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Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

mdstorrs
Building a Reputation

Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

I just finished my "tall man" vege garden box and we will start to plant this weekend. All timber, tools and accessories were bought from either the Keperra or Brendale stores.  It turned out better than I hoped considering I have never worked with large pieces of Timber before only ever small wooden projects. Thanks Bunnings!

 

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Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Hi @bluemoonskye  and @Jason 

 

The team of boffins at my work thought hard and long over this. It was hard getting enough material no matter what I used to fill the bottom and only leave 30cm at the top.

The final result was to build a fake bottom and put some drainage grids in. I covered the grids with weed matting so the didn't let too much else through. The weed matting also goes up the walls of the garden. 

 

It seems to work. The garden drains at a good rate and the soil with plenty of compost seems to hold the moisture well. I feel we have it right.IMG_20190112_163241.jpgIMG_20190112_181847.jpg

mdstorrs
Building a Reputation

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Hi @Jessa 

 

I didn't sand back and stain. It looks pretty good as is.  It's god a great colour and texture for the backyard,

 

 

mdstorrs
Building a Reputation

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

It's been 15 months now, so I thought I would upload a few photos from my success.  I won't horrify you with the failures.

 

13kg of Sweet Potatoes in our first season. Only 5kg in the second because of the drought.

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Plenty of Beautiful Pakchoy. We could barely keep up.

Plenty of very healthy pak choy. more than we could cope with.Plenty of very healthy pak choy. more than we could cope with.

Look at this specimen. The first season of corn was amazing. Perfect weather. The drought made it hard for the second.

I have since got in water tanks and proper irrigation.

The first season corn was a huge success. This season with all the rain, they were riddled with pests.The first season corn was a huge success. This season with all the rain, they were riddled with pests.

This is the pak choy growing, with some failed beans in the foreground.

This is the pak choy growing. With some shallots.This is the pak choy growing. With some shallots.

Strawberries were a huge success. About 2  or 3 punnets a week from just two plants

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This is the sweet potato growing.

The start of our second season of Sweet potatoesThe start of our second season of Sweet potatoes

 

the latest shot , you can see I have herbs, pak choy, zucchini and a heap of new gardens in the backbround.

the smaller gardens don't need as much attention. 

This is the most recent photo. Zucchini, pakchoy, lots of herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary.This is the most recent photo. Zucchini, pakchoy, lots of herbs like basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary.

 

The lettuce was a huge success until the heat came and they all bolted.

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we had so many zucchinis, I am still eating them. Just two plants.

We had sooo much zucchini. I am still eating zucchini slice. Thank god I worked out how to freeze it.We had sooo much zucchini. I am still eating zucchini slice. Thank god I worked out how to freeze it.

 

I have just planted some broccoli and cauliflower. I hope the insects stay away.

I just added some proper irrigation and you can see it working here with my broccoli and cauliflowerI just added some proper irrigation and you can see it working here with my broccoli and cauliflower

 

Carrots were fun, but the soil didn't have enough organic material, so the carrots would bend

We had a lot of carrots, but the soil was too hard, so they were all bent.We had a lot of carrots, but the soil was too hard, so they were all bent.

 

@Jason   @Jessa   @bluemoonskye  @22Jill 

Jason
Community Manager
Community Manager

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

So good to see your bountiful harvest! Brilliant stuff @mdstorrs. One positive from the current difficulties we are facing has been that more people are becoming interested in growing their own food. I'm sure this post will provide plenty of inspiration!

 

Well done,

 

Jason

 

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Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Awesome idea!
Kermit
Amassing an Audience

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Those carrots look pretty straight to me @mdstorrs. When I've tried to grow them I get all sorts of gnarly ones... 

mdstorrs
Building a Reputation

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

I've really loosened up the soil this time and I've added extra compost. Let's hope I get even straighter ones. @Kermit 

Rustikman
Cultivating a Following

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Am I able to use Marri instead of Jarrah for  a raised garden bed

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Hi @Rustikman. Welcome to the Workshop community.

 

Let me tag @mdstorrs so they are alerted to your question. I suspect Marri would be fine as it is a hardwood and appears to be suitable for such applications.

 

Please feel free to post anytime you needed a hand or had a project you wished to share with the community.

 

Mitchell

 

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mdstorrs
Building a Reputation

Re: Tall man raised garden bed for vegetables

Hi @Rustikman 

I didn't use hardwood on mine, as the whole thing weighs over 1500 kg. The treated pine sleepers are quite heavy, so I imagine the hardwood would be even more so. With that said, hardwood may last longer. Not that mine is showing any sign of breaking down any time soon.

As long as the wood is suitable for vege gardens and doesn't leech anything back into the soil, then I say, go for it!

 

 

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