raised beds

[bobclark]

I got alot of my garden in today. I like everything up on raised beds. I till it and then run threw with a hiller that brings the dirt in from both sides.

the dirt is sure working up nice this year

[Deleted]

What size patch is that bob? I can't tell from the pictures. Nice looking piece of dirt tho.

[bobclark]

120 x 80

over the last two years I have amended it with over 100 bales of switchgrass straw,two pickup loads of rabbit droppings,apickup load of wood ash and a little over two tons of ground limestone. when I tilled it the worms just rolled out.

this ground was mucky and packed easy just three years ago

I havent used commercial fertilizer for three years

[bergere]

Those are some nice and straight raised beds! Should be able to grow lots of food on all that. ;D

[auntieemu]

Those look great Bob!

[dlangland]

That is slick, Bob. I love gardening in beds like that, but since I don't have a hiller like you do, I always had to form mine by hand, or should I say, shoulder. I hope you post some pics for us once your veggies are growing. Deb

[bobclark]

the hiller is homemade. I will get some pics to give you an idea of how to make one

pics in the future depends on rather i get out there and keep the weeds pulled ;D

[Deleted]

I'm looking forward to the pictures of the hiller! What are you planting and what do you do with all your produce?

[bobclark]

here is two shots of the hiller

it was made from scrap

[bobclark]

it needs the concret to hold it down in the back. the faster you go the better job it does

[Deleted]

Wow, ingenious! Reminds me of the motto from the Foxfire books:

Make, make do, or do without.

Did you design it and do the welding too? or is it bolted, or what?

[bobclark]

my BIL and I stuck it together with a welder. it would be better if it was adjustable but that would take some more doing

I used it to plant potatoes up on a hill as well but dont think it will hill them after they are up awhile

we planted 150# of potatoes day before yesterday. 875ft of row down one side of a road and up the other.thats 1750ft all together

I have a little bit of every thing planted so far but am waiting on some of the warmer crops a while

[Deleted]

Do you sell your produce, or....

[bobclark]

I sell some and i give alot away to friends and family I also donate some to the loards cubard, it is a small local food bank

I dont seem to make much money but I enjoy the heck out of it

[Deleted]

We have the Lord's Pantry here. Great place since we have no Goodwill or anything else like that as far as I know. There's something about having a hand in bringing forth life that's just, well, life-affirming. Yep.

[bobclark]

I was kicking around the idea in my head about starting a food bank sorta thing here where they would get help starting gardening . free seeds ,tools ,fertilizers ,ect.

it wouldnt take the place of the food bank. but i see the same people comming back as often as they can for years. Im not sure that they would be interested in growing some of their own food but it would be worth a try . they always go for the fresh veg. and fruit I take in. it goes so fast i wish I could take more in but I have to sell some to cover the cost of growing it and the food for my own family

[auntieemu]

Bob, that is a great idea. Teach a man to fish instead of giving him fish sort of thing. If you can help one person like that, it would be wonderful.

Simple things like tomato plants that they can put in flower beds or patio tomatoes that could be grown in tubs would be a good start. Success with those might make them yearn to expand. You might could enlist the help of the county agent for printed material on plants that would help the smaller home gardener.

[dlangland]

bobclark said:

I was kicking around the idea in my head about starting a food bank sorta thing here where they would get help starting gardening . free seeds ,tools ,fertilizers ,ect.

it wouldnt take the place of the food bank. but i see the same people comming back as often as they can for years. Im not sure that they would be interested in growing some of their own food but it would be worth a try . they always go for the fresh veg. and fruit I take in. it goes so fast i wish I could take more in but I have to sell some to cover the cost of growing it and the food for my own family

The years I market gardened, my girls and I always did that same thing Bob, took all the surplus to our local soup kitchen in town. It was run by the Salvation Army. The cooks would first select what they needed, then put the rest out on a table for low-income people to come in and select from.

South Dakota, where I moved from last year, actually has a program similar to what you mentioned, Bob, for as long as I can remember, to encourage people to grow and provide for themselves. In my area it was thru NESCAP, but dif regions had the same thing under dif agencies. That same organization helps the low-income and elderly winterize their houses. They have a deal where if a person's income qualifies, and they are approved, the person submits their receipts from seeds, garden tools, tilling costs or rent at the community garden, hoses...anything garden-related up to a certain maximum, and they get reimbursed. I understand they then send a form at the end of the season gathering info as to how much of what was grown, canned, froze, etc. They sometimes distribute free seeds, also. Deb ;D

[bobclark]

i dont want to do it on a grand scale or anything

i thought i would just put together a few tools ,seeds , and bag up some rabbit manure then put up a flyer at the food bank explaining what i had to give and the also explaine who i was looking to help.

i probly wouldnt help more than a half dozen the first year

[Deleted]

Great idea! You go!