…be surprised at how easy they are to grow. They’re pricey because they have a short shelf life — a problem for commercial growers but not if you’re harvesting from your own backyard. Our cedar Raspberry Bed is 8 x 2 ft. and 7″ deep. The bed has room for five plants. Special feature: an integrated support system to keep the rambling raspberry plants contained and upright. 3-Tier Strawberry Bed: Designed to match our other cedar raised…
…e existing soil. Replenish nutrients and re-energize the soil with the Raised Bed Booster Kit, which includes two 6-quart bags of Booster Mix (compost, Chilean nitrate, black rock phosphate and other organic nutrients) and a 1-pound shaker of organic All-Purpose Fertilizer (5-5-5). Treats 18 square feet (a 3 x 6-ft. bed) for one season. Gardener’s tip: If you are not planting within a week, cover the bed with a layer of straw to protect t…
We recently shared our great results about growing sweet potatoes in the Grow Bags. What about raised beds? What about extra-deep raised beds? We planted three Grow Beds. Each was filled with a blend of 70 percent container mix, 20 percent topsoil and 10 percent compost. To determine if a deeper planting area would yield more tubers, we made one of the beds twice as deep as the other two by stacking two 10-inch beds. Three rooted sweet potato s…
The Elevated Cedar Raised Bed, augmented with a cold-frame top. Another great idea from one of our customers: Rose Deskavich, who gardens in western Massachusetts, modified her Elevated Raised Bed, adding a custom cold frame so she could grow greens, parsley and chives through the winter. “During warm weather, I do not take the top off because I have a problem with squirrels digging in it. I open the cover but keep a heavy duty mesh cov…
y growth. Example: How Much Soil Do I Need for a 3×6 Bed? To fill a 3×6 bed with 10″ sides, you will need 15 cubic feed of blended soil. To create the blend, use the following quantities: 9 cubic feet of topsoil (9 20-quart bags) 4.5 cubic feed of compost (4.5 20-quart bags) 1.5 cubic feet of soilless growing mix 1.5 cups Gardener’s Supply All-Purpose Fertilizer Here’s how: Measure your raised bed and calculate the amount…
Before: A 4×8 raised bed after a long winter and spring, filled with weeds from wind-blown seeds. How long does it take to weed your garden? In just 12 minutes, I was able to take a weedy 4×8 raised bed and make it ready for planting. The before-and-after photos show one of the big benefits of raised bed gardening: Pulling weeds is fast and easy. Because the soil was loose, the weeds came right out, with very little elbow grease. It…
My own 20-year old asparagus bed in mid-April, at the start of the harvest season. Look, no weeds! Asparagus is one of the easiest and most satisfying vegetables you can grow. At my house, the asparagus harvest will soon be drawing to a close. Some of us are rather happy about that. We’ve been eating asparagus at least once a day since the end of April. Steamed, parboiled, sautéed and roasted. In omelets, pasta salads, stir-fries and soups, but…
…d it, seed tape. I’ll let you know how this experiment “grows” in a follow-up post later this year. —Frank Oliver, Gardener’s SupplyFrank Oliver has been designing and testing innovative gardening products for more than 18 years. He lives on a small farmstead in Essex, VT, where he and his wife raise a few sheep and chickens along with lots of flowers and vegetables. His proudest gardening achievement is organically fostering a lush green p…
…ive gardening solutions and related products. This tradition of searching the world for the best in product innovation dates back to our founder Will Raap, who imported some of our first gardening innovations from England. In 2010, we imported from 14 different countries, from Canada to Costa Rica, and from Asia to India to Europe, looking for innovation, good quality, good service and a competitive price. Many of our bestsellers, such as Garden…
Chives in flower A new variety of tomato called 4th of July, a relatively compact, indeterminate variety that is ideal for growing in containers. Newly planted Terrazza Self-Watering Raised Bed (front) and Terrazza Trough Planter Vegetable transplants are arriving daily, and they look beautiful. I set out a bed of mixed peppers and bunching onions, a bed for eggplants and a bed for the French filet beans to share with some celery and herbs. I…