Weather in the Southern Piedmont seems to have the mind of a seesaw this spring—up into the 80’s then plunging into the 40’s or even 30’s—all in the same day, for weeks. The variety of temperatures expanded our wardrobes but we often didn’t know what to wear. My outdoor potted plants, now liberated from the confines of the dry, heated house seemed to do fine whatever the temperatures were—as long as I kept them watered (conserving water as I could). Rarely did heaven water them. We’ve been so thankful for rain, when it has come. When it does, it rains and rains for days. I’ll have to move some plants out of the rain this time, since they are in danger of becoming waterlogged. In gardening, it’s best to avoid extremes.

A benefit of the cool, sunny weather was the ability to garden without mosquitoes! In the heat of summer, they are ferocious. My neighbor and I have been talking for years about getting raised beds to bypass the heavy red clay, and put our hope for growth, in beautiful black soil. I bought a lot of wonderful varieties of seeds last year but discovered that they seldom sprouted in the clay. Maybe they’ll sprout in the rich soil?

We finally found some affordable raised bed frames; it was time to get them set up. I spent over half a day hoeing the weeds out of my vegetable garden, thankful for help from my neighbor, whose gardens are next to mine; she reminded me that I didn’t have to pull each weed individually—I could hack clumps out all at once with a hoe. Whew!

The raised beds came in a long box from a discount grocery store at an amazingly low price. They won’t last forever, and I don’t expect them to. But they do the job I need for now. The open bottoms allow for drainage, and the possibility of longer roots. Assembling them was fairly straightforward, which is a good thing since the first one I opened had no instructions. However, it was strenuous when I was already exhausted from weeding.

Then came the heavy bags of rich, black soil. Thankfully, my neighbor helped me haul them back to my vegetable garden—even with the two of us, it was backbreaking. I persevered to fill the raised beds with the soil before the end of the day, not knowing when I’d have the time to take it up again. Once finished, the accomplishment felt good. Every year, my neighbor and I wonder if it’s worth the time, money and effort to keep gardening, but we always do. We can’t help it. We need to dig in the dirt and help things grow. Gardening was the first task God gave to people—it’s part of what he made us for. It brings me joy.

Do you garden with raised beds? If so, how is that going? Let me know in the Comments. If you enjoy these posts, please like and share them, and subscribe. Thanks!