Create a Garden Bed from Scratch?
On today's docket, digging out and setting up the shade garden off the deck. Our original plan called for a 1 ft wide x length of deck patch... You'll notice things veered off plan very quickly, and we couldn't be happier! 😃
The sod we removed turned into Lawn Tetris as we patched up areas in the back with poor grass growth, and brought the yard to a more level terrain. It's our first season yardening, and we're hungry for that Yarden Lifestyle.
Project Length: Day long
# Yardeners: 2
Step 1
An old garden hose is the perfect tool for creating smooth flowing curves in your bed's shape. Make changes to the shape until you find a pleasing pattern that works with your yarden space. Â
Some people like to try out a few different patterns over day until they find just the right shape. Once you're happy with the design, move on to Step 2: Back Breaking Labor  Â
Step 2
Use the hose as a guide and dig out the pattern into the top layer of your lawn. This will help you stay on track with the garden pattern while you're in the thick of digging out the sod. Â
We have an older home and found children's long forgotten toys as we dug. Metal airplane toys, army soldiers, marbles, etc. Having a backyard with history is so cool!
Step 3
Use a mattock to help you peel up the sod in large moveable rolls. This activity in particular was sped up by having one Yardner cut with the mattock and the other cutting 3-4 ft long sod lengths with a shovel and rolling them up.
Step 4
We had 10 yards of garden soil delivered at the beginning of the year, and we're slowing working through it. We used about 3 yards to fill in the garden bed.
Jake is a BEAST when it comes to moving dirt!! Best guess, based on wheelbarrow weight/volume etc., is that Jake literally moved +1 TON of dirt today! 😮
Step 5
Evenly spread out the garden soil into the space, tilling it with the natural soil that is already present. Congratulations! You're ready to start planting!