can anyone recommend a landscaper to build raised vegetable beds in eagle area (Boise: buying)

[boiseidaho]

want some raised vegetable beds in our yard.

anyone have any recomendations for someone who understands what soil mix to bring in along with building the actual box frame to hold the soil bed?

thanks

[mortgageboss]

I have built my own raised beds over the years, its not very hard. I have used generic 1x8 lumber from Lowes as well as any other re-purposed lumber I can scrounge. They all work as long as you have 6-12 inches of space to fill.

As for a bed mix, I like a one third compost, one third peat moss, and one third course grade sand to make my mixes. It give you a slightly acidic ph that many vegetable like and its not as expensive as buying potting soil by the bag from Fred Meyer or the like. If you didn't want to mix them yourself, I'm sure one of the garden centers like Zamzows has decent bed mixes.

I get about 5-6 years out of my pine wood beds before they fall apart from the water spray from my irrigation sprinklers. Stone, brick and concrete blocks can make a really durable raised bed, but I haven't wanted to buy anything new as there is always something on Craigslist free or inexpensive.

Don't over think this, just get something going and you'll be enjoying your raised beds this season. Good Luck!

[hrsource]

Raised beds were sold last year at my local Costco. So you might check out the Costco there. They were prefab and you just put them together. Looked quite nice! I have about 2 months before I will be an Idahoan.

[LillyLillyLilly]

Margaret Lauterbach is the gardening columnist for the Statesman and has raised beds on the Boise Bench. She's always ready and willing to chat and give tips on almost any subject. Her email is melauter@earthlink.net

Her beds are raised to accommodate a wheelchair gardener. I'm sure she can give you tips on getting some good dirt.