Gardening with Raised Beds
Strawberry Glaze Pie is one of my favorite summer treats. Finally, after years of buying strawberries from supermarkets and roadside stands, I gave in and decided to grow my own strawberries using raised beds.
Raised beds are an excellent alternative to a traditional garden for many reasons, some of which include:
- Soil quality is much better. There is no soil compaction from tractors or human foot traffic. You mix your soil to suit your plants' needs when you construct your bed - so the right nutrients are there from the start.
- Drainage is not a problem. As the beds are raised above ground level, gravity takes its course and the beds drain excess moisture freely.
- Raised beds are easier to work and maintain - you can design your bed to ease bending and reaching. Beds can be tiered to several elevations as well.
- Plants can be placed closer together as there is no need for internal pathways.
- You can lenghten your growing season with raised beds. Raised beds warm sooner in the spring and can be easily covered - you can plant sooner and extend your season further into autumn by protecting them from early frosts.
Below is a picture of one of my own raised beds just after planting in Mid-April. It is constructed of cedar, so it should weather nicely. The corners are reinforced with blocks, and pointed stakes are attached to the sides of each layer to help anchor them to the ground or a lower tier.
I mulched the strawberry plants to help conserve moisture. The mulch will also keep the berries clean when the plants begin producing. The photo at the top of this article was taken approximately seven weeks later. As you can see, the plants were already blooming.
Although I don't expect our first yield to be extremely high (we will be pinching back runners and a number of buds to encourage plant growth), we are all eagerly awaiting our first ripe berries!
Oh, and just in case you like Strawberry Glaze Pie like I do, here is my recipe - ENJOY!
| Strawberry Glaze Pie | |
| 1 qt. sliced/washed strawberries | 2 T. corn starch |
| 1-1/2 c. cold water | 1 small pkg. strawberry Jello |
| 3/4 c. white sugar | 1 baked pie shell, 9" dia. |
| In saucepan, combine cold water, sugar, corn starch and Jello. Cook until mixture thickens (about 2 minutes). Let cool to lukewarm. Put strawberries in baked pie shell and pour cooked mixture over the berries. Chill 4 hours. Cut and serve. Don't forget the whipped cream! | |
Please refer to our Fruits & Vegetables Archive for additonal articles.