Building Raised Beds (part I)

After many years of growing my vegetables in the ground with mixed results I am finally building raised beds in my backyard for my vegetables. The design I came up with is a U shaped 2-foot high bed which can be divided into four equally spaced sections for crop rotation. In the center of the U-shape will be a chicken coop with a greenroof for growing my shallow root crops such as lettuce. 

sketch of my raised beds and chicken coop plan.

To increase my crop yield by reducing pests and diseases, I integrated crop rotation and companion planting into my design layout. I divided my beds into 4 zones. Each zone is planted with plants that grow well together and have beneficial qualities, such as attracting pollinators, and other beneficial insects. Every year the zones will rotate clockwise, meaning the same plants will not live in the same soil for another 3 years. I divided my zones this way:

Zone 1: Tomatoes, Basil, Parsley, Rapini, with Alyssum and Nasturtiums as beneficials.
Zone 2: Squash, Cucumbers, Melons with Calendula and Borage as beneficials (both edible flowers).
Zone 3: Beets, Chard, Garlic, Brussel Sprouts, Anise, Bush Beans, Cabbage eith Chamomile as a beneficial.
Zone 4: Parsnips, Radish, Carrots, Pole Beans, Peas, Mustard with Nasturtiums as beneficials.

Planting plan for Vegetable beds.

To build the beds I decided to use juniper as it is the most resistant to water and dirt that I know. I have heard figures that seem hard to believe- like 50 years without being treated with anything. I got 2x6 inch boards at Sustainable Northwest Wood by OMSI. It was slow going building it by myself as each board is pretty heavy and had to go section by section from the ground up. Each 4x4 I buried 6" into the ground and worked constantly at keeping the sections level.

First section.

Half of the base complete.

All of the base finally complete.

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Trellises added to the beds.

The beds are mostly full of dirt and compost now and ready to plant with my early spring crops like carrots, lettuce and radish. Next project will be the chicken coop with greenroof.

La Mortella Gardens, Ischia

The most famous gardens on Ischia are the Mortella Gardens. Unlike most famous gardens in Italy, this one is fairly modern, from the 20th Century.  It was the garden of a famous English composer's Argentinian wife. The style of the garden is much different than most gardens I have been to in Italy. There is a lot more emphasis on collections of plants and plant varieties. There is a whole terraced hillside with variety after variety of aloe. I remember thinking as I walked down the terraced path admiring the view- this woman was really nuts about aloe. And the garden is divided into different areas that have different styles, some less impressive than others. (I seem to recall there was even a Japanese garden area with some sad little maples not agreeing with the warm climate.)

The garden with it's wide variety of atypical plants for a Mediterranean Italian garden was  thought a representation of the impression I got of Ischia itself and how much people there seem to be into plants and gardens, more so than the average Italian.  Along the roads going from town to town around the island we seemed to pass a nursery every ten minutes. While we were visiting there was a plant show that the owner of our pension was going on about, how we had to go and check out the orchids, because they were going to be amazing. He was really excited about it.

Although less impressive than some of the older more famous gardens I have been to in Italy, La Mortella is certainly lovely and well worth the visit. The views, which seem to be an important aspect of any Italian garden, are certainly there in abundance (even though I dont' have any photos of the here). These are some of the areas of the garden that I liked the best.

old olive trees and roses in a typical mediterranean style greet you at the upper entrance.

Nice Mediterranean style plant combination.

Arch in the Mediterranean style garden area.

Pond with a flowering Callistemon on the upper area of the gardens.

The fountain on the lower level- the subject of many postcards.

Iris and roses under the olive trees.

Proteas in the rose garden.

Rose bushes and cascading rosemary under the trees.

Favorite Flowers- Hellebores

March is the month of the Hellebore, one of the first perennial flowers to pop up out of the cold ground after winter. Because of their popularity, many different varieties are being produced now showing off differing details in the flowers. The best way to enjoy the flowers is by floating them in water so you can see the intricate details in them and the subtle differences between varieties. I like to use a birdbath or fountain outside.

The Hellebores growing out at Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island were nicely integrated into the garden there. They paired nicely with plants like red flowering quince, trillium, red flowering currant, and euphorbia.

Purple Euphorbia with a yellow Hellebore.

Purple Hellebores under a red flowering quince.

Understory of purple Hellebores.