“Life begins the day you start a garden.”
~ Chinese Proverb
Once we had the raised garden beds, we realized we needed to revamp the garden space to better display them. Since our old garden kept flooding, we decided to fully take out that area.
Stage 1: Clean out the garden site
We started by first digging/smoothing out the space we wanted to use as the new garden area. Michael and I pulled out all the weeds, grass and old plants that were in our garden bed. We raked out the left over dirt and tried to make it as flat as possible. We also measured out the space so we would know how much of the other materials we would need to purchase.
Stage 2: Prep the space with weed cloth and the border
In the next step we measured out the perimeter of the garden area so we would know how much landscape fabric and border to purchase. We got the landscape fabric and border materials at Lowes (because it is close to our house).
Stage 3: Creating the Garden Space
Once the landscape fabric and the border were down it was time to add the stepping stones and gravel. This meant that we needed to figure out how much gravel we would need. Since the gravel was going to be one of the more costly parts of setting up our garden we wanted to make sure we got our calculations correct! So the first step in calculating out your gravel needs is to figure out the total garden area (length of the garden area x width of the garden area = the total garden area). Next you need to calculate the total gravel cubic feet. You do this by taking the total gravel area/4. Finally you should divide the total gravel cubic feet by 27 to get the total yard requirements of the gravel. Since our total yardage was greater than 1 – it made the most sense to order a truck of gravel!
As I mentioned, the price of gravel can be relatively expensive. Instead of purchasing the gravel and stepping stones at a big box store, we found that we could get better prices at a local place that works with landscape designers, contractors, and the general population. The KEY to creating an affordable garden is to SHOP AROUND!
Once we had all of our supplies, it was finally time to start setting up the garden area. The first thing we needed to do was to place the stepping stone pathway. Next it was time to lay out where the garden beds would go. Last we added to gravel to the garden.
Unfortunately for us, the truck with the gravel couldn’t deliver it all the way in the back of our yard by the garden set up. Instead they had to make the delivery at the end of our driveway – which meant Michael and I had to make many many trips shoveling gravel into the wheelbarrow and then taking the wheelbarrow back to the garden area. It was a full body workout!
Finally, it was time to step back and enjoy the results of our hard work! Although we can’t rest for long because next weekend it will be time to start filling the garden box and small child has lots of ideas for what we need to plant first!
Happy planting and eating!
~ The Gardening Dietitian