are on the shadier cooler side of the building leafy greens, lettuce, and some cooler season herbs might work.
That’s great advice! I hadn’t even thought about that and buckets can be multi use after too.
 
That’s great advice! I hadn’t even thought about that and buckets can be multi use after too.

y - just do some googling. you might need to drill or poke or hammer some holes in the bottom for drainage depending on what you're growing. Like if you're growing things that come from a dry Mediterranean environment like rosemary you need a well drained soil mix. You can set them inside prettier large pots or hang bucket if you have a support structure. You can grow strawberries and potatoes in bags.... hanging pots can work for some stuff too. You've got some options.
 
what's your sunlight situation on these? i presume the nw side of the page is furtherst from the house and gets the most light throughout the day but the most moisture is where the drain is? Do you want a lawn? or do you just want to use the space for planting and recreating? because some trees / height in the center or near the center might be cool and provide some shade if you have a deck/patio/seating area.

thanks for sharing these. it's cool to see other people's yards and what they do with them

This is the front lawn and East is upper right and west is lower left. Sun is all day until the later evening. The front of the house is the lower edge. Close to the house there is shade most of the day. The soil is quick draining and Sandy.

In the second picture the little circle areas are swales that will be dug to capture rain water from the roof and directed into the lawn.

My wife wants a lawn and the plants at the front will be a 6’ hedge for privacy. It would be a lot of area to put shrubs. But The grass I’m gonna get is nice looking when it unmowed, which matches the more wild looking native plants.

I want it to look more like a meadow or a hiking trail rather that the typical suburban lawn.
 
Hey! FYI this is going to be a running theme with me. Look for a native grass. They are easier to grow. I’m in the middle of converting my years to all natives, for CA. There is a lot less maintenance and use of resources.

Here’s a book for gardening withMichigan native plants.

Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan Landscaping with Native Plants of Michigan: Steiner, Lynn M.: 9780760325384: Amazon.com: Books


Thanks again for the reco on this book. I got a copy last week and I have picked out a few native to Michigan flowers and ground cover ideas that I want to consider for the south fenceline of my house and yard. Looking forward to the annual nursery trip this year, hoping it'll be sometime in May. I don't feel behind on plantings this year; it's snowing as I type this.
 
Anyone have recommendations on raised planting beds? My girlfriend and are thinking of starting a small garden on our patio. We can’t actually plant in the ground but we’re looking at various raised beds online and settled on this VegTrug. Haven’t pulled the trigger yet but I think that’s the one we’re going to buy. My mom and grandma both have that same one and I remember building for them years ago and it being very sturdy.

On our way 💪

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