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RE: Revved Up Ragtag, Part 10 - Getting Organized, Plus A Contest!
I hear you. Im trying to get a few raised beds going this year (I live in the Appalachian mountains so the dirt is too rocky by far and hard to dig into). I also want to get some raspberries going though. And I hope to have a greenhouse one day too. I feel like that might be the mos ideal, but I need to learn more about how to build one.
One of the things I love about living in Florida is the long growing season -- and the fact that I can have fruit trees - but I have to admit that coming here from upstate New York means no more rocks and I am surprised by how much I miss them! We are choosing to go with raised beds mostly because of the hard rains. You would think sandy soil would just soak up the water and take it away but it actually pools. Our first year I had a great garden started and it drowned in one afternoon. Live and learn.
I dont think Id miss the rocks in terms of gardening. I actually grew up on the Virginia part of the Delmarva Peninsula, and the growing conditions there are excellent. The growing season is not as long a Florida, of course, but the soil there is incredible. Gardening is a lot easier there than most places. But thats a good point about the raised beds. I know Florida does get some hard rains but I would not have thought of that either as far as being a problem.
Do the raised beds need to be watched more (to make sure theyre getting enough water) than a typical garden? Im asking because last year I did some growing in air pots and I definitely needed to keep more of an eye on them.
Raised beds solve a lot of problems. There are so many options for building them, that I'm sure you'll find just the right style to fit your property. Once they're in place, you'll be good to go for a long while and have plenty of time left for knocking a greenhouse together!
I think I am going to put some beds on a rather steep hill in front of my house, and I have a few rough ideas on how to go about that. I basically live on a mountain, but I have another spot where I could throw together a small greenhouse. Im thinking about just using that spot for growing raspberries though, so I still have a lot to figure out, and just seeing some of the things you are doing will probably help with that.
Sounds like a real challenge! Good luck, too, on the raspberries. I've not had success with them, so if you do, I'll be hitting you up for tips. I'd like to try some black raspberries. They're hard to find, even frozen. Last batch I managed to track down was at private farm in Michigan. (Road trip!!!)