Alchemy Garden Journal Entry 8: My Homemade Raised Bed is Finished!

After Mother’s day, I drove to see my parents for the first time in 2 months. Since the cases of COVID-19 haven’t risen much in my area, we felt it was safe enough to see each other so long as we were wearing masks and keeping at a distance.

When I told my dad I wanted to try my hand at gardening, he had jumped headfirst into building me my first garden bed. It turned out far greater than I imagined! He built it out of cedar wood, lined the inside with burlap, and stained the wood to weather the weather.

On the very front, my dad attached a plaque that says My Heart Is On The Farm.

Since the bed is much larger than I thought it would turn out, I had to make some adjustments as to where I was going to put it. As it turns out, it won’t fit in the back of my patio space. It could fit along the side, but there isn’t enough sun. My original plans for the patio have been shuffled.

So, I’m going to take a chance and set it in front of my HVAC. I know I’m supposed to give the HVAC at least 2 feet of space, but I’m going to try 2 inches of space allowance and use a trellis and bamboo poles to control the growth of my plants. So long as the rest of the HVAC has clearance to allow for repairs, I should be good (I might regret this later).

The exciting thing about this bed is that I can fit a few more plants than I initially planned. I can add 3 tomatoes instead of 2, and add additional herbs and flowers.