…Say, Candy and Ronnie, have you seen them yet
But they’re so spaced out, Bennie and the Jets
Oh but they’re weird and they’re wonderful
Oh Bennie she’s really keen
She’s got electric boots a mohair suit
You know I read it in a magazine
Bennie and the Jets…
I have no idea why this song lyric is in my head this week, except that I have been thinking about a raised bed garden that I saw in a magazine way back in the 1980’s. This particular raised bed garden was built for a handicapped woman so she could sit in her wheelchair and tend to her garden. She was growing flowers and vegetables and herbs. The whole setup was beautiful. I think it was in Better Homes and Gardens as one of the featured gardens of the month.
When we owned our last house in Douglasville, Georgia, I had a raised bed garden in the back yard. There were actually two raised beds, each one measuring 4 feet wide by 12 feet long. I could grown a lot of vegetables in that space. It was easy to tend to, easy to keep weeded and watered. Those were only about 12 inches tall though, so I would have a really hard time, if not it was not impossible for me, to work it.
Yesterday we went to the hardware store so Fabgrandpa could buy a wheelbarrow and a leaf rake. The store had spring plants out: basil, parsley, oregano, thyme. They had some vegetable plants of things I love like lacinato kale, broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, peppers….That is when I started missing the raised beds.
I have googled raised bed for handicapped gardeners, and found quite a few plans and actual kits online for some pretty cool looking gardening beds. They have a pretty steep price tag on them, though. I know we could probably make something that would work for me, so I’ll just keep on searching and planning, so that maybe next year I can be prepared for springtime. I did find these online at Home Depot. Maybe a raised bed fairy will bring me one.
My husband and I were talking at the end of the season last year about doing a raised bed this year, particularly since I have back problems. We were thinking of a way to build it high, like you were talking about and using the area underneath for tool storage or something? I had no idea there would be kits out there. Thanks for letting me no I need to look around to get some ideas. All we really want are tomatoes and watermelons…and a way to keep the rabbits out!! Good luck this year, hope you find something that works.
ps container planting is also becoming big, but I am not a fan of planting veggies that hang?? just sounds weird, but i did see an idea that had potatoes in a barrel that were easy to harvest.
try and find some free pallets and have fabgrandpa tear them apart and asemble you some tables like the one shown…he looks handy, i am sure he could do it =o)
A few tables and containers and you can have a garden this year.