Maple Ridge Barndo

For many years, Tim has enjoyed gardening. With his hands in the dirt his mind clears, the chaos of his day disappears, and he experiences a quiet tranquility. In our family we call that state of mind “brain empty.” I have never achieved “brain empty”, but I do keep trying. Maybe I should ditch my gloves and let those soil microbes get under my nails like he does.

Since he also enjoys woodworking, Tim has started making lovely raised beds with leftover cedar from our build. Last year he made this large bed with notches for the tractor forks so he could easily move it around. The galvanized metal was leftover from building our shop.

This year the box is full of herbs: oregano, thyme, rosemary, cilantro, and dill. There is also a carrot experiment cooking in there.

He has been gradually building more boxes as time allows. This year’s boxes include trellises because we are jumping on to the vertical growing bandwagon.

So far we have different types of tomatoes, bell and jalapeno peppers, cucumbers, green beans, squash, zucchini, garlic, carrots, and sweet potatoes in various containers and beds along the west and south sides of the barndo. A lime tree, lemon tree, fig trees, and blueberry bushes are growing as well. Yet to come is the long box for growing my favorite fruit, pumpkins.

We are using organic soil so we can grow clean and eat clean. We are using companion plants like marigolds, dill and basil to discourage pests. If you want to share your experience with raised bed gardening, natural pest control, or what has worked well for you in the past, please leave a comment!