Stair Step Gardening
Have you ever wanted to do something you have not done before, but you keep dreaming and before you know it – it gets out of hand?
Well, in my opinion, that is what we have here.
Our version of square foot gardening and raised gardening all-in-one.
We used 2×10 boards to make the simple boxes.
Each of these “blocks” are 4 feet wide and 4 feet long. 16 square feet – per box. 6 boxes, for a total of 96 “square feet” of garden space.
All wood and fasteners were purchased with the knowledge that they would be in direct contact with the ground.
Then the ground moved – literally!
After we created the boxes, Peggy dug out all the box areas, relocating the grass and dirt to other parts of the yard that were a bit lacking. Finding the highest corner, she created a level trench from that point where the 2×10 would just clear the top of the ground. All 4 boards were then kept level from this point. Amazing how well she did.
She started at the bottom of the hill, adjusting the next box so that the whole box was in a trench and level. The boxes were joined together with several screws, and lined up in a stair-step pattern going up the hill.
Well, here it is.
Once all boxes were in, she brought in several bags of Peat Moss, Vermiculite, and Compost (from her large compost pile). With this combination well mixed, the plants came out of the greenhouse and into the ground – dutifully placed within each box and within one of the spare foot areas. She used rods tie-wrapped together to designate 16 square foot areas. The watering bucket (and hose) came out next.
But wait, what is that at the top of the hill? That is a cage. But in this case the cage is not intended to keep things in, but to keep things out.
As the resident “builder”, my marching-orders were simple and clear. Make a cage that the tomato plants can grow up in (and her choice of tomatoes are marked “indeterminate height”) that the rabbits, squirrels, and birds will be kept out of, but the pollinators can get in and do their job. Use what we have around the house to accomplish this. Oh, and it must let all the sunshine in so the tomatoes get all the light they need.
Using chicken wire/mesh as a covering, 2×2 posts, and plastic coated steel wire for tension straps – we accomplished her checklist. A large (4 foot wide) door on one side, and a 2 foot 6 inch door on the other and she has plenty of accessibility to work the garden and to harvest her goodies. Who knows, we may actually see some of her tomatoes on the dinner table this year!
Oh, and those white disks in each of the squares? Those are her marker of choice – a plastic spoon and permanent marker. It seems to work, as these markers have spent a bit of time in the greenhouse and have yet to fade.
Ingenuity can prevail, if you use a permanent marker, high quality plastic spoons, a good hammer and a sharp shovel! 🙂
We are very interested in seeing other projects around town. Go ahead, show off a bit. The projects are a LOT of fun!