We finally got around to setting up a raised garden bed in our backyard this year. It turned out quite well, but we did have a huge setback from enjoying the full harvest.
Related: Our Airbnb Glamping Set Up
Set Up
We bought 4 huge 4x8x2 raised beds and 2 2x2x1.5 circle raised beds as well as an arch. We put the planters together and measured out where we wanted them. Then came the hard part- filling them. We started by placing a layer of cardboard down and then topped that with sticks and small trees. After that we layered it up with lots and lots of dead leaves from last year. The leaves press down a lot so you want the whole bed to seem almost 3/4 full of leaves before you add in the dirt. And you will need lots and lots of dirt. For our beds we used about 12 bags of 2 cubic feet each for each bed and one full bag for the circle beds. We topped each bed with a weed barrier.
Planting
We decided to have one zucchini bed, one brassica bed, one carrots & peas bed, and one herb bed.
In the zucchini bed we planted only 2 zucchini to allow them lots of space. We also planted some flowers around the corners.
In the brassica bed we planted broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage with a few flowers.
In our carrots and pea bed we planted 2 rows of carrots one row of peas, and 5 onions.
For our herb garden we planted lavender, chives, parsley, basil, and mint. For the mint we needed to separate it out so it didn’t spread so we placed it into some bowls on top of our raised bed. We also planted some marigolds and snapdragons here to make it look pretty.
For our circle planters, we planted nasturtiums and marigolds.
Pests
We had an unfortunate summer full of voles and rabbits who decimated our pea and carrot bed. We did everything we could, but we didn’t end up with any peas and very few carrots. We ended up with a few large onions! The voles also made it to our brassica bed and demolished 2 of our cauliflower. We enjoyed 3 of them though and all of our broccoli.
Things I Would Do Differently
For setting up the boxes, I would add a mesh screen across the bottom of all the boxes to keep voles out.
I would plant marigolds and snapdragons in all corners of the beds to deter pests.
Next year we may try to bury a foot of mesh around all the sides of the planters to keep the voles away.
