Building raised garden beds is a ton of work and a huge achievement, so one homeowner wanted to show off their newly finished ones in the r/gardening community.
They shared nine photos of the process, explaining that they spent their spring break removing the old beds and building the new ones.
In the first photo, the old beds looked like they'd seen better days. The second image showed the land cleared for the new raised beds, and the next few pictures documented the building process.
After building the cedar beds, they lined the outer edges in plastic to help protect the wood.
"Since the old beds were rotted cedar, we cut them up and put them in the bottom of the new beds along with logs, branches, and grass (modified Hugelkultur?)," they captioned the fifth photo, which showed the beds filled with the materials.
Next, they added a layer of cut grass and dirt — compost would work too — and planted tomatoes, peppers, and herbs, leaving a space in the back planter for beans. The OP mentioned in the last photo that they still needed to add a fence and irrigation and asked commenters for "inexpensive fence ideas."
Growing your own food or switching to a native lawn can help you save cash on food or lawn maintenance while benefiting the planet. It's an investment, but you can't beat being able to eat from your backyard.
You'll also reduce the demand for mass-produced, globally shipped produce, which requires a massive amount of resources to grow and adds pollution to the atmosphere at every stage of the process.
If you'd rather just grow flowers, native plants can help you cut down on your water usage since the plants are adapted to the local climate's humidity levels, rainfall, temperature, and soil conditions. Planting flowers also attracts pollinators, which benefits humans as well since they contribute to a healthy ecosystem and pollinate food crops that we eat.
If you want a low-maintenance, eco-friendly lawn, try planting buffalo grass or clover, or opt for xeriscaping. Even replacing part of your lawn with native plants will allow you to reap the money-saving benefits.
"They look great! Hope your back is ready for the task ahead lmao," one commenter joked.
"Loving the set up, have a beautiful yard," another added.
"I absolutely love this," one complimented.
Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
