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 Many people are starting fresh by elevating their garden beds to
overcome landscape challenges, create new beds or simply make
harvesting, planting and tending the garden easier.
You can build your own raised bed or purchase one of the kits
available at garden centers, garden catalogues and online. Or
repurpose bricks, cinder blocks or heat- treated pallets into an
elevated planting bed.
Once your raised bed is built, start by preparing a healthy
foundation for your plants by filling it with a blended quality
topsoil and compost mix like Hsu garden blend (hsugrowingsupply.com).
The compost is rich in beneficial microbes that build soil health,
while the topsoil provides a reservoir of nutrients and moisture for
the plants to grow and thrive.
 Or rejuvenate an existing garden bed by amending the soil prior to
planting by adding several inches of leaf compost, compost or peat
moss to the top 8 to 12 inches of soil.
Once the foundation is set, you are ready to plant. Tomatoes,
peppers, eggplants, melons and squash need full sun and love it
warm. So planting now that the air and soil are warm will get them
off to a quick start. Interplant these larger transplants with green
onions, beets and carrots. By the time the larger plants are filling
in the space, you’ll be finished harvesting the smaller vegetables.
Train cucumbers and pole beans up a trellis. You’ll save space and
elevate the fruit for fewer disease problems and easier picking.
Add a few herbs to the garden. They add flavor to your meals as well
as color, texture and fragrance to the garden. Basil, like tomatoes,
is another warm weather plant. Planting too early means poor growth
and greater risk of disease. So procrastination can sometimes pay
off. And a raised bed will help contain vigorous growers like
oregano and mint.
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Mix in a few flowers with the edibles or give them a garden of their own. Select
plants suited to the sunlight and your maintenance schedule. Drought tolerant
sun- loving plants like lantana, zinnia and celosia are more forgiving if you
tend to underwater. Self-cleaning annuals like calibrachoa, angelonia, gaura and
fan flower (Scaevola) do not need deadheading which translates into less
maintenance for you.
Then sit back and enjoy the harvest and beauty your new and improved gardens
have to offer.
[Melinda Myers, LLC]
Gardening expert, TV/radio host, author
& columnist Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture
experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Small
Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook. She hosts The
Great Courses “How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening For Everyone”
DVD set and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV &
radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for
Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Hsu Growing Supply
for her expertise to write this article. Myers’ web site,
www.melindamyers.com,
offers gardening videos and tips.
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