This is a post about how we made our garden borders, but first I need to tell you a little something about myself.
I have a problem with “good enough”. If I know something could be better, I can’t relax. I really admire people who can actually mimic nature, and just throw down a no-dig-garden-bed in any ol’ spot… "good enough!”
Not me! I’m a Leo, and I like nice sh...stuff...but it’s annoying. First, I have these fancy ideas fart around in my head for a while. Then I need to see it happen.
I either just get to work and make it happen, or I do my very best to draw something on paper, so I can prove to Jon that it’s a good idea. I’m good at envisioning the final results. Jon, however, needs something a little more concrete. This is basically the process for all our little gardening projects.
Permaculture teaches us to consider the five zones when designing your property. Zone one is the area closest to your home, where you are the most active. This is where you want to place your kitchen garden, rainwater harvesting, clothesline, etcetera. Permaculture also teaches us to design our gardens to capture rainwater, and to be comfortable and efficient to work in.
So I designed a simple, yet beautiful keyhole, mandala kitchen garden, close to the house. I designed it so the pathway leading in to the garden allows the rainwater to flow into it’s gentle slope. I measured my reach, and made sure every part of the garden was easy to work in. I made a to-scale drawing, then mapped it out in the yard.
(August 2018: our first no-dig garden)
(April 2019: the original kitchen garden doodle)
Another reason I made the kitchen garden this way is because...I’m a certified weenie, and I don't like power tools.
I also don’t love waiting on my husband to build things for me. In our pre-permaculture days, I used to have to wait for my brother to come over with the tractor and rototill, too. Which meant waiting on the ground the thaw, and/or dry out. Ugh!
When I have a vision, I need it to happen or I feel like IMMA THROW UP!! Just me?
This keyhole, mandala, no-til garden was it for me. I could do this all by myself. I could be creative, yet precise, and I’m proud of it.
(June 2019: putting the offspring to work)
The first year we had this garden, there was no border. After I mapped out the plan on the grass, we put down newspaper, and then dirt. Then we filled in all around it with some wood chips that we scored just in time. I had to chop and drop those weeds every dang day, but things have slowly gotten better.
(July 2019: using rhubarb leaves as a weed barrier on the paths)
(August 2019)
(September 2019: a successful season with the new kitchen garden)
The next year, my borders were all wonky…and that really hurt my feelings. We thought a lot about what we could use for a border, and like most projects…time and money were a big problem.
The Leo in me would love a fancy stone or concrete border. Or, one of those woven willow fences! But, we have little kids and I’m just trying to get three decent meals on the table each day, and Jon works a full time job, and I just didn’t have the time (or the energy) to collect and weave willow branches. Wah, wah, wah… and we didn’t have the extra money to hire fancy concrete landscaping people.
Time and money, am I right?
Then, one spring day, Jon was at the hardware store, and saw a stack of cedar shingles. They were cheap and Jon thought they’d work well for a garden border.
Bibbity bobbity boo. The garden border was done. Cheap, easy, functional, and it looks spiffy.
(May 2020: borders are established with cedar shingles)
(June 2020)
Later in the summer of 2020, we needed to reroof our shed. Jon scraped off all the old cedar shingles, and replaced it with tin.
(August 2020: re-roofing the shed)
My big pregnant butt picked up all the shingles, and put them on top of the mulch in the kitchen garden. I thought, HEY this is wood and wood is good. It stayed there all winter.
In the spring of 2021, we agreed, the shingles were annoying to walk on, and it looked kinda dumb.
Jon cleaned it all up and made a pile over by our fire pit.
(picking out the strongest shingles to reuse in the garden)
We have two crab apple trees near our kitchen garden, and they seemed like good spots to make some new garden beds. So the old cedar shingles get to live again!
Here’s how we used them to make the border.
Hold on folks, this gets crazy...
First, use an edging-shovel (or a shovel-shovel) to cut into the ground a little.
Then, shove the shingle into the ground.
Tah-dah!
(using the length of the shovel as a measuring guide)
(cute!!)
To conclude this little project, we covered the ground in the new beds with cardboard and straw, until we are ready to plant.
(How did he get so big?)
Using straw in the garden went very very very badly for us last year. The slugs loved the straw and went nuts eating everything. That’s why we got ducks. Hopefully they will keep the slugs under control. Or we’re just really really really dumb for using straw again. I don’t know.
It’s “good enough”.
If you’d like to hang out with us some more, check out our vlog from the day we made the new garden borders!
-Emily
