Dot`sThoughts

I wonder how many people quit having gardens because they could no longer get up and down from the ground to do the gardening? Did ok in my sixtys, but seemed the 70`s did me in. When I turned 70, my legs started feeling like they were rubber and just refused to pick me up from the floor, so regular gardening was out.
I just wasn`t ready to give up those fresh veggies from the garden. One day I saw an add for those Earth Boxes. They have a separation in them so you fill the above section with good soil and plant your plants in the soil. Then you use you water hose and fill the under section with water. OH Yes, you also have to spread some fertalizer down the center of the soil. Then, since I didn`t want to have them sitting on my porch, I knew I had to come up with something to sit the boxes on. Found some old 2x4`s and made a good sturdy frame, then I had some thick boards my bro had left over when he remodeled the farm house. He was tossing them so I picked up some of them to bring home. First thing I did was to make ramps for riding the lawm tractor in and out of the shop on, Walt used to use just the two boards and hope the wheels stayed on the boards.
Much easier driving it in and out in the ramps as they stayed in place on the edge of the doorway. Much safer too.
Well, to get back to the frame. I used some of these thick boards to make the top platform on the frame, leaving about an inch between them for any rain water to run off. When I finished making it and painted it with some left over paint we still had down cellar, then I showed it to Walt. Later that evening I overheard him telling a friend that he thought I could build my own house if I got a mind I wanted one. Can`t get a bigger pat on the back than that. Of course, he would also be a bit predjudist, being my loving hubby. He would sure be surprised to see all the things I have made in the past three years. Who knows maybe he can see them.

I only bought 3 boxes the first year. Tomato and string beans shown in the first picture above were my first year with just 3 boxes.
Then added on two more the next year. If you look real close you will see a succhini in the second picture- this was from last year. As you can see, everything grows real tall in these boxes.
One thing I forgot to mention about the frame was that the first two years I had to use a step ladder to reach the top of the plants to pick the tomatos and climbing beans. I cut off 6 inches after the first year, another 8 inches the second year, and about 4 more inches the third year to get the top of the plants low enough to reach without a lot of climbing. Can`t cut off any more as am just a short distance below where the support boards go around the legs. Now the boxes are about the height of my waiste or maybe a speck lower.
Then this summer a Daughter wanted to try her luck with the boxes, so when I ordered two for her, I added on one more for myself. So this year I had 6 boxes filled with good fresh veggies to eat. If you use potting soil in the boxes you have no weeds to pull, just need to keep the water section filled. Little work, but lots of good eating. Boxes cost some, but when you can continue to use them year after year, you get your moneys worth out of them.
My gardens have grown great every year, except this year had tomato rot on some tomatoes from too much rain water. It had rained every day for two weeks straight then. Had long seedless cucumbers, a few beets already eaten and a few more to pull up yet, have eaten lots of string beans and frozen lots, frozen succhinni to make bread this winter, have lots of peppers in the freezer and still about 20 more smaller ones still growing on the plants, grew enough potatoes for a couple meals in one of the compost bins, had two types of lettuce ( a daughter had some and liked it much better than the boughten lettuce), my carrots didn`t grow so well in the boxes. Gave away some cucumbers , lettuce and succhini. Hope I can continue to have these gardens for years to come. I call them my "walk around gardens" as I walk around the whole outside of the frame to reach and pick everything.
Wonder how many use compost bins today. Years ago Walt made me a three section one which I am still using today. I save many things- such as veggie rinds, banana peels ( some I toss on the rosebushes), Potato peels, and lots lots more, even coffee grounds when have them. Seems like I am heading for the compost bin every couple days with something. Today I went out and turned it from the end bin into the middle bin. You need to turn it every so often to help break it up so it can become good soil faster. The past two years I have had some mighty long fat worms helping me break it up. Any fisherman would love them they are such big fat and long worms. Told the younger son to stay away from my worms. He came by one day when I was turning it and saw the worms and said he`d sure love them for fishing. Of course he was just picking on me.
I own one of those short pitchforks with the handle on the top. If I need to pick up something off the ground, I take the pitchfork, push it into the ground and then it becomes my cane to hang onto. Stays put much better than a real cane would. Sure comes in handy.
Did I tell you I saw a vine growing in the emptyest bin and left it too see what it was. Ended up with a small musk mellon to eat from it.
Love my garden veggies!!