Making My Bed(s)

I happened to inherit two raised beds when we moved into our house a year and a half ago.  The previous owner was quite a gardener, but after his passing, his children let the garden "grow."  A large tree now towers over of one the beds and shades all of it, rendering it useless for growing veggies.  The second bed gets partial shade, and I have been moderately successful with radishes and lettuce mixes.  My inner farmer screams, "Cut the damn tree down - it's really just an overgrown weed!"  But, the mother in me delights in watching my daughter climb to its top branches too much, and the tree stays.  Sunshine hog.

So, I decided to build my own beds.  I started with one and began digging the sod up and putting in a pile.  My original thought was to remove all of the sod and fill the inevitable hole with store-bought garden soil.  After about four feet into the bed, I realized what a waste all of the sod was.  Sure, I could throw it in the compost bin, but why not use it in the beds?  So, I replaced the sod I had dug up, but I turned it upside down so the grass was facing down and the dirt was facing up.  Being a worm-lover, this method also ensured I wasn't tossing out any of the critters.

Next, I covered the upside down sod with newspaper.  It will serve as an organic weed barrier.  I've done some research, and I feel confident that the inks used in our local paper are soy-based and of no threat to the soil.  I used a watering can to wet the newspaper for two reasons: to attract worms and to keep it from blowing away. 

Once the newspaper was down, I covered it with a layer of garden soil.  The bed was becoming a bare-bones lasagna garden.

Then I carted in a wagon full of composted horse poo to fold into the garden soil.  It's amazing how rich and soil-like the poo is.  To quote a cousin of mine who once owned a horse, "It's only hay!"

The bed was made and it was time to plant.  Two beds are now filled with 7 heirloom varieties of tomatoes, including Yellow Rainbows which are supposed to be absolutely beautiful.. Can't wait to see them.  Olivia loves peppers, so we bought 6 varieties of heirloom peppers including Sweet Chocolates.  I hope she isn't too disappointed when she tries one, and it doesn't taste like a Hershey's bar.  Olivia did the honors of planting the peppers and "tucking them in" to the bed.

We ordered our tomato and pepper seedlings from Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit organization that saves heirloom seeds that can be passed down through the generations.  Why heirloom seeds?  I'll have to save that discussion for another time.

Once I had all three beds planted, several of the neighbors came to see what we were doing.  The woman next door, who's about 70 or so asked, "Why on earth are you digging up perfectly good grass?"  My reply: "I can't eat the grass."  And so we continue to dig......