21 replies to this topic

[Skywatcher]

 

My partner is now unable to stoop or do anything in the garden but look. I know how he enjoyed gardening, and has been unable to for the last 4 years, so this year all the old inground boxes were removed, ground cleared, and these galvanized watering troughs will be the raised garden.

I placed them so he can walk all the way around them, and bark covered the ground so he can stand in bare feet if he wants,

 

It took me about 8 wheel barrels each of dirt, all mulched and amended as they were filled. They are 6'x2'x2' dimension.  I have a bunch of holes drilled in the bottom, covered with a 2" layer of gravel for drainage. The sun is good on all three. 

 

I enjoyed watching him smiling as he picked this years veggies and herbs, and was able to plant them himself.

 

There are 4 tomatoes, basil, dill, and oregano. Sweet peppers, japanese eggplant, zucchini, and bush beans. Carrots and onions, and 5 strawberrys.

 

Its going to get crowded, I know, but I have a steady supply of compost, and can always move any space hogs elsewhere.

 

(I have to admit it looks tidy, where my own gardening habits are quite haphazard....)

 

Edited by Skywatcher, 09 May 2018 - 10:07 PM.

[PsyBearknot]

Where there is a will there is a way

That’s beautiful

I love it.

[Spooner]

Looks like it could work from a wheelchair also.

Lookin' good Sky.

[Arathu]

Excellent work Skye! If you want to see haphazard you should watch me put plots everywhere.

 

But I can definitely see the time coming when I will have to do the same kind of things......

 

Keep on keeping on.......beautiful...

 

A

[Skywatcher]

I figure once my partner has adjusted to being able to enjoy digging in the earth, watering, weeding and tending again, I will set up some of my usual scatterings of garden plots in other places....

 

We can have both................

I just need to keep this area clear for him.

[Myc]

Look into straw-bale gardening. The principal is much like the setup you've created with the troughs - except that you only need straw bales and no trough. 

Along with gardening your vegetables, you can produce fungi from the bales as well. 

 

Another funny thought I had......

Those troughs are about the biggest FC I've ever seen. (And I've used a wheelbarrow before !!!) 

 

Looks like a fun project overall. Your partner is lucky to have such a thoughtful partner. 

[Skywatcher]

Another funny thought I had......

Those troughs are about the biggest FC I've ever seen. (And I've used a wheelbarrow before !!!) 

 

Looks like a fun project overall. Your partner is lucky to have such a thoughtful partner. 

They somehow got a lot bigger when I was trying to fill them with dirt........................

My best guess is around 30 wheelbarrow loads, as full as i could get it and still roll the thing. Unfortunately math is not my strong point, and I had 6  scoops of topsoil delivered...............

3 would have been enough, so then i had to figure out what to do with another 30 loads of dirt. Every place that could hold dirt got a new top layer, and all the lawn areas got a top coating.

 

This "little project had me running loads for 5 days until i got it out of the driveway.

[Spooner]

That will put flesh on your bones.

I once dug out a 20'x40' ten foot deep basement with a wheelbarrow. took almost 2 years of evenings and weekends.

[Juthro]

That will put flesh on your bones.
I once dug out a 20'x40' ten foot deep basement with a wheelbarrow. took almost 2 years of evenings and weekends.

It would have been much faster if you had used a shovel :)

Edited by Juthro, 10 May 2018 - 05:23 PM.

[Alder Logs]

 

That will put flesh on your bones.
I once dug out a 20'x40' ten foot deep basement with a wheelbarrow. took almost 2 years of evenings and weekends.

It would have been much faster if you had used a shovel :)

 

 

Shhhush!  That's secret knowledge, only known to 33rd degree Masons. 

[MsBehavin420]

I'm doing bales of hay this year.. Grabbed them after Halloween so they've been "marinating" since..

Just look up how to prep the bales, If they are new. Otherwise they're good to go.. Helps to keep them in a laundry basket or crate so you can keep using it as It composts.
this is a favorite of mine. Things grow so well with the air flow and moisture contents... Easily grows some fungi along side your veggies. Last go round, I couldn't help growing mushrooms in my bales. It was fabulous.

[wharfrat]

that's awesome, sky! looks great too, gives me an idea for my own yard, or lack there of, I could put those on the deck or the outside of the yard.

[pharmer]

Straw bales wouldn't be near as tidy as that galvanized op. It's a thing of beauty.

 

Well done, Goombah, but where are the cactus????

[Skywatcher]

That was the vegetable and herb designated area already, I just hauled out all my rickety wood retainers and cleared the weeds that happen to also love well amended soil piles.

The cactus have 5 separate areas where I can shuffle them around as needed. Mostly dictated by light and water restriction needs...............

 

I'm going to now place large stepping stones between, and up to the horse troughs because use has shown that walking on bark is not ideal for my partner. His cane gets stuck, and the footing is not as comfortable as I hoped. (I have leather soled feet and walk on near anything.)

This will be more solid footing as he is wobbly anyway, and flat, solid squares will be safer.

 

wharf, if you do go the watering trough route, be sure to give thought to the drainage needs. I filled the bottom with holes because they are over dirt, but they do have a drain plug on the bottom sides, and on a deck, they could be easily hooked up with a hose drain that runs under the decking to not cause any rot problems in the wood. I got these at Tractor Supply, but anywhere that has horse supplies should have some.

Edited by Skywatcher, 12 May 2018 - 09:29 PM.

[MsBehavin420]

Straw bales wouldn't be near as tidy as that galvanized op. It's a thing of beauty.

Well done, Goombah, but where are the cactus????

that's why I suggested a laundry basket or a crate to keep them in. Reuse, reduce, recycle ♻, renew

[pharmer]

This will be more solid footing as he is wobbly anyway, and flat, solid squares will be safer.

 

 

as long as they are dry but that's most of the time in your locale, right?

 

that's why I suggested a laundry basket or a crate to keep them in. Reuse, reduce, recycle ♻, renew

 

yes, ma'am. I missed it on the first read

Edited by pharmer, 13 May 2018 - 08:43 AM.

[MsBehavin420]

I found out the hard way.... It was a messsss!

[pharmer]

Me too, that's why I mentioned it. They are nutrition rich after the priming period but leave a cleanup project after the following winter.  Mine grew herbs and pepper plants very well.

[Skywatcher]

I've got to go back and re-read some of the hay bale threads. Do they have to be aged or can you prep them and start growing once they are well saturated? I want potatoes and oysters, but the oysters may be a problem with hot dry  weather.

I have many unused corners where decomposing hay bales would just add to the soil improvement.

 

pharmer, we get little rain, but I do irrigate. I still think concrete stepping stone squares are coarse enough that slipping won't be a problem, and if its late spring or summer, a wet stone is bone dry in 15 minutes. That won't help if he's having a bad day and the pain meds are maxed, but in that case he won't be playing in the garden anyway.

[pharmer]

You need to leave the straw bales sit for a few weeks after pumping them full of nitrogen fertilizers.  The nitrogen has much to do with busting down the straw in the middle of the bale which has the counter effect of toning down all that nitrogen in the bale - otherwise it could easily burn tender roots

 

They need to be kept damp during those weeks, but not so damp that you're flushing the ferts out of the bale

Edited by pharmer, 13 May 2018 - 09:56 PM.