The Garden Is Getting A Raise

During Winter Break, I decided I would spend my time converting the vegetable garden into a super efficient food-producing machine by installing raised beds. I expected it to rain a lot, and that has happened. I expected it to be muddy, and it certainly has been. Cold and windy? Yes. I expected the experience to be miserable but have also realized that I need to work in the dark if I want to finish by New Year's. So I generally start work around 8:00am and finish around 7 or 8pm at night. It's nearly as grueling as teaching but will pay off big time.

Here's sort of a before shot (about two days in to the project). In this picture I am working on lowering the level of the pathway by about 4 inches.


Once the pathway was lowered and leveled, I dug a trench in the middle and installed a perforated 3" corrugated pipe for drainage. This will ensure there is never any standing water on the walkways.




Then I covered it all with a 1/4" screened gravel/sand mix. It will provide an ideal base for the pavers and allow water to flow into the drainage pipe.


Next the paver stones were laid down followed by the wall stones.