Making a vegetable garden from scratch can be rather expensive, especially if you build raised beds from rot-resistant wood and truck in large amounts of garden soil. Yet, as Laura Mathews illustrates, a vegetable plot doesn’t have to break the bank. Laura builds her raised beds from recycled concrete blocks and creates soil by sheet mulching.
In her plan, which measures 20 by 35 feet, Laura has constructed six raised beds from repurposed concrete blocks. The idea came from an industrial-inspired ornamental garden that she had seen at the Philadelphia Flower Show. “Given that there’s a lot of energy around the idea of reusing or finding components for gardens, concrete blocks make sense for raised beds,” she says. She recommends using standard 155/8 by 75/8 inch cinderblocks. Check with a local construction or demolition company to see if they have blocks you could salvage.
Maximizing the concrete blocks. To create the beds, Laura piled the blocks in two layers and staggered them to form 5- by 10-foot rectangles for the main beds and 5- by 5-foot squares for the potato towers. For a “bit of fun,” she laid out the main beds in a zigzag pattern. This pattern also conserves blocks, as partial walls can be shared between beds. Laura suggests planting annual flowers, herbs, or small vegetables in the holes of the blocks to take advantage of all available space. Good choices include curly parsley, nasturtiums, calendulas, and thyme. If you have the opportunity to break ground on the garden the autumn before you intend to plant, Laura recommends building the beds using a no-dig technique such as lasagna gardening (see box here).
In the corner of the plan sit two pawpaw trees. “They’re attractive, slow-growing, and ultimately small trees that will anchor the northwest corner of the garden without casting shade over the edible beds,” says Laura.
Strong steel supports. The steel element of the garden comes from the stainless steel water trough in the center (which Laura says can be purchased from a farm store) and the series of paired steel buckets positioned throughout the garden. “Drainage holes should be made in all of the stainless containers,” she advises. In the large trough, she has planted a ‘Cardinal’ cordyline in the middle and surrounded it with herbs and showy annuals: black petunias and red lantana. For the rest of the pails, she recommends repeating the annual flower and herb theme.
Towering tubers. Along the west edge of the plan, the two cinderblock potato towers encourage high production of tender tubers. “Potatoes grow best in loose, organic soil, rather than compact soil,” says Laura. When you’re ready to plant, place seed potatoes on the straw layer at the bottom of each tower, spacing them several inches apart. Cover the potatoes with 6 inches of garden soil. When the sprouts have pushed through the soil and grown about 6 to 8 inches in length, apply another 6-inch layer of soil to cover them. Continue this process until the tower is filled to the top. At the end of the growing season, the tower will be full of homegrown spuds, and you can dig for your buried treasure!
1. Tomatoes: ‘Zapotec Pleated’, ‘Virginia Sweet’, ‘Sungold’, ‘Indigo Rose’, ‘Jubilee’, ‘Black Prince’, ‘Cosmonaut Volkov’, ‘Aunt Ruby’s German Green’, ‘Black Cherry’, ‘Tiffen Mennonite’, and ‘Green Zebra’
2. Basil
3. Beans: ‘Windsor’ fava and ‘Fortex’ pole
4. Cabbage: ‘Minuet’ napa-type Chinese
5. Pattypan squash
6. Eggplants: ‘Rosa Bianca’, ‘Ping Tung Long’, ‘Rosita’, and ‘Applegreen’
7. Peppers: ‘Feherozon’ or ‘Revolution’ sweet; ‘Hinkelhatz’ hot
8. Carrots: ‘Danvers Half Long’, ‘Jaune du Doubs’, ‘Purple Haze’, and ‘Nelson’
9. Broccoli: ‘Arcadia’
10. Radishes: ‘München Bier’
11. Summer squash: ‘Lebanese White Bush’
12. Lettuce: ‘Salad Bowl’, ‘Deer Tongue’, ‘Italienisher’, ‘Canary Tongue’, and ‘Kinemontpas’ butterhead
13. Spinach: ‘Bloomsdale’ and ‘Giant Winter’
14. Potatoes: ‘Purple Viking’ and ‘Yukon Gold’
15. Annuals and herbs: ‘Cardinal’ cordyline, black petunia, and red lantana annuals; oregano, dill, and Italian parlsey herbs
16. Annuals and herbs: petunia and lantana annuals; calendula, oregano, and thyme herbs
17. Pawpaw trees
18. Winter squash
19. Lettuce: ‘Really Red Deer Tongue’ and ‘Merlot’
20. Peas: ‘Sugar Ann’ snap
21. Kale, turnips, and onions: ‘Red Russian’ and ‘Winterbor’ kale; ‘Gilfeather’ turnips; ‘Copra’ onions
22. Garlic, spinach, and okra: ‘Bloomsdale’ and ‘Giant Winter’ spinach; ‘Red Burgundy’ okra
23. Melons and beets: ‘Hannah’s Choice’ muskmelons and ‘Petite Yellow’ watermelons; ‘3 Root Grex’, ‘Bull’s blood’, ‘Detroit Dark Red’, and ‘Burpee’s Golden’ beets