2009.05.28
One woman's garden, Phase II
The new raised bed
Remember the sad little patch of red dirt outside my side door that I posted a picture of a few months ago? If not, click here for a reminder of what it looked like then. Now, you can see why I am pleased with the development that has occurred since.
Having never built a raised bed before, this required some book consultation, many trips to Lowe's, some cursing and one smashed thumbnail. But Voila! Now I have a place for my kitchen herb garden and a few vegetables.
Granted, it's not a big enough garden to have a corn crop, or even a row of zucchini. But I think it's often better to start slow and learn as you go along rather than tilling up a whole chunk of the yard and blowing money on a bunch of plants you can't take care of. So far, I have two green pepper plants and four yellow tomato plants. For experimental purposes, I've planted two tomatoes in this bed (on the very sunniest end) and put two in pots on the other side of the house. I'll probably round this out with a few bush beans.
The best part, so far, is the kitchen herb garden (below). As you can see, I have rosemary, thyme, sweet basil, common sage and Greek oregano. I'd like to eventually add dill, parsley and cilantro. I also put in a clematis just because I wanted one and it seemed like a good place for it. Let the pinching and cooking begin! Who else has planted an herb garden right outside the door closest to their kitchen? If so, how is it going? Below the jump, I'm going to share a recipe that I plan to try very soon with my fresh herbs.
Scallops with Shallot and Basil Sauce
Serves 2-3
3/4 lb. fresh scallops
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
3 shallots or green onions, white part only, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. dry white wine or vermouth
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. minced fresh basil
2 Tbsp. minced fresh flat-leaf parsley, chervil or chives
If using sea scallops, remove muscles and cut into quarters. Sprinkle scallops with lemon juice. In a large skillet, heat oil and 1 Tbsp. of butter over medium-high heat and saute shallots for 1 minute.
Add scallops and saute until browned on both sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, wine, 2 Tbsp. butter and basil, stirring to blend ingredients. Spoon into small scallop shells for appetizers (serves about 12) or large shells or ramekins for entrees. Sprinkle with parsley, chervil or chives.
Source: "Cooking with Fresh Herbs" by Lou Seibert Pappas.
That's a nice looking raised bed there, Lindsey (and as a P/T Lowes Garden Center person, thanks for shopping there!). We did a lot of container herb gardening last year on our deck, along with peppers and tomatoes. It was hugely successful and we're doing much the same this year, but hopefully move to raised beds in the yard for next year.
The biggest benefit to raised beds is that you can get the right kind of soil from the get-go, by purchasing high-quality top-soil and mixing in proper ammendments to make for a very fertile garden. Trying to make ordinary soil under yard turf workable for a garden is often much more hassle than it's worth, especially if the soil has a lot of clay, too much rock, or is nutritionally weak in some areas.
One thing you can do on future beds is buy untreated lumber and then use linseed oil on the wood to create a rot-resistent framework for the garden, then you don't have to worry about the checmicals from treated lumber leaching into the soil. It's a very popular technique and people I have talked to swear by it. You could also use redwood, cypress, or cedar, but they are not readily available here, or cheap.
Comment by Other John — May 28, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
John, an employee we talked to at the store advised treated lumber but told us to line the inside of the bed with plastic, so that's what we ended up doing. I stapled black plastic along the insides of the walls before I filled the bed with dirt. I used a mixture of topsoil and cow manure. I can't tell you how nice it is to be able to dig a hole in soft, workable soil!!
This bed is on the morning sun side of the house, so I don't expect it gets much more than 6 hours of sun a day. That's why I'm concerned about the tomatoes. We will see how they do!
Comment by Lindsey Nair — May 28, 2009 @ 12:50 pm
Hey Lindsey...... LOOKS GOOD!!!!! Let me know if you want dill. I have ton of it from one pack of seeds - - and will just let half of it die if no one wants it.
Comment by Kenn Sanders — May 28, 2009 @ 1:39 pm
We've been thinking of putting in a raised bed for herbs and tomatoes, too. This is making me want to go for it! Right now we have some mint, oregano, rosemary, and chives growing to the side of the house, but our soil is pretty terrible and we've never succeeded with cilantro or anything else persnickety.
Comment by Emma — May 28, 2009 @ 2:16 pm
You'll probably get more years of use with the treated lumber, and lining it definitely was the way to go. While several companies who treat lumber say the new chemicals don;t leach like old treated boards did, I'm still wary of anything like that and would do likewise if I use treated lumber for my raised beds (which I probably will for simplicity). One of the other reasons I like them is you can create different soil types for different plants, and make them suit the ideal conditions for each accordingly. Top soil and manure is definitely pretty universal, and I've seen other folks use humus and peat mixed in, and even sand for some vegetables and herbs. Plus, the other big benefit is you can hand cultivate the soil, or use a small powered one...rather than the large, and quite expensive, tillers. Where we had our tomatoes last year, they were subject to sun from about noon to just before sunset, so only a little more than 6-7 hours a day of good sun. They were a little small, but pretty tasty. We're putting them out front this year so they can get more sun, so we'll see what happens.
Comment by Other John — May 28, 2009 @ 2:54 pm
UPSIDE DOWN TOMATOES!! Hang 'em from hangers. They work great and there's no garden to weed!!!
Comment by Susan — May 28, 2009 @ 3:38 pm
Nice looking garden, Lindsey! We have been doing a small plot for several years. This year we did lettuce (planted in February) and it has turned out great. I'm doing banana peppers for the first time this year too. Just planted them so we'll see how it goes. Our neighbor has the heartiest rosemary that she's neglected for two years but that we take from whenever we need some (we're allowed). If you grow rosemary, be prepared for a lot of it.
Comment by aimee — May 28, 2009 @ 9:42 pm
Don't leave home without "The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening"
http://www.rodalestore.com
Comment by Art Hill — May 29, 2009 @ 1:21 am
Upside down maters. What will they think of next? Hydroponic potatoes?
Good place for your basil. Your other herbs will keep coming back, but it's a good idea to put the annuals where it's easy to pull and plant. It's always a good idea to give your oregano and thyme lots of room to grow. Once they take off, you'll be rewarded with some really fragrant growth, but they may overwhelm the space. Gotta keep cookin!
Comment by Tim — May 29, 2009 @ 8:05 am
Looks great! I think you will love having it and cook up some great new things.
Having moved to a much smaller place and yard I have scaled way back on veg gardening, but right outside my back door I have a window box of growing chervil and chives and a big pot full of lemon thyme. I can't make scrambled eggs without a few sprigs of fresh thyme! I also have a hanging contraption with two tomato plants beginning their trail to the ground and in the soil at the top I have some lettuce growing. Small is good to start with, and much easier to deal with the weeds this way....because there are none!
Comment by Heather Froeschl — May 29, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
Lindsey, I started out many years ago with a small garden like yours. Just a warning: every year you'll want to plant more, and more, and more... Once you start enjoying the 'fruits of your labor', you'll be hooked like so many of us!! I have the basic herbs each year (yes, even the vile weed cilantro) as well as all the garden favorites. You will be so surprised at the savings with even a small plot like yours; it really does make a difference in taste and budget. I read an article that said every $50. you spend on the garden yields $700. in savings at the store. Certainly food for thought (pun intended). I'm now up to 8 raised beds of 20'X4' plus a 2' border around the beds for flowers and herbs. I'd go even bigger if my back would let me!
Comment by Julie — May 30, 2009 @ 3:29 pm