Garden Redo Project: Goodbye Old Garden

We emptied 4+ cubic yards of dirt from the raised beds. We spread it around the yard, filling in Morgan Mayhem holes and natural depressions. It was a slow process.

We pulled the old, rotting bed frames up. Some parts were better than others (top rail vs. bottom). But overall the frames are so rotted it's kind of amazing they were still together at all. Some boards were completely rotted through and I literally was able to tug the side apart and it crumbled in my hands. Other sides took a lot more work with a drill and screwdriver, but in the end I broke the beds down.

We knew the cedar would only last 8-10 years, and since it's so wet back here so often, we are lucky we got that much out of the beds. Composite really is the way to go with the water issues we have.

(Also ignore the kiddie toys... sometimes the only way to get things done with kids around is the have them "help" move the rocks around.)

Some of the dirt from the beds was used to level out the back slope since we are expanding the garden back 3 feet.

I decided to put the long lengths of the old cedar beds along the back fence, lined up along the bottom, right where the chicken wire I installed in the fall ends (to keep Morgan Mayhem from digging under). Waste not, want not and all that.  These sides are still attached to the old interior corner pieces, which creates a small gap between the fence and the barrier. I think this will work in our favor, making digging that much harder and less satisfying from both sides for the dogs to dig in an attempt to reach each other. This looks SO MUCH BETTER than the cobbled together stretches of rocks, porch railing, leftover fence and plywood pieces we had lined up here all fall/winter (see the first photo of this post for reference). And while this might only last another year before completely crumbling, that's totally fine. I'm thrilled to give these a second life, no matter how short, especially when this solution is free and much better than what was there. Currently I'm holding the pieces of wood against the fence with the old garden fence posts for deer netting, but we can use leftover wood to make more attractive braces later after the garden project is over. Right now this is so much better than what was there and that's enough for me!

I transplanted the oregano, thyme and rosemary to pots for now - these will go in the 12x2ft non-rotating bed in the back along with strawberries, lavender and basil.

I also filled some extra pots with dirt for the tomatoes I'll be potting in May.

It's weird to see the garden with the beds gone. My neighbor kept teasing us that they look like graves, which is rather macabre but also kind of true. I'll put down weed blocking fabric once the fence area is marked exactly and we can mark where the beds are going (since there will be a shift to widen the paths).

The fencing is the next step in the overall plan.  I'm glad we are going with a real fence this time, but I'm also a little bit intimidated. It's a big, wonky area to cover - getting the posts straight, accommodating the slope away from the garage, doing the gates... it's a lot. It will be SO worth it when it's done... I just have to keep reminding myself of that now that the old garden is gone.