Raised Beds for the Home Garden

Meet my new garden. I’ve moved from my 4000 sq. ft. in ground garden (used to be located back in the distance near the wildflowers) to these beautiful raised beds. And I do mean raised–these beds are four feet off the ground! And perfect for my new garden lifestyle. Kids grow up, leave home, and I’ve lost my help. Time to think “compact space” with “high output.” This is my solution. Located conveniently near my compost pile, I can grow tomatoes in the beds, or alongside the beds, smack dab in my compost pile!

I do love nature. These tomato plants took it upon themselves to sprout and blossom. As I’ve mentioned many times, compost is the perfect amendment for your garden beds because it provides a balanced blend of nutrients and soil structure for your plants. As you can see, the tomato plants are thriving (with no help from me). The raised bed located next to the tomato plants was the first one set in place. In the background, you can see a green “sack” with a plant sprouting from it. THAT’S my potato bag. But we’ll talk more about that in my next post.

Above, are my Hungarian Wax peppers and they are quite happy in their new home, nestled within a layer of pine needles. Peppers like their soil slightly acidic, so these pine needles provide the perfect mulch. As they break down, they’ll create a more acidic environment for the soil. Wunderbar. I have an entire bed dedicated to these Hungarian beauties, as my family loves to enjoy them canned. It’s easy-to-do at home and my Hungarian Wax Pepper recipe requires no special equipment.

The raised bed shown above is home to Hungarian Wax peppers and the Carolina Reaper. One of the hottest peppers on the Scoville Heat Unit scale, I’m told the Carolina Reaper ranks 1,500,000 units. Whoa. Now that’s hot. Again, I grow these for family and friends, drying and grinding them so they can be sprinkled over any dish and enjoyed in moderation. If you like hot stuff, try my recipe for Dried Reapers.

Oh, and aren’t those wildflowers in the distance gorgeous? I started them by seed almost ten years ago and they’ve spread like crazy. Spring is one of my favorite times of year, and flowers are one of the main reasons. But as I plant my new raised bed garden, I hope you’ll follow along with this new “above ground” adventure!