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Midwest Gardening 2025: Large Container Gardening
Last year's purchase for container gardening. This year I will actually fill them with dirt...and herbs.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
We are definitely getting older, so I explored Large Container Gardening in the form of metal Raised Beds in January/February. I hit a sale on a cheap site and ordered two large 6'x3'x2' high metal planters for our vegetable garden. Good quality, but of course the directions weren't great, American to Chinese to American...not so good. Many sites sell these, and I could not get a photo without attaching a specific source...so just search raised metal planters.
PS...American made would be 4 times the cost..so as fixed income seniors...I ordered these in February.
Hubby doesn't bend over, and while I do---I can't do everything on our little .27 acres, so we thought this would be a good idea.
Think: 6 panels, 4 corners, 2 side supports, 3 cross bars and a thousand screws, LOL.
Assembling the raised beds was really a pain---but easy once you figured out a system. We finally set up two table surfaces out on the patio, placed the walls half put together and then worked inside between the walls of the planter. Between Hubby's shaky hands and my hand-numb finger weakness we got them together in about 6 hours for the two.
Lightweight we carried them into the garden. That was the easy part. Now we had to fill them with 32 cubic feet of something.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I filled them a third full of brush and branches, neighbor's bamboo stalks, and lots of leaves. Then came the dirt...we ordered two pallets of 40# -150 bags of dirt, a good mixture without fertilizer. Alternating with our compost dirt and the new dirt, they got filled to the top. I stirred it all up and we watered between the layers.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Hubby built a plastic conduit trellis frame between them and I used some wide netting to make the sides and top. The idea is to train Zucchini and Yellow Summer squash to go up the trellis, so we can walk through and pick them...HA, we will see.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
The mesh is hard to see on the sides, but here on the top it's visible.
On the fence raised bed (we added 6 more bags of dirt to that) and I planted Pickle Bush pickles in one and Bush Beans in another along with squashes to climb up the grid on the fence.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I'm hoping to freeze a ton of beans which our favorites this year. So easy blanch, chill, drain and bag. Mesh helps to keep out the squirrels and birds from eating the seeds.
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| oldnewgreenred |
So this week we are planting the beds and lots of pots. Hopefully I can get the greenhouse emptied this wee. We think we have the bunnies ostracized from the garden at this point, I did see one hiding under the grill...but no sign they are eating anything...two bags of Critter-Rid has also helped so far.
I am moving the sunflowers all into the garden or fenced areas, so they have a chance to grow from the large seedlings we have in the greenhouse. I hope to plant Tomatoes in pots, I did get some Pepper Plants in pots before the rain.
Last night we had quite a rain, FINALLY, so we can til the rest of the garden after we get rid of all the WingyDingy's the Maple trees gave up in the wind last night.
We were spared the worst of the storms that traveled across the Midwest last night...So glad we had the plants were safe and sound in the greenhouse. Leggy tomatoes wouldn't have made it outside with the pelting rain and the WIND...!
We had over 90 yesterday and high 80's today, so I have to plant, PLANT, PLANT!
Some pretty...Transplanted Hydrangeas
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| oldnewgreenredo |
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I did get all the beds cleaned out...finally this week. Our tulips were so gorgeous.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Our Viburnum isn't very happy this year, I will cull many branches out of here to encourage the new growth. This shrub/tree is over 38 years old best we can recollect, and the heat and dry of last year took it's toll.
Wasp catchers are everywhere---because I'm allergic, they really do work as do the Fly catchers which reduces the flies, too.
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| oldnewgreenredo |
Tulips were gorgeous....and the colors were super!
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| oldnewgreenredo |
I have two pansy pots with a Peppermint plant in them for bee protection.
HAPPY GARDENING!!!!
All the opinions and photographs in this blog are my own, I have not been paid or reimbursed in anyway for my opinions, posts or any products shown.
Sandi
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