The Raised Beds.

So yesterday was the big day. No, not Valentine's Day (although my valentine got me a morter and pestal, which is awesome), it was the day we built the raised beds for the garden. This project has been stressing me out for weeks. We have talked about it and gone over it again and again and I just couldn't seem to make a decision. Should we build the beds? Should we sow directly in the ground? How high should they be? How big should they be? What kind of wood should we use? Where are we going to get the dirt? How much is this going to cost? I recently lost my job too, victim of the recession, and today is actually my first official day of unemployment. Because of this I am terrified of spending money. On anything. This is a project that will pay for itself by the end of summer, but taking that money out of my bank account right now was still enough stress to give me a migrane and make me cranky and not much fun to be around. But, now it's done.

My garden plan changed to something much simpler. Three beds, all the same size, which will be roughly divided into a Fall/Winter Bed, a Spring Bed, and a Summer Bed. This made the whole thing more managable and less overwhelming. We settled on a compromised height of 8” and went with Douglas Fir for the wood. Cedar would last longer, and I will likely have to replace these beds in a few years after the wood rots through, but cedar was about three times as expensive as fir and I just couldn't do it.

The other saving grace of this was Mike's mom and her husband. They came by with their truck and took us to the store and helped us pick out the wood and the materials we needed, and then helped us assemble the beds.

We got back from the store and laid the wood out in the yard roughly where we wanted it. And it promptly started pouring down rain. But, we're Oregonians! A little rain never stopped us.

First box: DONE!

Mike pounding in the stakes to hold the boxes in place.

And they are done! That wasn't so bad.

Today Mike is going to pick up some bulk soil to fill in the boxes. And then the gardening can begin!