Contacting me about the New L25 and Doublenecks coming up for sale

If you're interested in one of the last Melobars getting built ping me at melobarted@gmail

Gardening Classes

 We are starting new Classes and in-home consults for Gardening this spring

The Key to our Boise based programs is PLANNING

PLANNING BINDER shown which you keep a plan for each vegetable from planting to harvest to storage.

First step is to go through our 25 page Gardening Booklet (which you keep) that reviews how to NOT FAIL with your Garden actually putting Food on your table all year round!

Contact greenteam.ted@gmail

Don't stop because of snow

One of my favorite books is the Year Round Vegetable Gardener.

 

Don't sit back and feel like gardening is over when winter hits. This is when I focus on building better soil by working on my worm farm and on composting for next spring.

If you haven't read this book...this winter is a good time to do it to get ideas and plans for next winter.

Raised Garden Bed Failure

Raised garden beds are often made of wood. Red wood and pressure treated wood can last a few years which may be adequate for the time you want to garden.

However keep in mind there are alternatives to wood when it comes to raised garden beds.

Steel can be less of a pain because it is more water proof. This is a good example of that idea although if it was on a bit of a table top it would be at a better height to work at.

The nice thing about steel is you can still drill holes in it or add wood around it and it's nearly indestructible.

Galvanized will last a lot longer but it still can rust so drainage is necessary.

This is a popular design used at retirement homes and not a bad idea. It is not difficult to reach across, it is attractive and relatively light weight when empty.

The draw back to plastic is it can be weak, and will get weaker the longer it is in full daylight as the UV rays break down the plastic molecules. If you drill into it to add something it will weaken and possibly break at that point.


All of the raised bed idea have their purpose and one may be right for you to be painless in gardening.

First Step to Painless Gardening

Back Pain is the first thing that stops us from gardening.

This position is terrible on your lower back. One hour of this stooping over and you will find yourself in terrible agony the next morning.

The answer is to get off the ground and up to a position that is natural for the biped homo sapiens that we are. We have a brain that gives us the ability to change the way we do things so let's use it.

Your first thought is probably, "raised beds". But really look at the angle on this person's back. This is a little bit better but she is still going to have back pain from that angle and her knees are getting hurt on the edge as she tries to reach into the bed.

Raised beds are in so many back yards with the thought of how much easier it was going to be only to be met with  dissolution with how much effort it still was. 

Do not be ripped off by this idea of raised garden beds because it is not that much better.

Everyone's body make-up is different, some like to stand at the kitchen sink, some need to sit, some don't mind twisting slightly while others need to be able to shift positions.

The answer to painless gardening is to start with what you use now in your everyday life that fits your body. Don't purchase raised beds or any other idea because of price or it "sounds like" a good idea.

Test what angles your body can honestly stoop and bend first. Then look for the idea that fits that bill.

Some examples of better ways to garden without pain.

This is called table top gardening. This is more natural for the body and looks like a very good idea. But now that we have the proper height, what about the reach? Can this person easily reach the center of this table top?

One of the disadvantages of any raised bed is that the soil needs to be replenished and fed every year. Can this soil be removed easily and changed? How about watering? Will the material last or rot?

A better idea but maybe not complete in how to make it really work and not fail in the long run.

Before we start looking for answers to all the questions, let's get this first step done correctly. Take the time to "test your body" in how it can comfortably move to do gardening. Try some of your neighbors garden beds and see if the size and level works for you.

Take a little time thinking this through, why waste the time, effort and money on something that is going to fail later. Make sure you can do the garden design you want without pain.

Gardening Pain

Gardening is becoming an important part of our lives again as we avoid GMO's and high food budgets. But let's be honest, it can be a real pain in time, effort and body aches.

Is there a way to Garden without pain?

Knowledge is key to successful gardening and this is a place to share ideas and ways to garden with far less effort and problems.

We see ideas that look great and spend a great deal of money on them, often to be disillusioned by the idea not working. This often ends the original good idea to grow our own food so we have to make sure we overcome the problems that are stopping us.

Don't get me wrong, gardening is work, but it doesn't have to be work that actually does more harm to our physical bodies or become a task we hate to do.

So the goal of this blog is to provide answers to the problems that stop so many folks from gardening.