It’s been pretty busy around here the past few days, moving dirt. We have been assembling the Birdies raised metal garden beds for the garden.
I thought 20 yards of fresh garden soil would be enough to amend the HUGE garden we have planned for this year, but sadly, I was wrong. So I ordered another 10 yards, and it should be delivered today.
If we had a normal sized garden I could have gone the cardboard, grass clippings, compost and seaweed route… But oh no… The HH thought bigger would be better and now we have this ginormous religious family sized garden plot to plant.
I keep telling him that if we are going to have a garden this big. That I’m going to need a greenhouse… And I think it’s starting to sink in.
After all, one can only handle their family room {and their dining room} looking like a garden center for so long. I think the 200+ tomato and pepper plants along with all the herbs and trays of plant starts are finally starting to get to him. 😉
Which is a good thing!
How to Make Birdies Raised Metal Garden Beds
After play time with the tractor was over the HH got to work on the Birdies beds I had ordered.
I had seen them online a few months ago and finally decided to take the plunge and invest in a few. And let me tell you Bob, they are VERY well made and we were both impressed with the quality.
They offer all different shapes and heights of garden beds, and I went with a pair of the Tall 8-in-1 Metal Raised Garden Beds. What’s cool about the beds I choose is that you can assemble them into 8 different shapes.
At first I wasn’t sure if I wanted super long garden beds… But as the HH started putting one together I quickly knew I wanted them to be the more traditional 4×6 size.
Assembly was straightforward and the HH had them put them together pretty quick.
Now I just need a finished garden space to put them in! Or a greenhouse. 😉
In other news… I started hardening off my tomato, pepper and herb plants. {And the cabbage and broccoli starts as well!}
Yesterday I set them outside for 2 hours. Today I’ll put them out there for 4 hours. I’m hoping to have them in the ground by the end of the weekend {The Girl said she’d come over and help me plant}.
The Duck Lady asked me if I wanted her extra leek and onion seedlings. I said yes of course because I’ll have so much space to plant here in a few more days that I may have to think about starting a pumpkin farm.
I also ordered some Shasta daisy and purple coneflower seeds from Etsy, and those arrived. And then I planted the Shasta daisy seeds last night and I’ll plant the purple coneflower in the fall.
Not only that, I also placed my order for {most of} next year’s seeds from Botanical Interests as they are having a 40% off sale right now {plus you can get a 10% off code if you click the box on the bottom left of their page so it’s really like you’re getting 50% off!!!}.
What can I say? On one hand it looks like nothing is going on here, but on the other hand I know that in another week or two everything will be planted and we’ll be in full on gardening mode.
Yee-Haw! It’s time to get growing.
I love this time of year. 🙂
~Mavis
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Through May 29th, 2023 you can Buy 3 Birdies Beds, get 1 of equal or lesser value for FREE {and they ship for free!}. Plus, if you are still in need of some garden seeds, Botanical Interests is having a 40% off sale on over 300+ seed varieties through the 29th as well.
Laura says
I’m showing my ignorance here, but this seems a great place to learn! I’m trying to learn more about gardening and add a little more each year. I see that is a good deal on seeds. If I bought those now, would those be good for next year? Thanks for any advice anyone is willing to share about such.
Mel says
Yes, most seeds are viable for at least a few years! Some are less long lasting (like carrots, I think), but they typically don’t go bad so much as the germination rate (the number of seeds that will sprout) declines. So, you can still use them later but may have to plant more of them to get the number of plants you want. Most seed packets have the date they were packed on them, so you can keep track.
Laura says
Thank you very much, Mel!
Holley says
The kitchen garden already looks AMAZING!!!!! I love the tulips, too!!!!
Carole says
I bought the metal beds too, eleven of them. A different brand name but the same thing. You will love these. I used the hugelkultur method to fill them and it works so well and uses less of the good potting soil. I have had them two growing seasons and I have never had such good looking plants.
Diana near Atlanta says
I agree with Carole. I’ve filled all of my larger raised beds with punky wood up to the 1/2 way mark. If you have any extra firewood that won’t be used for next year, or branches in the yard or you need to bring a tree down (fresh wood), you can use those too. Sure saves a lot on the cost of raised bed soil…
Mona says
I have similar garden beds, purchased from Vego. I love them!
laura says
I love my raised beds!! the first ones were double dug french bio intensive (boy that was a long time ago!!) then on to wood and now metal birdie beds! they look so tidy and i have noticed over the years that my beds keep getting taller and taller!! so much easier to take care of!
Diana says
I recently had a table of plants and seeds at a seed exchange event that Kevin, the owner of Botanical Interests, and the local source of Birdies Beds was at. He had a really cool table and gave everyone free seeds, dirt and a seed tray to plant a pollinator garden. I had a great time talking with him and took some fun photos with Kevin and Jacque his coworker.
The seed trays he sells are the very best! They have slits on the sides so the roots can grow out, and the trays are so durable you can stand on them. The you tube channel he has, Epic Gardening, and Epic Homestead are also useful help in learning about gardening. I listen to them while I am sewing items for my Etsy shop!
Lindsey says
Raised beds are the bomb! The soil in them is several degrees warmer than at ground level and that is the difference between an okay and a spectacular harvest here in interior Alaska. Ours are repurposed large animal feeding troughs.
Angie says
Take heart Mavis. I too ordered 30 cu ft of dirt to amend my garden and we moved it all with wheelbarrows and shovels. Good thing I know a chiropractor! Also helpful is that every seed I have planted is blooming like crazy so amended soil in my opinion rocks!
Also my hubby built our raised bed to take advantage of some wasted space by our fence and my oh my – I love it! Perfect for peas, carrots, radishes, sweet potatoes and some other items that I have had challenges growing in our hard clay soil. Great investment in my opinion. Happy Gardening to you 🙂
Mimi says
I love raised beds too. It’s so easy to set up grow tunnels with frost protection fabric in raised beds for fall/winter crops – here in zone 8b anyway. As a geezer gardner I appreciate the height of the raised beds too. You will be so glad to have them, Mavis.
Dot says
Mavis what do you with that many tomatoes plants with just the 2 of you?
Mavis Butterfield says
We grow tomatoes for eating fresh but mostly for canning things like canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa, bruschetta, ketchup, hot sauce, tomato soup, tomato jam and dehydrated tomatoes. 🙂
Rachel says
Perhaps it’s because I live in a different part of the country (Mid-Atlantic) – perhaps it’s because I haven’t been following you for long – but when you “religious family sized garden”, do you just mean a big-a** garden? Because a religious family has lots of offspring?
Thanks!
Mavis Butterfield says
Here is a link to the story behind the religious family sized garden. https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/the-new-garden-plot/
Angela Weiland says
Calling all Mainers!
Don’t forget the Maine Fiber Frolic is coming June 3rd and 4th at the Windsor fairgrounds! It is a treat!
Mavis Butterfield says
We went last year and it was so much fun! 🙂 https://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/maine-fiber-frolic/
Dawn says
There’s so much potential this time of the year. You can dream big about huge crops of beautiful veggies. I’m getting the garden in little by little. Such beautiful days we’ve been having! It feels so good to be outside in the sunshine.
Mavis Butterfield says
I totally agree. Dream big and see what happens. 🙂
Christina says
Since we live in a 2-bedroom apartment with only a little balcony to fill up with potted flowers, I love to see posts like these! Not for my own purposes of course (LOL) but just to feel a bit more connected to gardening.