Making a raised bed for growing Strawberries.

So for several years we have talked about the advantages/disadvantages of having raised beds. After planting close to 100 strawberry plants last summer, and then having to contend with weeds constantly and the compacted ground, I thought it might be time for a change. I didn't want to have to move the strawberry plants again this year as I wanted their root systems to be well developed so that they could produce well. Unfortunately many of the plants from last year did not come up. Strawberries produce "runners" or new little strawberry plants and I wanted those to be able to grow unfettered.  I didn't want to worry about them "running out" of their bed and into the garden pathway where they would be trampled.

Research began on what size of a raised bed to build, how long and wide it should be, etc. We finally settled on a 10x4 foot raised bed. Fortunately we had three boards already so we didn't need to purchase those separately. After waiting out the rainy days, finally we had a day dry enough to get it built.

Here is our first raised bed made out of 2x10 lumber from our local home improvement store, we used our other lumber at home to build a second raised bed.

Empty frame.

Don is cutting off the top of a support that we placed in each corner. The support is there help prevent the raised bed from bowing out from the weight of the dirt over time.

Don cuts off the top of the support.

My lovely empty raised bed!

All done and ready for dirt.

Filling the raised bed.

Adding lots of good composted materials.

I wanted to make sure that the bed had plenty of compost in it so that it would still have plenty after it settled.

Some old hay at the end of the raised bed that will be used as mulch
around the strawberry plants. It helps keep the weeds at bay.

Ready for the berry plants!

Ready for planting.

Some of the berry plants that were placed in this bed were from last years strawberry garden. The others came from strawberry plants that were ordered from a seed/plant company. The new plants are just starting to show their leaves.

I planted petunias around the outside of the bed to give it extra color.

Here is one of our plants from last year. It is growing quickly and already has little strawberries on it! 

Our first strawberries!

I will let you know how they taste!