Raised flower bed

[Guest]

Hello,
As I'm new here, I will give a brief run-down of my home. A little over a year ago, we purchased a '93 27x60 double-wide. Fleetwood, I think. We've been working on some improvements these passed few months including new windows all around, new exterior paint, and new bath exhaust fans (it had none, so Also had to fix some condensation damage in the baths)
Any rate, I'm going to be putting some time and $$$$ into the lot,
starting with a raised bed.
Craigslist has been a great source for some free rocks which I will use for the outer face of the wall, but I don't have enough to do the back (the part you can't see) The bed will fit in a corner where a new fence and a storage shed meet. I do not want to pile dirt against the fence or shed so I'm going to build a back wall with redwood.
At last to the Question: should I paint this wood portion of the wall to protect it? I have lots of exterior latex around but I am not sure if this will kill the plants. I want the wall to last, but it is useless if all the plants I put in die of some chemical poisoning Any words of advice would be appreciated. Long-winded.......sorry

[Yanita]

Hi,

Welcome to the site!

I would think that it would be fine to paint or use a water repellant on the lower portion of the fence.

I can not see this harming the plants.

Yanita

[Guest]

Hi Yanita,
Thanks for the reply! I was concerned that maybe the pigments in the paint might leech some chemical into the soil. I've heard of using basic white latex paint as a "Band-aid" for removing/repairing damaged branches on trees. I don't want to use the fence or storage shed as the backer for the bed as I am on rented land, so I have to keep the dirt off.
The pigments are what I'm unsure of.
Yanita, I've "ghosted" this site for a while and your responses are always relevant and insightful so you give me confidence to move forward.
Thank You,
Steven

[Yanita]

Hi,

Thanks for the compliment.

Glad you decided to join us!

After your gardens get going be sure to post us a pic!

Look forward to helping you in the future.

Yanita

[Ketta]

I just wanted to comment on this great thread. I concur that craigslist has been an excellent resource for many of my gardening and landscaping supplies. Rocks, dirt and railroad ties for nothing but the cost of gas to pick'm up.

I live in a fairly decent park in Portland OR, and the entire lot is sand, so lots of dirt has been introduced to any landscaping. If I don't do that, plants struggle or just give up. Even plain fill dirt is fine, as it helps change the consistancy of the substrate.

I have a double-wide (1970 Vardo -- incidentally I've found little info on the model, good quality home for its production year), yet enough room on the lot for a vegetable garden. Using railroad ties as a retaining ledge, I cleared an 8' by 24' space of all the pitiful but deep rooted grass, and mixed in countless bags of garden soil, manure, compost and fill dirt. (Tip: if you have a Home Depot in your area, get there as soon as they open and head to the lumber area. They occasionally have pallets of broken bags of typical garden/landscape supplies for $20! I've gotten everything from steer manure to color-treated mulch, and garden soil to polished river rocks).

This is the second year for the vegetable garden, and we added more bagged garden soil and steer manure. Yield is higher so far, and several neighbors have commented on the idea, and say they might try the same.

I also used ties to border our yard from the sidewalk, so there is less maintenance in keeping our area of the sidewalk 'neat and tidy'.

Finally, as all lots in my park do, we have an ancient flowering cherry tree in the very front. For two years I agonized and wasted energy trying to make the base of it look less bare (because of the sand and huge root system, it was extremely difficult to work with). So, after having a truly DUH moment, I decided to cover the base with light blocking plastic, surround it with huge rocks brought home via craigslist, fill it with good soil and plant with hardy perenials. Time will tell what will grow well and what won't.

Anyway, new to the site and forums and I'm really enjoying the ideas, collaboration and information. I'm sure to use this as a popular resource for our remodel and hope to be able to add to the site, too.

[Yanita]

Hi Ketta,

Welcome to the site!

I have never used Craigslist but I do use my local Freecycle. Have you checked into that. Just do a Google.

Look forward to your future contributions.

Yanita