Raise it up!Raised beds work well for vegetables or flowers

Published 11:00 pm Friday, June 8, 2012

In 1943, the USDA estimated that 20 million World War II victory gardens produced 40 percent of the country’s fresh vegetables.

A reawakening interest in home vegetable gardens is showing up in both urban and suburban locales across the country. Some have enough space to develop a fairly large vegetable plot, some just tuck in a few tomatoes among ornamental plantings and others are choosing containers because of space or physical limitations.

“I grow vegetables and herbs because I like to cook,” said Allison Durst.

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Her garden, a little different from the typical formula in our area, is organic and in raised beds. Six vegetable beds are in her front yard, where they can get more sunlight, an important consideration for any type of vegetable production. Currently, tomatoes, many of them heirloom varieties, occupy a significant portion of this garden space.

Durst and her father-in-law, pharmacist Joe Durst, enjoy comparing the taste differences between various heirloom varieties.

A significant portion of space is devoted to tomatoes this year. She is growing Creole (high yield developed in Louisiana for warm climates), Cherokee Purple (one of Joe’s favorites), Striped German, Bella Rosa (produces early), Speckled Roman, Italian Heirloom, Gold Medal, Mortgage Lifter and Kellogg’s Breakfast, which produces a large, particularly sweet, gold-colored tomato.

Some are from seed (seedsavers.com and totallytomato.com are good places to find heirloom seed) but she prefers to buy from local nurseries where she can count on getting help from knowledgeable personnel when she has questions or problems.

“There are some amazing heirloom choices on the market today,” Allison Durst said. “They have interesting histories and there definitely is a difference in taste.”

She has used organic gardening practices well over 25 years in several states. In the past she has tucked in vegetable plants here and there among shrubs and ornamentals but with the raised beds, she can work with small concentrated areas of rich fertile soil.

Gardeners should never underestimate the importance of good soil when creating a garden site.

Years ago Durst read that if you feed the soil, the soil will feed you and she has never forgotten that advice. Her barrel composter can produce finished compost in 6-8 weeks. A generous scoop along with organic fertilizer is added to her soil when she plants.

There are many organic products on the market today so gardeners can purchase fertilizers and a variety of insect controls that make organic practices an easy and healthy way to garden. Soaker hoses laid in each bed provide water when rainfall is inadequate.

Homemade “voodoo bags” have worked so far this year to deter the deer from her garden. Knee-high stockings are stuffed with ½ bar of Irish Spring soap, ½ cup of blood meal, human hair from her beautician and dog hair from her pets. These are tied and hung on a piece of bamboo cut from along the edge of her backyard. This is her own concoction but it seems to be working. The deer have not raided the garden as they have done in years past.

After the summer tomatoes, squash, cucumbers and eggplant are finished, Durst uses the same area to plant cool weather crops such as Swiss chard, collards, kale, lettuce and mustard greens. She enjoys being able to go out, pick some vegetables and have something ready for dinner in 30 minutes.

Several new raised beds were developed this spring in the backyard.

Dahlias, huge fragrant lilies, salvias, melampodium and coreopsis are visible from the den in the Durst home. Durst, like so many other gardeners, enjoys the ability to see what’s in bloom every morning as she drinks her morning coffee. This is her first attempt to grow dahlias which grow quite tall and require some support. They have been blooming for several weeks now and Durst has enjoyed picking blooms every few days to bring inside. She doesn’t know whether they will make it through the winter here, but if not they will definitely be purchased again because they are such attractive, prolific bloomers.

Msucares.com has several publications on organic and raised-bed gardening. Durst recommends starting small and always remember the importance of good soil preparation before planting.

Miriam Jabour, a Master Gardener and Master Flower Show judge, has been active in the Openwood Plantation Garden Club for over 35 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg MS 39183.