Part of our move out of our rental and onto some land was taking all the plants we had started in containers, and getting them transplanted so that they have more room to grow.
Most of our plants ended up in the extra annual garden space that Papa had already prepared. But our strawberries needed a more permanent home. So I used what we had to make a raised bed out of logs, filling it with brush and compost, then topping it with some hay.
I’m documenting this, not because I think it’s revolutionary or incredibly important, but because I want to get in the habit of documenting our projects. I’m hoping by the time we get to some of our crazier SolarPunk Domesteading experiments, the documentation part will be second nature.
I already wish I would have taken pictures of the process, so that each step could have a visual guide. Learning lessons already!
Supplies
Large Logs - cut to about the same length
Brush - whatever small logs, sticks, leaves you have on hand
Compost - we got ours for free from our local recyling center
Plants - whatever you’re wanting to plant in the bed
Mulch - we used some hay from an old bale
Gloves - protect your hands
Wheelbarrow - or whatever you have to move logs/brush around
Steps
Arrange the large logs in the shape of your bed. You can get creative and adapt to the logs available and space you have to fill.
Fill most of the bed with brush, using smaller logs and sticks to fill in any cracks between the large logs.
Smash down the brush. We just jumped on it, but you could probably use a tamper or something if you prefer.
Fill the rest in with compost, planting your plants at whatever depth is best for them.
Top it off with mulch.
Water heavily the first time to soak the brush and logs.
Notes
The logs we used had been cut already, but left to rot. I just turned the rotting sides to the inside of the bed or on the ground.
We got our compost for this project for free from our local recycling center. We’ve started our own compost pile out here so that we’ll have that for our projects next spring!
We didn’t start with mulch, but the compost on top was drying out quick, so we added it to protect the soil from the sun, with the added bonus of keeping weeds down and protecting the strawberry fruits.
Water as needed. We haven’t had to water much since we’ve had decent rains, and it seems to be holding water pretty well. Especially once the roots are established deep into the bed, they’ll be able to pull moisture stored in the brush.
Conclusion
I’m happy with how it turned out and is working so far. I didn’t have to buy anything or till any soil. And if we were to disappear tomorrow, it would gracefully blend back into nature very quickly. The strawberries seem happy in their new space. We will monitor for the long-term performance and behavior.