Sunday, January 29, 2012

Urban Garden in a little space for less then $100.00!

My little Farm
  As you know from other posts I grew up on a farm in Ritchie County, West Virginia. But now I live on a small lot in the city of Nitro, West Virginia. I have always wanted a small farm but I know that at this point in my life I can not afford one. I miss farming but I got to thinking why can't use the little bit of space that God had given me? Right outside my backyard fence, beside the railroad tracks is a 30'x65' space that isn't being used. I have to keep the grass cut back there but we don't use it for much else. That's almost 2000 sq. ft. of unused space, much more garden then I have on the inside of the fence. If I used this space it would do a few things, I would help clean up our little town, make my garden space much larger, keep my garden out of the way of flying volleyballs and my garden digging Spaniel would not be tempted. I also would be able to be able to fulfill the desire to have a little farm.    
Assembling
  First thing I did was clean everything up, there were some trees and brush that had to come down. Some of the trees were old and half dead anyway. Must of the wood was given to a neighbor to burn in his fireplace. It was amazing of the neighbors curiosity of what I was doing. I can't take all the credit though, my friend and neighbor J (which I will call him to protect his privacy) was starting to do the same thing in his smaller backyard and we both were sharing ideas with each other. J is a very good guy, he is a walking encyclopedia when it come to  just about anything out there. We have shared many different Ideas over the years.
After 2 were assembled
   Just 4 doors down from my house is our local greenhouse (I know awesome, right), the owner and I have become very good friends over the past 16 years. So after I got things cleaned up on my new 2000 sq. ft. farm I asked him if I could buy some of the commercial black weed barrier that he puts down all around his outside areas of the greenhouse to put down in my new garden are. I didn't need a whole roll of that stuff and it is very expensive for a whole roll, he sold it to me by the foot and the staples to hole it down. Total cost for what I needed was approx. $60.00! I have just started with a 36'x10'.
   Now to start adding my Raised beds! Went you pick what you are gonna build your raised beds out of, keep in mind the taller they are, the less bending, if they are too wide you will have to step into the bed and you don't want to do that. Also what materials are going to build the out of?  You can build them out of just about anything that will hold dirt but I went to the local Bid Box lumber store and went to what is called there culled lumber area. I bought enough 2x8's and 10's to build a 4'x4' bed and a 4'x8' bed for $16.00. A good rule of thumb for the size of garden you need is 160 square feet per person. You can go larger if you want to share and persevere for the winter months.  I use treated, some say you shouldn't but I used to work in a lumbar yard and I know they don't treat your lumber with the harsh chemicals that they used to, it's mostly done now days with a a salt type formula. But if you are concerned you can paint the inside of the boxes to seal them. Keep in mind, you only want to build these once and untreated will rot in know time. Note: I have seen people use railroad ties, something that I have an ample supply of ever few years when the railroad changes theirs out, but the have worse chemicals in them then the old treated lumber.
   Any way after I built my first 2 beds, I threw all kinds of fillers in the bottom of them to take up some of the space. Everything I threw in though is biodegradable. Anything from scrap pieces of wood to old news papers and even old bills that you never what to through out in the trash but within a few weeks the worms will make them so you won't recognize them. Note: Do Not use anything with colored ink unless it is bio friendly! Then I topped it all off with half of what was in my compost bins and the rest a mixture top soil and manure.
   Well now I am off to get more lumber I have at least 4 more raised beds to build and a fence to put up around it to keep animals and people walking up and down the tracks from eating my veggies. So far I only have about $100.00 for these 2 beds, the weed barrier, hardware and even the soil. I will post pictures as I continue this ongoing project.
2 Beds Finish!
Ezekial 17:8 "It was planted in good soil by many waters, To bring forth branches, bear fruit, And become a majestic vine.”’
By:Clint Baker
Jan. 29,2012

34 comments:

  1. Dear Clint,
    I already love your blog! I think what you are doing, " following your heart" on that stretch of land with the raised beds is a powerful message. One many of us can learn from and some of us need to be reminded of. To use what God has given us for GOOD! I hope you'll join us again on the Farmgirl/boy Friday blog hop. Thanks for joining us gals in our farming adventures! It's great to * meet you *!

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    1. Thank you so much Deborah, God is good! I will join you quit often and I hope you and all my Other new friends will visit here as well. May God bless you!

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    2. You're most welcome. Thanks for joining our community!
      Happy Farming!
      Deb

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  2. Clint, I wanted to stop by to return the blog visit and thank you for the comment on mine. What a blessing to have grown up on a farm! So many of us are struggling to find away out of the world's maze, back to the more natural life God intended for us in the first place.

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    1. Amen to that! Thanks for stopping by. Continue! God Bless

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  3. You are making fantastic progress! I look forward to every new gardening post you add...

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  4. I did something similar last year, to try my hand at growing a few veggies. I was concerned that worms might not be able to get through the weed barrier - but it certainly kept the weeds out.

    I used leftover pieces of fence panels from when hubby repaired our privacy fence. I was worried about them being treated, too, but was told our plants should be okay.

    I had a lot of failures last year, but learned a lot, too. Good luck! I look forward to seeing how your garden grows. :)

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    1. I slice a few holes in the weed barrier to allow those little garden helpers in. But you can just toss them in there when you find them after a good rain. Makes your own little worm farm. And those weren't failures, they were learning experiences. LOL!

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  5. I would like to try raised beds sometime. The weeding is all-consuming here. You did a nice job!

    Thanks for linking up with Rural Thursday :-)

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    1. Hello Lisa, I have belt another raised bed together since this picture was taken. I love raised beds!

      You are welcome, Please come back!

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  6. Clint, I see that a couple of my blogging buddies are followers of yours... how cool!

    I'm so happy you stopped by and shared this post with Rural Thursdays. I can tell you know alot more than I about gardening and will be a great source of information when I start my garden in the spring! Great to meet you.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by Nancy! Actually, I am just trying to revisit the things I learned growing up on the farm Just trying to do it on a smaller scale! LOL! It was good to meet you, please stop back by!

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  7. i've always wanted to make some of these!

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    1. Hello Tanya, They are cheap and easy to make! Makes it easier to garden as well. I have another post coming up on raised beds! Hope you stop back by!

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  8. Have always wanted to do this... thanks. Maybe this spring!

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    1. Welcome Margaret! Start small and work up to larger scale. Remember to check out the culled lumber rack at Home Depot, for cheap lumber! Stop back by!

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  9. Gardening would be so much easier, more productive and fun if I only had these. Someday...
    Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Michale, they are easy to build and very cheap. You can do it, just start small!

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  10. This would sure solve some of my clay soil (I dunno, can you even call clay soil?) problems. I'll be following to learn some more from you. Thanks.

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    1. Thanx Charade! I don't know either?LOL! A lot of my family live in N.C. and the one's that have garden's there had to bring in lots of soil to amend it. This seems much easier to me. Plus you can fit more plants per square foot.

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  11. hi. stopped by thanks to "rural journal" ... what great work there. thanks, for sharing. i would love a garden ..but we have deer that love every thing you put in front of them. silly creatures. (:

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    1. Thanks for stopping in Beth! Don't let deer stop you, I grew up on a farm and there are things you can do to deter the critters. Hay that may be a good post! lol

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  12. What a wonderful way to use your space for a garden. It already looks good.

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  13. I think you should grow peanuts. Peanuts are my favorite. And corn~corn is good too.

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    1. Millie, you must be from down south. My family from N.C. love peanuts! Maybe I will try some sometime!

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  14. Clint:
    "Then Jesus asked,'What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to? It is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and becamee a tree and the birds of the air perched in its branches.'" Luke 15:18-20
    You took a seed, an idea of using the land behind your home, and out grew this tree, that is the outcome of your fruit, your labor. I hope that many birds will benefit, that is, those whose lives you touch by your act of gardening, reading all those posts I can see you have already started harvesting.

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  15. Thank you for such kind words! My prayer is that God will touch many lives through here! Please come back always. God Bless!

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  16. Clint I am glad to have met you on here. I live out in the country as you probably may know from the blog. Our garden is on 1/4 acre..that is just too much for Chuck and I to take care of. I just might in my downsizing do the 4 x 8 way. Thanks for the great tutorial!
    Dolly

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    1. I am glad to meet all of you. I will be posting an update on this soon. I actually have it written and in my drafts. It should help you a little more!

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  17. Replies
    1. Part of it is right away, the other is mine. We keep it up by mowing and I was one of the last neighbors to use it. I made everything to be able to move if they asked!

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