I had planned on attending the Seattle Tilth Plant Sale yesterday morning but I got in late Friday night and forgot to set my alarm. By the time I woke up, it was too late {I like to be first in line so I get the best plants} so I just stayed home and did a little catch up around the yard instead.
I {finally} finished the rock border alongside the shade garden.
I walked to the Home Depot {it took me 2 hours there and back} and picked up a few bags of seed starting mix.
I also found the wood we are going to use for the garden boxes. It is a little on the spendy side but I decided I wanted a more stout garden box this time around. I decided on using 4x6x12 timbers stacked on top of each other {with some support drilled down the middle}.
I won’t be able to set the garden boxes out until the fence is up but I can get all the wood cut and ready to go so once the we do have a fence, I can haul the garden boxes out and fill them up with soil and goodness. 
Remember when the HOA told be I have to remove the ivy I transplanted along my side yard {that faces the street} and the only options for ground cover they suggested were salal, and kinnikinnick? Both of which are horrible in my opinion… anywho, I wrote the HOA back and asked if I could plant vinca minor instead {we had it at our last house and it was lovely}. They said YES.
The only problem was The Home Depot only sells 1 gallon pots of vinca minor. And at $6.99 a pop {I would need about 100 gallon sized plants} I knew I had to find a cheaper alternative. Well I did. I found a seller on eBay {that has AWESOME reviews} selling vincor minor starts super cheap. True, the plants are smaller, but in 2-3 years the area will be covered, which is the goal. So I ordered a few. Okay, so I ordered 1,000 starts.
Guess what I’ll be doing later this week?
Garden boxes. Originally I thought I would build {4} 8×4 fancy garden boxes at a cost of around $310. Which would have given me 128 square feet of growing space. Then I did the math.
- {4} 8×4 garden boxes = 128 square feet. $310 = $2.42 a square foot
- {2} 6×12 garden boxes = 144 square feet. $233 = $1.62 a square foot
Maybe 144 square feet of growing space doesn’t seem like a lot to you, but when you factor in all the containers I’ll be using and the {secret} side gardens where I’ll have stuff planted, I think I’ll end up somewhere near 500 square feet when all is said and done.
Not to shabby for a backyard vegetable garden in high maintenance suburbia if you ask me.
Now comes the hard part. Figuring out where I’m going to plant it all.
How is YOUR garden coming along?
Did you plant anything this week?
~Mavis
This years garden is being sponsored by the awesome folks at Botanical Interests Seed Company. You can check out their website HERE, order their new 2015 Garden Seed Catalog, or see the seeds I’ll be growing in my garden this year HERE.
Up for a tour? Read about our behind the scenes tour of Botanical Interests Seed Company.
sandra says
Hi Mavis -Great Day!
The weather was so cold we cancelled our garden club plant sale as most of our plants hadn’t popped out of theground yet.
My question for you about your pathway is did you have to buy your rocks or did you get them from digging in your yard?
Thank you, Sandi
Mavis Butterfield says
The rocks were already there, I just moved them around a bit. 🙂
Diana says
It looks awesome, Mavis!
I planted 18 sweet potatoes, yesterday, around the border of one of my flower beds (no one will know the diff!), some coleus in the shady area and moved a lot of ‘stuff’ around. I’ve already got my raised beds planted – did that 2 weeks ago – with peas, beans, beets, broccoli, tomatoes, cucumber, squash and zucchini. I had too many to fit in the beds so I planted a bunch in leftover pots I had. I’m getting ready to head out now to plant my rice.
Keep the pics coming! Can’t wait for the fence to be up! (When I got mine finished last year it was fabulous!)
Cecily says
I planted a couple of hardy kiwis, carrots and parsnips and got all my cucumbers and squash started in the greenhouse.
Sarah says
Coastal Farm on Auburn has 5x5x8 juniper posts. We ended up using those for a raised bed. I got them for $19 but I think they’re $25 or so now.
Caroline says
Mavis,
I’d really rethink the 6′ wide beds. Getting into them without compacting the soil will be impossible. I’ve actually made all my beds 2′ wide.
christy says
mavis mavis mavis….we love your math, but there is a hard and fast rule for garden beds….take it from a community garden manager. the width of a raised bed needs to be whatever you can reach into comfortably from either side. that usually means a four foot width, reaching in two feet from either side…for planting, weeding, and harvesting. the length of the bed is variable depending on your space. the width between beds is usually the same width as your wheelbarrow. the beds should be oriented north/south…so taller plants won’t be shading the nearby beds. as the sun crosses the sky from east to west, all plants will benefit from the most hours of sunlight. here in Washington, we were able to connect with saw mills that are sustainably harvesting juniper trees from northeast Oregon (these are crowding out native vegetation). juniper wood is reported to last 50 years. remember, it is the heartwood that lasts. all sapwood (the lighter part nearer the bark) needs to be coated with an ecological wood preservative found online…one application should last the lifetime of the wood. sorry for being so long winded, mavis…but i am passionate about the subject…lol.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks for the reminder Christy. 🙂
I did do a reach test with my monkey arms and I can reach the middle of my beds from both sides just fine. I will also have the beds 30″ apart to accommodate the mower and wheelbarrow. 🙂
christy says
i’m so glad you did the reach test, mavis. most of us gardeners are not that agile…reaching in comfortably three feet from each side is quite unusual. it is not so much the arms but the back that takes a beating. i also use a little three legged folding camp chair as i weed, plant, etc…that little extra height gives my 62 year old back a break. also, i love the vinca idea…WOW…1000 transplants! you are superwoman!
kathleen says
I was going to say the same thing. 6 feet across is too wide IMHO. I just made an L shaped box for the corner of my yard where 1 side of the L is 6 feet across. While I can reach the middle from both sides, I am already annoyed by it and it’s only been 1 month 🙁
Anyway, I think it will eventually become a perennial onion bed so I won’t have to deal with teaching across it it constantly. My 3 foot wide beds, I love. But too each his own.
Also, I haven’t checked my cut list but, to make off the cuff for {4} 8×4 boxes, you would need 8 – 4x6x12’s @ $20 (per picture) = $160, no?. Cut list would be: 12 – 4ft pieces and 5 -8ft pieces. The sides with {2} of the 4 ft long pieces put together to make an 8ft side can be put together with mending plates or a kreg jig & screws. That’s what I would do but I am cheap and buy the least amount of wood for my projects (I have built most of the furniture in my home).
kathleen says
Gah, I can’t believe I use “too” instead of “to”. Sorry for the spelling and grammar:?
Theresa says
Isn’t Vinca Minor an invasive plant?
sandra says
I have found that all groundcovers can be somewhat invasive if you don’t keep on them. I love pachysandra because it stays green all winter giving me hope for spring. My neighbor keeps weeding it out of her garden and giving it to me for our garden club plant sale.
So you should just plant what you love and deal with it’s ramifications. People with new houses love plant gifts. I just keep propigating!
Gwenn says
I just found an awesome lumber place in Tacoma that may be worth checking out. It’s at 4811 S Tyler St, Tacoma. Mill Lumber Outlet I think? They have a ton of stuff posted on Craigslist & a bunch on their website. They mostly have cedar (I got 4 in wide x 5ft fence boards for $0.50/ea) but have a bunch of larger cuts as well much cheaper than what we found at the big stores.
Deb says
Reminder for all of you awesome backyard gardeners! If you have excessive produce, contact your food bank. They rarely have fresh veggies to include and will be happy to take them! Thanks!
Beth C says
What type of compost bin is featured in your first picture? I want to compost, but haven’t decided on the best bin yet.
Pam says
I finished planting the last of my tomatoes, jalapenos and bell peppers out of the greenhouse. Hubby and I finished up the watering system for the orchard. And I ordered a sun shade to go over the 4x40x2 raised garden box. I lost a lot of my tomato crop last year because the sun just cooked them on the vine.
Jessica says
What is the time frame for planting vinca? I live in New England. We have a stone wall that runs along the front of our property and I planned on planting it there as it will get dappled sunlight once our big old trees sprout their leaves. One section is already covered with vinca, but the section I want to plant is covered with layers and layers of leaves so I’ll need to clean that up and amend the soil a bit. I’m just worried that by the time I get that done, it’ll be too late to plant. Thoughts?
Mavis Butterfield says
Will the area get watered? I think as long as the sun is not beating down on the plants {they do prefer shade} and they get plenty of water the first year you should be fine. I’ve never had a problem.
Lisa says
Has the HOA declined any requests of yours so far? Either you have just their kind of taste or they just like to have their noses in everything that’s going on.
Mavis Butterfield says
They said I could not plant garden beds alongside the house {this was before the fence was to be installed} and I have been “caught” doing somethings that were apparent no-no’s. But for the most part yes, they have approved what I have submitted.
mandy says
Hi Mavis,
The garden beds are going to be amazing. My dad has this size posts for his and I love weeding because the edge is wide enough to have a seat and relax while doing so (there’s enough room for a glass of wine with your weeding also!
His are quite wide also I thought I’d let you know he has a trick to planting. He puts a board over the top and stands on that to avoid putting pressure on the soil.
Also, I can’t really tell by looking at your staked area. I just thought I’d mention it’s really nice to have space between the beds to be able to get a wheelbarrow in there and with you if you’re keeping the grass between, the lawnmower.
Have fun planting. I’m in the midst of a little experiment here. Trying to see if I can get tomato laterals to grow like your friend. I started the day after I read that post. Quite interesting!
Jess J says
Hi Mavis! We are building our garden boxes next weekend and ours are going over a lawn just like yours. We were going to do cardboard over the lawn (inside the boxes only) and fill with soil mix. Is that your plan as well or are you going to dig out your grass?
Mavis Butterfield says
I’m going the cardboard route. Much easier. 🙂
Elizabeth in Upstate NY says
Re Cardboard. If you can find someone who does home dialysis, the boxes that the dialysis solution is shipped in is super thick [the solution is heavy!] and is a wonderful base for building raised gardens.
Mavis says
Good tip. Thanks for sharing!