Adventures In DIY

After a little over a week, the following plants started to sprout:

• Small radish, red round
• Tokyo Bekana
• Kyona Mizuna
• Pac Choi Fuyu Shomi
• Hakurei Turnip

Kyona (Mizuno) Sprouting

Bed #2

I finished mixing the soil, setting up the irrigation this last weekend so I was able to plant bed #2. This bed gets about 70% sun so we’ll see how these seeds do there. Here is what went into each square foot of the 4′ x 4′ gardening area:

The seedlings started to really take off since I finished a home made grow lamp setup (post coming soon) about a week and a half ago. Another thing is I’ve been doing is mixing a little Miracle Grow in every other watering. I figured they weren’t getting any nutrients from the peat containers they were started in.

Finally More Growth On The Seedlings

I’m really new to gardening. In fact I bought the Jiffy Professional Greenhouse starter kit, holds 72 plants, and some seeds without really thinking things through. Some times its fun to just jump into things. I came to realize I have a lot of work to do before I can plant the seedlings I’m trying to grow.

Seedlings Just Coming Up

So far I’ve planted seeds for:

• Brandywine Tomatoes
• Basil
• Sage
• Thyme
• California Peppers (bell peppers)

My friend at the dog park was nice enough to let me go through her seeds when I told her I was going to do a raised bed garden. I don’t think my seeds are getting enough light so I’ll have to come up with some grow lamp setup.

Friend’s Seeds

My wife and I were on a trip to Washington state last fall when we came across these raised beds in front of a restaurant. The restaurant used the herbs and vegetables in the cooking when they were in season.

The design efficiently used the water because of the drip irrigation system. I am thinking of converting part of the grass in my back yard to a raised bed garden for a number of reasons;

• I believe it will conserve more water than the grass there
• There would be less grass for me to mow
• I want to experience the sweet taste of what remember tomatoes used to taste like

Raised Bed Garden In Front Of A Restaurant

Raised bed attributes I saw:

• Constructed from what looked like 3 layers of non-treated 1 x 8 lumber
• 4 x 4 posts supported the structure every 4 feet
• Stainless steel lag bolts and washers held the boards into the 4 x 4 posts
• They had drip irrigation going to each plant

Raised Bed Garden Construction Detail

One thing i noticed is the 8 foot and 4 foot sections were all cut the same length and used overlapping joints for assembly.

Raised Bed Garden Drip Irrigation

The irrigation used feeder lines off black irrigation tube. I’m assuming they used this form of tubing to connect the beds instead of PVC in the ground. It is more economical and easier to lay. If you’re looking for some information on how to install a drip irrigation, the SNWA site has some detailed information and a video to watch.

Irrigated Container Garden

I like the way they used a more economical plastic containers instead of earthen ones. They probably drilled holes in the bottom of the pots to run the irrigation, and kept the original hole for proper drainage.