Mid-summer Update on the Vegega Raised Beds

Over the past winter and spring, I set up some new raised beds. I bought the metal beds from Vegega after watching a YouTube video. Another Floridian had purchased from this company and she had lots of good things to say.

I garden on my own, and it took a bit of time to assemble, fill and plant the beds. You can read my post here. I knew that they would need time to “cook” me up some great soil. Branches, leaves and old growth were tossed in along with compost, dirt, mulch and earthworms. I knew the soil would settle and slowly compost. Still, I planted all three beds with some flowers and vegetables to see what happened.

The Round Vegega Raised Bed

This is my oldest bed. It gets more shade than the others also. I had some lovely Ubatuba pepper plants growing in here, and a cherry tomato. All of them eventually died. I believe it was a lack of good soil and drainage. I plan to add more good soil and amendments as Fall approaches.

Now it is mid-summer and a Tulsi basil is planted along with a few cowpeas (cover crop beans). One Celosia, one marigold, and a small pepper plant are struggling.

An empty, or partially empty raised bed is a good place to set potted plants.

The Long Vegega Raised Bed

My long, oval bed was the most difficult to set up. I love the shape though. It is full of sweet potatoes (I hope – I see lots of vines) with Zinnias around the edge.

This plant mixing was not a great idea. The sweet potato vines keep trying to wrap around the flowers. By September I will be digging up this bed and getting it ready for Fall planting.

The Square Vegega Raised Bed

The dirt in my square raised bed has sunken quite a lot. Aside from one hot pepper plant, the bed holds flowers. Many Celosia and a few Zinnias are growing nicely. Like all the other beds, I will add compost and more dirt when Fall approaches.

Plans for Fall Growing

While summer is fine for growing flowers, in Fall I want to grow food! Each of these beds will hold fall crops. Between the big beds, the white barrels, and all my smaller grow boxes, I should have plenty of space for vegetables.

First I have to add more compost. My homemade compost is “cooking” and has been all summer. I’ll use it to amend the gardens, but I’ll also have to buy some. I definitely don’t grow my own food to save money! In fact it costs quite a bit, at least to get started. The point is to have very fresh, organic food to eat. You can’t get fresher than stepping out your backdoor and picking a salad for supper!

Thanks for reading!