That description fit me about eighteen months ago when I decided, at the early age of fifty eight, it absolutely was time for me personally to have my hands dirty and start planting.
But where was I to start?
The fact is I didn’t have a clue.
Fortunately, I was able to find three mentors on the web who guided me along the way.
This short article was created to introduce one to the three main personalities who inspired, motivated and taught me the fundamentals of raised bed vegetable gardening.
My hope is that you too may learn from these mentors and ultimately succeed in your vegetable gardening efforts.
My main reason to get started in organic gardening was health concerns.
A medical check up indicated that my cholesterol was high and I needed to reduce some weight.
The books on nutrition that I read encouraged me to eat kale, collards, and arugula. That were foreign to me.
As my local supermarket didn’t carry some of these veggies, I decided to cultivate my own.
And so my journey began.
My first mentor was Jules Dervaes and family. I stumbled across their website, Way to Freedom, by accident.
Jules and his three grown children Anais, Jordanne and Justin have accomplished nothing in short supply of a miracle.
On a tiny plot of land, just one tenth of an acre, in Pasadena, Ca. they manage to cultivate some six thousand pounds of food each year.
They regard themselves as urban homesteaders.
For Jules, vegetable gardening is just a act of political revolution.
It is his means of reclaiming the land and fighting back against something that has polluted our air, our water and our soil and has become attempting to genetically modify our food.
By growing their own food Jules is taking back control and reclaiming his independence.
Jules and his children have utilized every available inch of property to cultivate a fantastic assortment of fruits, vegetables, and edible flowers.
I must confess I am addicted for their multiple websites and blogs.
I return to them often when I want for an amount of encouragement.
The Dervaes family allows me to see what’s humanly possible when one is devoted to his beliefs and acts upon them with faith and passion.
If I ever get discouraged when my gardening efforts fail I remember Jules’guiding words, “don’t throw in the trowel “.
If the Dervaes family taught me the “why” of planting, it absolutely was Mel Bartholomew who instructed me in the “how exactly to” of raised bed vegetable gardening.
Back in 1978 Mel authored the main, bestselling book on gardening ever written. It is known as “Square Foot Gardening “.
In this current day classic, Mel explains the ins and outs of raised bed vegetable gardening.
His particular system advises someone to divide each raised bed into sixteen equal squares.
Within each square you can plant a different vegetable.
The advantage of this method is so it requires little work yet produces great results. Mel’s motto is “grow more in less space “.
There’s no weeding or heavy digging to do.
It’s well suited for everyone, from youngsters to senior citizens.
Mel clearly explains, in simple language, the steps one must take to have a successful gardening experience.
As I approach sixty, I welcome the ease and quick results I will achieve following Mel’s system.
It’s no surprise his gardening principles have already been adopted by home gardeners all around the world.
My final teachers are the numerous mentors I are finding on YouTube.
It’s astounding that one may continue YouTube with any question regarding raised bed vegetable gardening and come away with qualified advice and answers provided by raised bed vegetable gardeners from round the world.
I am personally indebted and grateful to any or all of them.
One gentleman in particular, however, stands apart above the rest. His name is John Kohler.
John’s positive energy, natural enthusiasm and sheer passion for raised bed gardening is contagious.
He’s countless movies on his YouTube site “Growing Your Greens “.Each video is all about ten minutes long. John generously shares everything he knows about organic vegetable gardening.
John has converted his front lawn into a massive raised bed vegetable garden.
He shares his successes in addition to his gardening failures.
What I particularly like about John is that he, like myself, can be a health nut.
John knows the nutritional value of all plants he grows and speaks knowledgeably about them all.
So, if you’re interested in starting raised bed vegetable gardening but are scared you lack knowledge or experience necessary to start, don’t allow that deter you.
Have a look at my mentors, the Dervaes family, Mel Bartholomew, and John Kohler and begin right away.
You’ll find that vegetable gardening is fun, it’s relaxing, and the rewards are tasty and nourishing.
Muhammad Mubeen
June 28, 2020 at 8:59 am
Another phase is to tie on the vertical strings. They are spaced in line with the chosen grid size and knotted tightly at every intersecting Elizabeth Valdez. When most of the strings are tied together into the internet, the pieces of tape can be removed and the internet will fall from the entranceway frame. The netting is currently ready to hang on a trellis in the garden to show off our beautiful flowers or support a plant of vegetable vines.
Muhammad Mubeen
September 25, 2021 at 2:06 pm
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