A few weeks after constructing the raised bed and planter, in April, I prepared them for planting.

For the planter it was a case of lining it, to help protect the wood a little from moisture, and then adding a layer of old cardboard to provide some water retention.

Raised planter with cardboard (Image: T. Larkum)

Raised planter with cardboard (Image: T. Larkum)

Then it was filled with a mix of compost, soil and bone-meal.

Planter filled with compost (Image: T. Larkum)

Planter filled with compost (Image: T. Larkum)

For the raised bed it was simply a case of preparing the location, positioning it level, and filling it with a similar mix of compost and soil.

Raised bed in position (Image: T. Larkum)

Raised bed in position (Image: T. Larkum)

I was keen to try out the square foot gardening technique so I divided the beds into squares with twine and then planted them with seed.

Raised bed ready to grow (Image: T. Larkum)

Raised bed ready to grow (Image: T. Larkum)

By early May the first signs of life were just visible, with a few tiny shoots just starting to appear.

Raised planter ready to grow (Image: T. Larkum)

Raised planter starting to grow (Image: T. Larkum)

By the middle of May there was enough growth that we needed to add some protection from birds and slugs. We put a cold-frame over the planter

Cold-frame over planter (Image: T. Larkum)

Cold-frame over planter (Image: T. Larkum)

and some plastic garden mesh over the raised bed.

Raised bed with mesh supported on bricks (Image: T. Larkum)

Raised bed with mesh supported on bricks (Image: T. Larkum)

If you look closely you can see the start of what turned out to be a good harvest: courgette, peppers, cucumber and sweetcorn in the planter, and onions, lettuce and carrot in the raised bed.

To finish things off, we set up a ‘mini greenhouse’ and installed some tomato and cucumber plants.

Our mini greenhouse with tomatoes and cucumbers (Image: T. Larkum)

Our mini greenhouse with tomatoes and cucumbers (Image: T. Larkum)

More details on our harvests to come in Part 3.

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