Raised Beds with the Clueless Gardener
I’ve always been interested in gardening. As a kid growing up in Ireland I pestered my dad to let me dig up a small section of his beloved lawn and plant lettuces, carrots, and radishes. When we bought our house last fall, I knew I wanted some raised garden beds. The house was beautifully landscaped with shrubs, palms, etc but there was no vegetable garden. I’d grown tomatoes, and some greens in Oregon but was clueless as to what would grow well here in Hawaii and what pests and diseases I would encounter. I figured I had nothing to lose and for sure it would be a learning experience
Getting started
I decided on a sunny location, an old 10 x 20-foot cement slab at the side of the garden and ordered some Vego raised garden beds. These modular metal beds come in a kit ready to assemble. They arrived on December 1 and it did not take us long to get them assembled.
While waiting for the soil to be delivered I planted a variety of seeds, figuring if I planted enough, some would grow. We lined the raised beds with cardboard and palm fronds at the bottom before topping them off with soil.
So it begins
January bought the rains! Of course, they arrived just as soon as I had transplanted some of my seedlings and flooded the raised beds but the seedlings survived. Even the tiny lettuces and spindly tomatoes I potted up made it and by the end of January, it was clear I needed more room.
All transplanted and read to grow
I had all these seedlings plus a lot of soil that I still needed to find a place for. I had ordered 2 yards but the pile they delivered was more like 4! I spread some in the garden beds, filled a bunch of buckets and planters, and still had a pile in the driveway. Only one solution, get another raised garden bed! Of course, they were out of the matching pearl white ones so I went with olive green. Variety is the spice of life right?
The third raised garden bed arrived quickly enough and soon all three beds were transplanted and ready to grow. And did they grow! The weather here in Hawaii is so great for growing. Most plants did well and by February the beds were lush full of tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, carrots, eggplant, and peppers. I had beans, zucchini, and even more tomatoes growing in grow bags and pots. I managed to avoid buying lettuce for almost 4 months.
Other than the cabbage moths I was relieved not to be dealing with unknown pests, at least for a while! Then the powdery mildew showed up! I guess that’s a thing with tomatoes and zucchini! Summers in Oregon were hot but not humid, I never had issues growing tomatoes other than my dog eating them before I got to them. I soon learned that the climate here is perfect for it. I managed to abate it somewhat with a baking soda spray and by pruning the plants back to give them more airflow but it was a constant battle. When they did fruit I had competition from the birds! They loved them! Luckily there was enough to share. By the time they were done fruiting, it was time to freshen up the soil as it had settled quite a bit and replant the beds.
Lessons learned
The first few months were certainly a learning experience. Cucumbers prefer to have a trellis to grab onto as soon as they can, they do not like to be tied up after the fact! Unfortunately, I did not have the trellis in place soon enough and broke some of the plants as I tried to tie them up. Square foot gardening in the humidity here may not be the best practice for tomatoes. I need to stay on top of powdery mildew and prevention is easier than the cure. Who knew eggplant would grow so tall? Growing the soil is as important as growing vegetables. The soil I had delivered was advertised as ready for raised beds but did not contain enough organic matter. Going forward I will be amending it with compost and worm castings. Homegrown beets and carrots are delicious. Fresh basil, cilantro, and parsley can’t be beaten.
Moving forward with my raised garden beds
I have a lot to learn, a lot of mistakes yet to be made I’m sure, but I do love watching the plants go from little seeds to filling the beds and eventually appearing on my plate. I do not think anything tastes as good as vegetables fresh from your own garden. Stay tuned for more raised garden bed adventures with the clueless gardener. How does your garden grow?
