This instructable will show you how to get started growing your own crops using raised beds in your garden!
This project was inspired by the need to grow our own fruit and vegetables, whilst efficiently utilising the space available in our back garden. If you have ever wondered how to go about growing your own food at home, then hopefully the next few pages will give you some ideas...
So why grow your own?
- You get fresh fruit & veg, no added preservatives
- Save time & money buying from shops
- Change for a healthy lifestyle
Our house was built on an area where there used to be local fishponds, so naturally the ground is moist all year round and turns into a bog over winter. To make things worse, the soil is mostly clay and builders rubble which are hardly your ideal growing conditions!
So we decided that a good solution would be to make raised beds for growing.
Advantages of Raised Beds:
- They're super easy to construct
- Clearly define your growing areas
- Plant into new healthy soil mix
This project was inspired by the need to grow our own fruit and vegetables, whilst efficiently utilising the space available in our back garden. If you have ever wondered how to go about growing your own food at home, then hopefully the next few pages will give you some ideas...
So why grow your own?
- You get fresh fruit & veg, no added preservatives
- Save time & money buying from shops
- Change for a healthy lifestyle
Our house was built on an area where there used to be local fishponds, so naturally the ground is moist all year round and turns into a bog over winter. To make things worse, the soil is mostly clay and builders rubble which are hardly your ideal growing conditions!
So we decided that a good solution would be to make raised beds for growing.
Advantages of Raised Beds:
- They're super easy to construct
- Clearly define your growing areas
- Plant into new healthy soil mix
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Signing UpStep 1: Design Layout
As opposed to the traditional box shape layout of raised beds, we wanted to create something a little more artistic, simple yet functional. Our design featured a hexagonal layout that was suited to fit within a 6m diameter circle.
Of course it's unlikely that everyone reading this has exactly a 6m area to work with, so you may want to scale up/down accordingly.
This is easy to do though as the hexagonal design is some what universal in a sense that it's easy to apply to an area of any size...
1. Think of the outer boards as full length (3/3)
2. The boards either side of the opening to the centre (2/3)
3. Finally the inner boards (1/3)
By dividing wooden planks into thirds, this allowed for all materials to be used efficiently from a total of 8 boards.
The 'keyhole' shape conveniently allows access to the centre for watering and general maintenance of the beds.
Here's a list of what will be planted in a compact space:
- Radish
- Spring Onions
- Strawberries
- Rainbow Chard
- Thyme
- Garlic
- Fennel
- Mixed salad baby leaves
- Rocket
- Mizuna
- 'Salad bowl' lettuce
- Beetroot
- French Parsley
- Red Onions
- Carrots
- White Onions
- Dill
- Cabbage
- Potatoes
- Purple Sprouting Cabbage
- Parsnips
- Sweetcorn
- Broad beans
NOTE: It may be worth thinking about which areas of your garden get the sun the most.
Some things you plant will prefer damper, shaded areas e.g. pototatoes. Where as strawberries, tomatoes enjoy as much sunlight as they can get.
Of course it's unlikely that everyone reading this has exactly a 6m area to work with, so you may want to scale up/down accordingly.
This is easy to do though as the hexagonal design is some what universal in a sense that it's easy to apply to an area of any size...
1. Think of the outer boards as full length (3/3)
2. The boards either side of the opening to the centre (2/3)
3. Finally the inner boards (1/3)
By dividing wooden planks into thirds, this allowed for all materials to be used efficiently from a total of 8 boards.
The 'keyhole' shape conveniently allows access to the centre for watering and general maintenance of the beds.
Here's a list of what will be planted in a compact space:
- Radish
- Spring Onions
- Strawberries
- Rainbow Chard
- Thyme
- Garlic
- Fennel
- Mixed salad baby leaves
- Rocket
- Mizuna
- 'Salad bowl' lettuce
- Beetroot
- French Parsley
- Red Onions
- Carrots
- White Onions
- Dill
- Cabbage
- Potatoes
- Purple Sprouting Cabbage
- Parsnips
- Sweetcorn
- Broad beans
NOTE: It may be worth thinking about which areas of your garden get the sun the most.
Some things you plant will prefer damper, shaded areas e.g. pototatoes. Where as strawberries, tomatoes enjoy as much sunlight as they can get.
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Have you ever used any of the programs out there (like Garden Planner or another of the like kind) when you plan out your garden layouts? Or was this all designed by hand.
I must say it looks professionally done.
I haven't used any gardening programs apart from messing about with Google SketchUp which I know isn't specifically designed for gardening but still :)
Garden Planner looks interesting... it must be useful to visualise exactly what you're going to plant in each area :)
Would you like make another one in my back garden ;-)
Fruit & veg seem to be growing really quickly at the moment...
Might put up some more pictures next week ;)
I Like this.