Though I love reading about gardening, I cannot say that I am proud about the way I landscape my garden. But I am definitely prouder than neighbours who have weeds growing all over their gardens.
Currently, my favourite job at gardening is weeding. I like to weed barefooted. I then collect them and throw them in the compost pit I have dug in my garden. Once I have covered that pit with soil, weeds will start growing over that patch. If I am lucky, sometimes seeds from my kitchen waste grow out from it.
If you follow the correct procedure for creating compost, you will know that you have to aerate it by turning the material in the pit occasionally. However, I have never done that for my compost pit but cucumbers managed to grow out from it successfully.
I am happy if they grow but I am fine if they do not as they make great compost.
This winter melon was another surprise I found in my compost pit. It was harvested just in time before it turned into compost.
I like the idea of planting over raised beds and through my experience, the cheapest way to build a raised garden bed is to dig a compost pit at the spot where most of the weeds are growing in my garden. These are information I shared on Quora in my answer to, "How do I build a raised garden bed cheap and easy?".
As I dig the pit, I will pile the weeds I have dug out on one side and the soil on the other. Once the hole is at least 3 feet deep, I will dump any of the following waste I have on hand:
-weeds that I have dug out or pulled out by the roots. -cuttings from my garden. -grass clippings. -dried leaves and twigs -kitchen waste, such as, fruit and vegetable peels or scraps, egg shells, coffee or tea grounds or bags. -shredded paper like newspaper or used paper towels or napkins or empty egg cartons. -cardboard from my bike shop or from shopping online.
If I want to increase my collection of green or yard waste, I can look out for them along road sides or at parks in your neighbourhood. Sometimes, the municipal workers cut grass in our neighbourhood and leave bags of the clippings behind for collection later. I can also tell my neighbours to keep their cuttings and grass clippings for me the next time they trim their plants or mown their lawns.
There are other ways I can increase the composting material. I can be friendly with the staff at food stalls I often eat at or at grocery stalls I tend to buy from. From such places, I should be able to collect:
-coffee or tea grounds. -egg shells. -kitchen waste. -coconut shells and husks. -pet shops (ask for pet/fish food that have expired) -cardboard boxes. -ash or small bits and pieces of charcoal leftover in bag or grill (eg, satay stalls or Korean BBQ restaurants that use charcoal for grilling)
I found out from reading the following article that adding charcoal to a compost pile quickens the composting process. You can also burn coconut shells or wood to create your own activated charcoal:
Since the intention is to create a raised bed, once the pit is heaped full with compost material, I will place sheets of cardboard to cover it before adding the soil I have dug out. Then I will add potting soil over it so that plants can be grown over it right away. You can save on buying fertilizers as over a period of time, the material in the compost pit will have degraded to add more nutrients for your plants. The sheets of cardboard will prevent the top soil from sinking too much into the pit as the material degraded. Once the plants you have grown have taken roots, they will hold the top soil together. You can add more soil over the raised bed as it sank further into the pit over time.
You can watch this video if you want to follow the right procedure for creating compost for your raised bed. By following the instructions, you will also be able to speed up the process of composting.
Do you know anyone in the timber industry? Check with them if they have any of the following timber waste from logging or from processing their end product:
-sawdust
-bark
-chips
-slabs and offcuts
One of my neighbours had a company building wooden furniture and gazebos. I had received many free bags of wood chips from his factory. I use them as mulch in my garden to prevent weeds from growing in my planter box. All such timber waste can also be added to the compost pit.
I have seen logs like these in my former neighbourhood park before.
Some are from trees cut from the homes of residents living there. Sometimes municipal workers cut or trim trees by the road side that would pose a hazard to public safety as they have overgrown to obstruct traffic signals, streetlights, and signs. If you can get your hands on logs like these, you can build a raised bed the German way. It does not matter even if the logs have rotted to a crumbly pulp as it will help to retain more water for growing your plants so you do not have to water your plants as much. The technique is known as Hugelkultur and you can learn how to go about it by watching this video.
If there is space constrain in your garden, you can build your raised bed upwards in a spiral manner with:
-bricks
-stones
-cinder blocks
-chunks of concrete
-logs
-bottles
Though it is called a herb spiral, you can grow flowering plants if that is what you prefer. If you do a search at Pinterest for “herb spiral”, you will find many methods to build one. Here is one I found built with stones and cardboards laid down at its base, to prevent weeds from growing through the spiral.
This diagram shows the type of plants that should be grown around the spiral to optimise growth.
This is how the herb spiral will look like if you use bricks or cinder blocks.
Watch this video to see if this is what you would like to do as it provides a very clear tutorial on how it should be build.
You can then refer to GrowOrganic blog for written information about the material you need and the steps to do it.
If you use your creativity, you can re-use many material that would have been discarded to build your raised beds. These are how raised beds can be made with coconut husk.
Are you good at woodworking? If you are, see if you are able to get your hands on pallet. You maybe able to find them discarded at factories or at industrial estate. If you can get them free, you can build a raise bed with the planks. Here is a good example I found on Pinterest.
You can learn how to make one by following the instructions provided at the following link:
You can easily find other designs on Pinterest by doing a search for “make raised bed with pallet”. I like this design as PVC buckets are more durable than liners.
If you are bad at woodworking, you can just lay the pallets on ground and fill them up with potting soil. You can also place your pallet vertically against a wall to grow your plants. You can watch this video to learn how to prepare it for your garden.
You can use the planks from the pallet to build a 4’ by 4’ bottomless box to grow your plants, the square foot gardening way.
You are good to start, once you have located a spot that has good drainage and 6-8 hours of direct sun per day. This simple concept will make it easier for you to harvest what you need. It will also help you to:
-cut down on your gardening chores.
-save space, money, water and seed.
-grow healthier plants.
You can learn how to go about it at the following link:
I usually save (pin) articles, useful hacks or tips about it on my Pinterest board about Gardening.
Here is a tip that you should take note of.
Do you know that coarse builder's sand used for mixing concrete or laying paving can be added to garden soil to improve drainage and aeration? Buy them bagged from a plant nursery that you trust. It is not a good idea to take them from construction sites. My husband took back some leftover sand for his job site and spread it all over our garden. He was not aware that there were seeds in them. Within a few days, weeds that we have never seen in our garden before started growing.
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