Post by dmbenson on Apr 3, 2012 19:10:21 GMT -5
When we extended our yard, there was a back corner that drops about a foot - absolutely miserable to mow, pretty much usless the way it was, except that there's a gate out to the pasture at the bottom. After thinking about it for a couple of years, we decided to make it our 'mini' orchard, and deal with the drop off by making long raised beds for herbs and strawberries.
We put in a peach and a plum tree last fall, a nectarine this spring, and I'm trying to decide what I want for the last 2 or three trees.
But this weekend, Hubby and I finally got the raised beds in.
We used railroad ties for the long sides, 2x8 pressure treated for the ends, lined them with non woven (and non plastic) landscape fabric, and bought 2.25 cubic yards of topsoil at a local nursery. We still need about 1.5 more cu yds which we'll get the next time he's in town. but I'm awfully proud of what just the two of us accomplished in two days! (and I tell you no lie - it certainly looks a LOT easier oh HGTV!!! 
)
Hubby is sitting on his strawberry bed 8'8"x48". The beginnings of our orchard is behind him.
The longest one is for my herbs - it's 26.4" long x 48" wide. I've put up a cattle panel arbor over the 4' gate to the left of the trees for table grapes, and we'll (eventually) have a brick path going from between the beds down to the gate. They're not level with each other (but NOTHING else on this farm is either - and by the time they're overflowing with plants, and the path is in, it won't be nearly so noticable.
I plan to plant wildflowers under the trees, since if it was really hard to mow before, it's impossible now!
We put in a peach and a plum tree last fall, a nectarine this spring, and I'm trying to decide what I want for the last 2 or three trees.
But this weekend, Hubby and I finally got the raised beds in.
We used railroad ties for the long sides, 2x8 pressure treated for the ends, lined them with non woven (and non plastic) landscape fabric, and bought 2.25 cubic yards of topsoil at a local nursery. We still need about 1.5 more cu yds which we'll get the next time he's in town. but I'm awfully proud of what just the two of us accomplished in two days! (and I tell you no lie - it certainly looks a LOT easier oh HGTV!!! ) Hubby is sitting on his strawberry bed 8'8"x48". The beginnings of our orchard is behind him.The longest one is for my herbs - it's 26.4" long x 48" wide. I've put up a cattle panel arbor over the 4' gate to the left of the trees for table grapes, and we'll (eventually) have a brick path going from between the beds down to the gate. They're not level with each other (but NOTHING else on this farm is either - and by the time they're overflowing with plants, and the path is in, it won't be nearly so noticable.
I plan to plant wildflowers under the trees, since if it was really hard to mow before, it's impossible now! 
)"! I'm , as of last week, unemployed, so I'm now a full time farmer type person - while Hubby drives truck, and is home once a week, to pay for it all!
On top of the animals, mowing, and everything else that comes with the farm! But I wouldn't trade one inch of it or one minute on it, for anything.
