Gardening Help

• Building a Garden

  The size and height of your beds depends greatly on what you are growing and whether or not you will be using the soil beneath the beds as part of the rooting depth. When you draw up your garden plan, remember that our planter boxes and raised garden beds come in hundreds of possible shapes and sizes, so don’t be afraid to get creative!

  • What are the benefits of raised bed gardening?
  • How deep should raised beds be?
  • Can I add height to existing raised beds, or change their shape after setting them up?
  • How wide should garden paths be?
  • How do I build an accessible garden?
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• Planting and Maintenance

  Whenever possible, it's a good idea to get an early start on spring by growing seedlings (starts) indoors. Depending on how much natural light you can provide them, they may need artificial lighting to assist their growth. It's a good idea to be aware of what plants grow well together and which combinations should be avoided, and to learn ways that you can use cover-crops to enrich soil and deter pests from harming your plants.

  • How often should raised beds and planters be watered?
  • How and when should starts be transplanted to the soil?
  • What is drip irrigation and how can it be used with your raised beds?
  • What is a climate zone and how do I determine it?
  • How do I make my garden more productive?
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• Soil and Compost

  Understanding the basics of good soil and compost is crucial to the health of your garden. Healthy soil maximizes the output of small garden spaces, a surface cover of mulch thwarts pests and regulates moisture, and composting keeps a cycle of nutrients readily available to your plants. A raised bed or planter needs to have drainage material (such as pebbles) layered along the bottom, a "loamy" mixed soil filled nearly to the top, with room for a few inches of space for mulch.

  • How do I prepare healthy soil for gardening?
  • How do I improve soil drainage and aeration?
  • Do I need to dig or prepare the ground below raised beds?
  • Where can I buy soil for raised beds?
  • How much soil do I need to fill my planters?
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• Weeds and Pest Control

  Part of the garden planning process should include ways to fend off the worst pests and weeds in your area. This may include putting up netting, fencing, interplanting crops that pests avoid, laying down hardware cloth before putting up a raised beds to defend against burrowing animals, or in the case of severe risk of intrusion, much more aggressive tactics.

  • How do I keep weeds out of my garden?
  • How do I get rid of slugs and snails in my garden?
  • How do I stop insects from eating my garden?
  • How can I prevent fungal diseases in my garden?
  • How do I keep burrowing pest such as gophers out of my garden?
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