pod's blog: Anticipation & the final straw.

I've been using raised beds for vegetables for the past 15 years. I had untreated wood beds but as they rotted, I replaced them with 3x6 galvanized beds. They were cheap (about half of what they sell for today) and fun to assemble. Changing from wood eliminated slug problems. The reflective metal beds kept the beds cooler in the summer heat.

The raised beds generally pose some problems though.

I fight tree roots and twice a year I would till the beds and remove roots that were leaching nutrients and moisture.

In this climate, the demand for moisture has been a challenge. I placed raised barrels at the head of each bed so I could water on site as needed.

I live with pets and find that loose soil attracts cats. My Sugar dog likes to bed down in them so when planting, I use all manner of wire baskets, cattle panels, etc., to deter the pets.

The beds seem to attract fire ants. When there is excess rainfall, they move to higher ground in the raised beds. As I don't want to use chemicals around foods and pets, I use boiling water to discourage them. Unfortunately, it does damage some of the plantings as well.

This year I noticed that some of the beds have rusted through and look like Swiss cheese.




While prepping one of the beds for spring planting, I found a coral snake had taken up residence by entering through the ground level hole. That was the final straw.


The past two seasons I had dabbled with Earth Boxes keeping a pair in the greenhouse for winter tomatoes. Last summer I trialed some for the tomato crop and was successful beyond my gardening dreams. Production was so much better than those in the raised beds. Logic convinced me that using these planters should eliminate many of the raised bed headaches. Easier to hydrate, pets can't use them, fire ants can't move into them, no slug or snail headaches, no tree roots and hopefully no reptiles.

I removed the first rotting bed and set the planters in place. This year I am growing more tomatoes, two winter squash and two summer squash in the planters. As I replace the galvanized beds, I will try to add more planters.



Oh yes... the anticipation.
I moved plants out of the greenhouse and to my shock I already have flower buds on some of the Epiphyllum. I have never had buds this early. I hope they don't blast. I am anxious to see the blooms as these two have not bloomed for me before. Cannot wait!

Also I was gifted an amaryllis bulb over a year ago that was coated in wax. After asking questions among those with knowledge, I chose to peel the wax off. I found it was enclosed in a balloon type skin under the wax coating which I also removed. I let it remain dormant in the cool greenhouse with virtually no moisture this winter. When I moved plants out, I set it outdoors and ignored it. Now I find the slowest developing flower stem and bud. I can hardly wait to see the color and the bloom.

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