This winter, I am determined to get the "bones" of my garden in order. (That, and doing some serious mulching. I've been piliching leaves from all over town.) But, I don't have bags of cash so I've been thinking of how to re-purpose items like pallets. At the moment I'm thinking a 3-bin composter system for my yard waste, plus some smaller raised beds, but I also saw this, which is pretty clever if you have a small space.
I am probably about a month late for this, but I finally got my garlic in the garden two days ago during a brief respite in the storms that have been pummelling the coast. (Thanks to Josie O. for the fabulous Red Russian garlic bulbs!) I had added some well-rotted compost to the bed a couple of weeks ago and gave it a little fluff with the pitchfork. Even though the bed is in one of the lowest parts of the yard (read, wettest), the 12" high raised bed meant the soil had good texture and wasn't waterlogged. As per Ms. O's instructions, I planted the cloves about 3" deep, 8" apart and then covered the bed in a nice mulch quilt of alder leaves. In the back of my mind I had this niggling thought about New Moon and planting garlic. I was just updating my journal and, smarty-pants me, I planted on the New Moon!
Not so fast smarty-pants. It turns out you should not, actually plant on the New Moon, rather in the lead up to the New Moon. I've no idea why and whether it really does matter. I'm just glad I got the bulbs in the ground at all. (Small victories you know.)
Google New Moon + garlic and you'll find lots of posts. Here's one.
If you didn't have a chance to get out to Stubbs Island yesterday then there is still time today. I can't recommend this outing enough even for people who couldn't care less about gardens. It is a treat to be able to visit this private island where the community of Clayoquot once sat. (Clayoquot was here long before Tofino existed. It was the first non-native community in the sound.) Don't miss the enormous rhodos on the trail across the island. They were planted by Betty Farmer and Jo Brydges who ran the hotel there for years. (They are also responsible for the rhodos down by the Mini Motel/Armitage Point area by the Crab Dock.) But, of course since you are probably keen on food gardening, you can also go and drool over their beautiful, and very productive, veggie garden. I pine for raised beds such as these.
Such an ingenious, yet quite simple, design. Love the height of the bed and also the flexibility the rolled plastic "walls" give.
And then there's the beautiful little greenhouse...
And they are growing mushrooms, too...
And, of course, there are lots of lovely details to look at in the gardens...
Boats leave the 1st Street Dock beginning at noon and the island is open until 6pm. After that, you'll have to wait until next year!
Feedback from yesterday's post has prompted me to dig out my Stubb's Island photos. I'm sure I have photos of their raised beds, but I couldn't put my finger on them. They are similar to the design in the video below, but the arches are wood and, if I recall, the plastic is just attached to thin pieces of wood (or bamboo?) and the sides are rolled up and down as required. I think the beds are about 3 feet deep. (If anyone has a photo, please let me know.) I asked Chris, one of the gardeners, if the box was all soil, thinking it might be gravel or something else halfway down, and he said it IS all soil. That's a lot of soil, but, oh, the drainage! Here is an inspiration for a similar design, slightly more high-tech, but the same idea. (I'm not suggesting anyone buy this, but it's good inspiration.
A quick troll through YouTube and Google with the search words "raised garden beds" yields a lot of resources, so it's worth a look if you are in building mode. I took these photos out at the Tofino Botanical Gardens a week or so ago. Again, a relatively simple design if you have some small lengths of rebar, brackets, tubing and plastic.
One more illustration for inspiration. I've been carrying around this article from Harrowsmith Magazine since 1995. I've never actually built this bed, but if you had room for just one I like how this incorporates a trellis. I have the plans if anyone would like to borrow them.
Do you have raised beds? I'd love to post pictures of your design. FIre over a photo or email me and I'll come over and take a picture. Happy building!
