Raised garden box made of wood pallets

As you may recall from our Digging in the Dirt blog post, we have a greenthumb or two on our Archive crew. In that particular post, we shared favourite things about raised garden boxes and the benefits of building them. But now that your crops have been harvested and winter is fast approaching, you may be wondering what to do with them.

Let’s dive into some simple ways to preserve your garden boxes throughout the colder months.

Dispose
Clean up any unsightly weeds and dead plants. Any healthy looking vegetation can be added into your compost to regenerate into soil that will be useful come Spring. Any diseased or otherwise, useless plants can be thrown into your household waste. Now that the Fall collection of yard waste has expired, you can add this waste into your green food scraps bin, which will be collected on the City of Edmonton’s update winter schedule, starting November 9, 2021.

Improve
Increase soil quality by adding a layer of good compost to the top of the soil. The natural process of freezing and thawing will work the compost in, creating a nutrient rich soil for the Spring. Adding leaves, twigs and branches as mulch will also add protection in the colder days.

Plant
The Fall is the optimal time to plant garlic. Getting the cloves into the soil before the freezing weather occurs will guarantee robust and delicious garlic in the Spring. Many types of garlic require exposure to colder temperatures in order to thrive - although since we are in Alberta, it is recommended to plant garlic cloves a bit deeper (closer to 3 inches deep) to give them some protection over the winter.

Prepare
Inspect your wooden elevated garden beds. Fix any surfaces in need of refurbishment. Those that are exposed to the elements can be sanded and sealed to extend the life of the planter box. There is also a chance that since this year’s raised garden boxes were bountiful, you’ve decided to increase the number of garden boxes in your yard. Build them now so you can focus on growing in the Spring.

After cleaning up, fortifying and preparing, you can relax and enjoy the winter reading gardening books, planning your next garden and dreaming about how to make your Backyard Beautiful. Happy Days!

Photo by Jacquie Troy Carter

We’ve got some greenthumbs here at Archive who take their gardening seriously: starting plants from seed and nurturing them over the colder months, using mini greenhouses to acclimatize the plants and of course, building elevated garden boxes to grow vegetables, flowers and to experiment with square-foot gardening too!

Although our days are spent building other things, we thought we would share some of our favourite things about elevated garden planters:

Photo by Jacquie Troy Carter

Easy to construct
While it does take some work to acquire materials, build and set up, the long term reward is worth it. With solid garden boxes, the maintenance is low and when well built, can last for years.

Eco-Friendly
Building garden boxes (or trellises) are a great way to use scrap wood and old pallets that ultimately would end up in the landfill. Picking clean yet unique pieces adds character, depth and gives a fresh perspective on something that could otherwise be seen as “boring”.

Visually appealing
The back (or front) yard can really be amped up by creating definition and dimension with shape, size and number of garden boxes.

With a distinct growing area, the garden will have the space and exposure it needs to thrive and truly make the backyard beautiful.

Better soil = better plants
Raised garden beds allow more control over the soil and are a great option if the native soil in the area is not desirable and not great in composition (too rocky, too sandy, not enough of those helpful micro-organisms). An optimal growing environment can be created by engineering the ideal soil for whatever is being planted in the raised garden beds.

Depending on how deep the raised garden planters are, roots will have ample space to establish themselves, resulting in bigger and healthier plants. The elevation from the ground also allows better drainage and keeps the ground-dwelling plants at bay. That means less weeding!

The possibilities are endless when it comes to elevated garden boxes as many plants do wonderfully in such an environment. From first-time gardeners to seasoned greenthumbs, using the square-foot method or creating an expansive outdoor space, elevated garden boxes can create a beautifully luscious garden.

Plant on!

Photo by Jonathan Hanna on Unsplash

Replenish. recharge. refresh: three words that have become increasingly more important over the past year when faced with the pandemic, its’ lockdowns and the many restrictions.

Replenish your energy levels.

Recharge your soul.

Refresh your mind.

Finding ways to nurture these elements within the confines of your own home has been the mandate of late. Luckily, the warmer days are increasing (and hopefully going to stick around) so it is the perfect time to start thinking about extending our living to the great outdoors and spending as many days as possible enjoying our outdoor spaces.

Bring the Indoors Out
Backyards, porches, decks are now part of everyday life: outdoor home office, outdoor dining, outdoor entertaining spaces, you name it. Consider what you love about your indoor space. Reflect that indoor vibe outdoors with playful colour (see Let’s Talk About…Colour), inviting furnishings, tantalizing textures and maybe even modern conveniences (outdoor TV, anyone?).

But maybe it’s time to step it up a notch further.

Define Your Deck
A straight-forward upgrade like redoing a deck can dramatically improve yard aesthetics by creating definition amongst the wilds of nature. Take a page out of nature’s book and slow down a little; create the perfect look of luxurious serenity or a bold, modern retreat. With many choices of wood materials, the aesthetic you’ve been visualizing can easily come to life. However, with the price of lumber at the moment, composite materials are a viable and affordable. Composite doesn’t have the same natural look wood does but will provide a stylish, low maintenance and durable option.

Rhatigan Ridge Deck and Pergola

Create Your Oasis
A pergola is something else to consider. A simple yet striking structure, this adds to back (or front!) yard appeal but it also provides the practical use of protection from the elements. Adding greenery such as climbing flowers and leafy plants overhead can create a dense covering that could result in a serene sanctuary providing peacefulness and the warming comfort that we’re all seeking these days.

There are so many options to optimize the space in your backyard, front yard and even side yard. By creating distinct outdoor areas, these spaces can serve different purposes: relaxing, dining, entertaining (socially distanced, of course) and if you’ve got kids, a play area!

Sherwood Path Front Deck and Pergola (Photo: Archive Client)

Sherwood Park Backyard Basketball Court (Photo: Archive Client)

Once upon a time, the idea of ‘indoor/outdoor living’ was a something you’d see on HGTV. It became a slow moving trend but has gained popularity over the years. Homeowners have realized there were many benefits that optimizing outdoor living spaces can bring: a quicker, more economical way to enhance a home without a huge renovation or addition and increased the value of the home to name a few. But it cannot be denied that spending more time outdoors provides enormous benefits to our health and well-being which is something that we all need in these uncertain times.

For that reason alone, are you ready to upgrade your outdoor living space?