Raised beds are an efficient way to garden

Regardless of how you gauge the value of fresh vegetables — taste, nutritional value, financial cost or time spent — nothing rivals home-grown tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, squash, corn, okra and other comestibles fresh from the garden.

It has been said that, “He who cuts his own firewood, warms himself twice.” I can verify the truth of that little aphorism, but I would add, “He or she who plants and cultivates a home garden feeds both the body and the soul.” Working in a garden is its own reward.

The time is upon us to get out there, scratch out a little piece of God’s green earth and plant a garden. There is something primal about getting down on your hands and knees and planting a fledgling tomato plant in freshly plowed soil. It’s very gratifying work.

Gardening is an act of faith. Planting a row of dried-up okra seeds no bigger than a peppercorn, with the expectation that those little seeds will magically grow 6 feet tall and supply more okra than you can use, is an act of faith. It takes faith to go to all the work that a garden requires, knowing that it could all come to naught if a drought or a hailstorm or some pernicious insect pest or disease comes along. Those of us who consider gardening an essential part of the annual cycle recognize the risk, but we do it because the reward is so great when things go right.

Dennis Chastain head shotIf you have never tasted the unique flavor of a home-grown “Tommy Toe” tomato at the peak of ripeness, or an ear of sweet corn that was growing on the stalk 30 minutes before it showed up on your plate, or the earthy goodness of a freshly grabbled “new” potato in a pot of garden-grown green beans, you really don’t understand the value of a home garden.

The biggest mistake greenhorn gardeners make is starting too big. It’s so tempting to wander around the garden center and grab at least one of every plant or seed packet that strikes your fancy, but if you’re not careful, you will soon have enough plants and seeds to fill an acre of plowed ground. I tried that one time, and it just about worked me and my wife, Jane, to death all summer long.

Think about the space you have available and make a plan. I am a big fan of raised beds and container gardening.

Jane’s sister, Anne Hall, is a master gardener and has one of the most economical and productive gardens I know of. She employs both raised beds and a number of large containers to grow a surprising variety of vegetables in an extremely limited space. Often, she not only has enough for herself but regularly supplies neighbors, along with Jane and me when one of our crops falls short of expectations.

The window is closing to plant a garden, but there is still time. If you are so inclined, get out there and get it done. If you need advice, ask a gardener. They will tell you everything they know in one long sentence, without pause or punctuation.

Dennis Chastain is a Pickens County naturalist, historian and former tour guide. He has been writing feature articles for South Carolina Wildlife magazine and other outdoor publications since 1989.

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