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Looking to (maybe) make our property more of a "Homestead"

Melensdad said:
YIKES . . .

I just priced 2x8x12' cedar. WOW. Or should I say YIKES and WTF?

I can get 12' long x 24" wide gavlevnized/corrugated steel roofing, rip it into 2 12" wide by 12' long pieces.

I could also use it to make deeper beds (like the one shown in the video) in a couple of the planter boxes if I chose to do so by simply using the full 24 inch sheets. There are dozens of different designs on the inter webs for building raised beds out of corrugated steel roofing. I don't really want beds as deep as the ones shown in the video which is why I would rip the metal into 12" wide pieces.

I like this version because I have a bunch of conduit, it minimizes wood needed and I can set the metal sheets inside my beds so the entire perimeter is reinforced by the existing bed frames.

Click to expand...

I just ordered a half dozen 8' by 4' by 2' deep steel raised beds. They were on end of season sale. Price was cheaper than if I had built the above version.

There are some 8' x 4' by 1' deep raised beds that are also on sale. I may get a half dozen of those too.

Soil is my biggest problem because I am living on CLAY.

The raised beds will let me garden more productively in good soil.
 
Most commercial soils available are mostly compost. You would have good results mixing 1/3 Commercial soils, 1/3 sand and 1/3 your local clay. This will give your plants a stable soil with sufficient minerals and nutrients.
The commercial soils will contain fertilizers.
The clay provides root system stability and is full of minerals.
Sand promotes good drainage.

My house was built on subsoil hydraulic clay. Barely suitable even for the lawn. I use this recipe to create very good soils in my gardens and permanent plantings.

This mix will cost you less and work universally for a wide variety of crops.

I would suggest you purchase worms. Fish bait worms work fine. Worms will help redistribute nutrients throughout the soil, horizontally and vertically, saving you tilling effort. They will multiply fairly easily. And their casings will effortlessly improve your soils.
 
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