I've gardened all my life.
My first memory is of the 1-acre garden I helped tend at summer camp. It was chock-full of beans, corn, squash (not my favorite when I was 10!), and thick, juicy tomatoes the size of softballs.
I loved snapping beans, husking corn and chatting with my friends. We'd sit and talk in the garden, surrounded by a field of 7 foot tall corn -- mostly about boys and how to get them to notice us -- and I discovered that I wasn't alone in my feelings of 10-year-old awkwardness.
As I grew older, I continued gardening even if it was just a potted plant or container of impatiens. The day after I closed on my very first house -- a townhouse in Marlton, New Jersey --I headed off to the home center, bought lumber and built my own square-foot garden boxes.
That was 15 years ago.
I've learned and shared a lot about gardening ... what works and what doesn't ... through trial and error. And the first thing I always look for when visiting someone's home is the garden.
My first memory is of the 1-acre garden I helped tend at summer camp. It was chock-full of beans, corn, squash (not my favorite when I was 10!), and thick, juicy tomatoes the size of softballs.
I loved snapping beans, husking corn and chatting with my friends. We'd sit and talk in the garden, surrounded by a field of 7 foot tall corn -- mostly about boys and how to get them to notice us -- and I discovered that I wasn't alone in my feelings of 10-year-old awkwardness.
As I grew older, I continued gardening even if it was just a potted plant or container of impatiens. The day after I closed on my very first house -- a townhouse in Marlton, New Jersey --I headed off to the home center, bought lumber and built my own square-foot garden boxes.
That was 15 years ago.
I've learned and shared a lot about gardening ... what works and what doesn't ... through trial and error. And the first thing I always look for when visiting someone's home is the garden.
Dear Gardener:
There is nothing I relish more than the joy of planting and watching things grow. And I wasn't about to be stopped by pain and stiffness.
I was determined to do something about it. Today, I'm thrilled to report that my husband Matt and I have finally found the perfect solution. It's something that lets you keep gardening even if you can't bend or kneel like you used to.
In fact, this ultimate raised bed garden plan is perfect even if you're able to garden -- but don't have the room!
I'll tell you more about it in a minute. But I can say it's the best thing since, well, since chili cook-offs became Olympic-class competition!
There is nothing I relish more than the joy of planting and watching things grow. And I wasn't about to be stopped by pain and stiffness.
I was determined to do something about it. Today, I'm thrilled to report that my husband Matt and I have finally found the perfect solution. It's something that lets you keep gardening even if you can't bend or kneel like you used to.
In fact, this ultimate raised bed garden plan is perfect even if you're able to garden -- but don't have the room!
I'll tell you more about it in a minute. But I can say it's the best thing since, well, since chili cook-offs became Olympic-class competition!
If you had to stop doing the gardening you love -- or have been told to quit -- welcome to GardenRack, the ultimate raised bed garden plan. It's a free-standing, portable, low cost alternative to in-ground gardening.
If I could show you a way to walk out onto your deck, patio, balcony, or into your yard and do some weeding, watering, planting and harvesting -- all without bending or kneeling -- would you be interested?
GardenRack, designed to protect your back and knees, is every garden lover's dream.
How?
The height can be adjusted to your own custom fit.That's right!
You can tailor GardenRack's dimensions to fit any height needed. In the downloadable plans for building a raised bed garden, the planting surface is designed to be waist high.
GardenRack, designed to protect your back and knees, is every garden lover's dream.
How?
The height can be adjusted to your own custom fit.That's right!
You can tailor GardenRack's dimensions to fit any height needed. In the downloadable plans for building a raised bed garden, the planting surface is designed to be waist high.
That's me in the photo to the left. I'm 5 foot, 2 inches tall. If that's your height, too, then just use the dimensions stated in the plans. If you happen to be taller or shorter, just measure your height from the ground to your waist. That's how high the GardenRack should be.
And in this photo you can see that I'm growing tomatoes, herbs and scallions all within the 2 foot by 3 foot planting beds. In fact, GardenRack makes a great container for tomato plant gardening!
Since you can customize the height to your individual needs, GardenRack is a perfect fit for gardeners in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. There's even a way to attach a trellis to grow vertically and reach vegetables for your supper -- without help.
GardenRack will bring the joy and love of gardening back into your life. I guarantee it!
And in this photo you can see that I'm growing tomatoes, herbs and scallions all within the 2 foot by 3 foot planting beds. In fact, GardenRack makes a great container for tomato plant gardening!
Since you can customize the height to your individual needs, GardenRack is a perfect fit for gardeners in wheelchairs or with limited mobility. There's even a way to attach a trellis to grow vertically and reach vegetables for your supper -- without help.
GardenRack will bring the joy and love of gardening back into your life. I guarantee it!
If you've never gardened before but would love to experiment on a small scale -- or you've recently downsized from a house to a condo, townhouse, or apartment -- GardenRack is ideal.
Have you always admired one of those farm-like vegetable gardens, gazing down row after row of corn, beans, squash and cucumbers? Does the thought of a juicy sweet tomato sandwich on a hot summer's day ... a thick slab of a red, vine-ripened beefsteak seasoned with mayo, salt and pepper (catch the juice before it drips off your chin!) ... make you yearn to buy a farm just so you can grow your own tomatoes?
Or can you imagine being able to have a big cutting garden, so you can once again enjoy gorgeous bouquets of flowers like you did in your larger house?
GardenRack is the answer. If you've got 15 square feet -- about the size of a standard washer and dryer sitting side by side -- you can have a gorgeous garden. No matter where you live!
'
And if your "garden" is more like a concrete jungle GardenRack is perfect for you, too. GardenRack performs double duty -- it's a beautiful addition to your landscape and an efficient and convenient place to grow flowers, veggies, and herbs without changing a thing in your yard.
Do you have a balcony or rooftop? GardenRack is the ideal fit for small spaces.
And GardenRack isn't just for outside growing! Set it up in a spare room under lights to grow all year round. Imagine serving fresh lettuce from your garden in a salad on Valentine's Day -- in Vermont. No greenhouse required!
Have you always admired one of those farm-like vegetable gardens, gazing down row after row of corn, beans, squash and cucumbers? Does the thought of a juicy sweet tomato sandwich on a hot summer's day ... a thick slab of a red, vine-ripened beefsteak seasoned with mayo, salt and pepper (catch the juice before it drips off your chin!) ... make you yearn to buy a farm just so you can grow your own tomatoes?
Or can you imagine being able to have a big cutting garden, so you can once again enjoy gorgeous bouquets of flowers like you did in your larger house?
GardenRack is the answer. If you've got 15 square feet -- about the size of a standard washer and dryer sitting side by side -- you can have a gorgeous garden. No matter where you live!
'
And if your "garden" is more like a concrete jungle GardenRack is perfect for you, too. GardenRack performs double duty -- it's a beautiful addition to your landscape and an efficient and convenient place to grow flowers, veggies, and herbs without changing a thing in your yard.
Do you have a balcony or rooftop? GardenRack is the ideal fit for small spaces.
And GardenRack isn't just for outside growing! Set it up in a spare room under lights to grow all year round. Imagine serving fresh lettuce from your garden in a salad on Valentine's Day -- in Vermont. No greenhouse required!
There are times when the last thing I want to do is bend over and kneel to pull weeds -- or even pick tomatoes. It hurts just to look at the garden when it's overgrown and uncared for. Weeds can take over so quickly that in just a few days my flowerbeds go from looking lush and gorgeous to a field gone to seed. Since my accidents, my low back and neck sometimes lock up on me and make it impossible to work in the garden.
But I'm a stubborn German just like my father. So stubborn, in fact, that not long after the second car accident, I snuck my mother-in-law's claw gripper -- the one she uses to get cans off high shelves -- out into the garden in hopes of weeding and caring for my flower beds.
I thought if I didn't bend (too much) I could still keep the garden looking nice. Dreams are good, aren't they? But I couldn't get the claw part to hang on to the weeds long enough. And pulling the trigger on that gripper handle hurt.
It started to feel like my favorite pastime was more like training for a triathlon than relaxation and fun. Who needs that?
But I'm a stubborn German just like my father. So stubborn, in fact, that not long after the second car accident, I snuck my mother-in-law's claw gripper -- the one she uses to get cans off high shelves -- out into the garden in hopes of weeding and caring for my flower beds.
I thought if I didn't bend (too much) I could still keep the garden looking nice. Dreams are good, aren't they? But I couldn't get the claw part to hang on to the weeds long enough. And pulling the trigger on that gripper handle hurt.
It started to feel like my favorite pastime was more like training for a triathlon than relaxation and fun. Who needs that?
I know friends who are reluctant to move because they'd be leaving gardens they'd tended for 20 years.
You know what I'm talking about ... Perennial beds full of bulbs and plants that show off spectacular color even in the dog days of summer; shade beds with 10 varieties of hosta, impatiens, coleus and caladium where the cat goes to hide; the 1-acre vegetable garden that yields prize-winning pumpkins and enough tomatoes, peppers and squash to last you through the winter.
Since GardenRack is portable, you can take your garden with you. And you'll never again have to wait for soil conditions to improve before you plant.
The first step in every successful garden is good soil preparation. In the past, this could be a daunting chore if you've never gardened before. Soil takes years to adjust if it's too sandy (water runs right through it and doesn't stay in the roots of your plants) or too compact (like clay so that roots can't get a good head start and spread out properly to flourish).
Having perfect soil in the garden is something that all gardeners dream of. But it can take years to get the kind of garden loam you can have in an afternoon with GardenRack.
All you'll need for a ready-to-grow garden is a layer of pea gravel for drainage, good potting soil with plant food and water retention crystals already in it, some vermiculite or perlite for aeration, and some compost for nutrients.
You can get everything you need for an instant garden at your local home center, including the compost. Just look for something called dehydrated cow manure. It comes in bags and is odor-free ... you won't smell like you're in a pasture of cow paddies when you open the bag, I swear!
That's all there is to it.
You know what I'm talking about ... Perennial beds full of bulbs and plants that show off spectacular color even in the dog days of summer; shade beds with 10 varieties of hosta, impatiens, coleus and caladium where the cat goes to hide; the 1-acre vegetable garden that yields prize-winning pumpkins and enough tomatoes, peppers and squash to last you through the winter.
Since GardenRack is portable, you can take your garden with you. And you'll never again have to wait for soil conditions to improve before you plant.
The first step in every successful garden is good soil preparation. In the past, this could be a daunting chore if you've never gardened before. Soil takes years to adjust if it's too sandy (water runs right through it and doesn't stay in the roots of your plants) or too compact (like clay so that roots can't get a good head start and spread out properly to flourish).
Having perfect soil in the garden is something that all gardeners dream of. But it can take years to get the kind of garden loam you can have in an afternoon with GardenRack.
All you'll need for a ready-to-grow garden is a layer of pea gravel for drainage, good potting soil with plant food and water retention crystals already in it, some vermiculite or perlite for aeration, and some compost for nutrients.
You can get everything you need for an instant garden at your local home center, including the compost. Just look for something called dehydrated cow manure. It comes in bags and is odor-free ... you won't smell like you're in a pasture of cow paddies when you open the bag, I swear!
That's all there is to it.
Do you have a minute? I'd like to tell you a quick story.
When I moved to Warner, Virginia I was 10-year-old-first-time-at-Disney-World excited to start my brand new garden. This was my first house with 5 acres! In Virginia, I finally had some real space to garden.
The day after moving in, I ran to a local nursery, bought $102 worth of plants and began planting.But I didn't get very far.
I found out quickly that my house was surrounded by clay hard pan underneath what appeared to be good soil. If you're not familiar with hard pan, it's soil you can make pottery out of.
Naturally, I was devastated but determined to find a solution.
And that's the beauty of GardenRack. You're not stuck with the soil you happen to live on. Rather, you control the soil in two 2' x 3' plastic tubs and can have your ultimate raised bed garden going in a single afternoon. It no longer matters where you live, how much space you have, or the composition of the soil. You'll have perfect loam every time!
When I moved to Warner, Virginia I was 10-year-old-first-time-at-Disney-World excited to start my brand new garden. This was my first house with 5 acres! In Virginia, I finally had some real space to garden.
The day after moving in, I ran to a local nursery, bought $102 worth of plants and began planting.But I didn't get very far.
I found out quickly that my house was surrounded by clay hard pan underneath what appeared to be good soil. If you're not familiar with hard pan, it's soil you can make pottery out of.
Naturally, I was devastated but determined to find a solution.
And that's the beauty of GardenRack. You're not stuck with the soil you happen to live on. Rather, you control the soil in two 2' x 3' plastic tubs and can have your ultimate raised bed garden going in a single afternoon. It no longer matters where you live, how much space you have, or the composition of the soil. You'll have perfect loam every time!
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and get a bagfull of freebies!
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