Tuesday, May 15, 2012

One Good Reason to Make Your Bed...

...raised.

Check out the standing water in my backyard this evening. Three to four inches deep in some locations and usually very slow to drain.

Standing water at .09 Acres. This is the primary reason I decided to build raised beds in early 2010.

After I purchased my home in 2009, it didn't take me very long to decide between in-ground vs. raised beds. I actually didn't have much of a choice. The low, slow-draining yard dictated what would be best. If I didn't want sopping wet soil and rotting roots, I would have to build raised beds.

So that's what I did. Actually didn't take too long or much material; a weekend, a bunch of 2 x 8s, some wood screws, battery-powered screwdriver, saw, and lots of compost. I even decided to expand and connect my raised beds because of the ease of use and multiple successful harvests.

Now I don't have much to worry about when I come home from work and see this...


...because I already made my bed(s).

12 comments:

Jenny Rottinger said...

ouch! hope it will recede fast. definitely good idea to keep it raised.

Carrie said...

Love the new picture on your blog header!

.09 Acres said...

Jenny, things turned out okay in the yard but I wouldn't have been surprised if ducks went paddling by!

Carrie, thanks! The fruit trees and brambles are doing great, but I'm WAY behind with the veggies. Only cukes and a tomato in the beds at this point. Many seedlings being hardened off for transplant this weekend.

Erin said...

I've seen this post a couple of times and it just amazes me how much standing water you had. Are the figs okay?

Carrie said...

That's amazing! Our tomatoes are already about 6 feet tall!

CyberSyb said...

Whoa, Dave, I can't imagine what it's going to look like after this week. Are you getting the constant rains we're having down here in SoVB? We went to raised beds for veggies some years ago for the very same reason and have loved them for all the other reasons - easy to weed, cover, mulch - whatever.

Your "backyard farm" is looking fabulous! Wish I could say the same of mine - seems I'm biking my life away! LOL

.09 Acres said...

Sybil (or should I call you Lance Armstrong?),
It's raining here again...yes, we are sharing the rain in southeast VA. Keep biking!

.09 Acres said...

Erin,
The figs are doing great, drinking up the water and growing like weeds!

.09 Acres said...

Carrie,
Sounds awesome, save some tomatoes for me! I likely won't harvest any for another 60 days. Boohoo!

The Stay @ Home-Gardener said...

I like what you are doing with such a small plot. :)

Prairie Cat said...

Holy cow, that's a bunch of water. Luckily our land is relatively slope-y, so standing water in the garden is not much of an issue. Good thing you have raised beds!

.09 Acres said...

Stay@Home-Gardener, thanks for the kind compliment! It's definitely a work in progress.

Prairie Cat, where do you live? Sloped land definitely has it's advantages!