Rae La Soul

We had a garden when I was a young girl. So growing up, if we could produce it in our garden, that’s what we ate. If any of you have tasted fruit/veggies from a garden compared to the store, you know the difference in the taste is significant. When I was planning my path to homeownership, I knew I needed to have a yard that was big enough to allow a garden. And since I have that and have completely risen above procrastination, the first phase of my garden is complete.

My yard is seriously unlevel and after estimating the cost of leveling and tilling the area, I just didn’t have the time or money for it. After researching alternatives, I decided to go with raised garden beds. With the help of my fiance, the bed was assembled in no time using galvanized tin and wood for the posts. We found free sand to help with filling and purchased bags of soil to fill the rest. After doing this and calculating the cost, which was less than leveling the yard but more than I’d initially anticipated, I knew I needed an alternative for the other beds.

To create the other garden bed, I purchased garden kit blocks for $2.50 each and upcycled cedar plank boards that we had after remodeling the bathroom and then changing my mind. Spare me your judgment. Remodeling is stressful. I purchased $40 worth of soil to fill and then planted climbers (cantaloupe, watermelon, and cucumbers, etc.).

There is still enough space to add another bed, but I’m still trying to figure out what else to plant. I don’t want to have a garden that has fruit and veggies that we don’t eat, so I’m thinking about trying my hand at planting lettuce and kale.

There’s still so much to do, but at least I’ll get to harvest a few fruit and veggies. The next few phases would be to straighten and tidy up the area by adding mulch, removing the remaining chain link fence to plant fruit trees (we got lemon, peach, and fig), and uprooting the last of the invasive bamboo. I’d also like to perhaps add a sitting area and add shelving to the garage wall for a herb garden. And finally, find some stylish way to keep these two culprits out.