GARDENING start a raised bed system

75% of my 6400sf parcel is edible. It’s a labor of love, Even if you did 10%, it’s better than zero, and you get some benefits of fresh produce.

This is what we did in order to setup our raised beds
*) 8x2 redwood boards… it’ can also be a type of pressure treated that is swafe for gardening purposes.
* beige colored blocks (cinder) that have 4 indentations and a hole in the middle. We got those at Home Depot..
* Compost bin, or get a tumbler. Doesn’t have to be big--- what you can put in there:  Non-meat food scraps, paper towels, tissue, newspaper, dried leaves and mulch from the garden, grass clippings, cardboard (I remove tape). Think of anything organic. Bonus is that you keep less scraps piling up in your house (though you will need a collection container which will likely draw in little gnats/fruit flies.
* Rebar--- 2’ tall. They go in the center of the beige cinderblock.
* Soil: raised bed. Mix with a combination of : Your compost (or created “stuff”) from a garden center (note I did not say “box store”) , Epsom salt, fertilizer, perlite, top soil (native or package at the box store)
* Drippers—anything from ½- GPH, to variable ones, that give you streams that you can adjust. These would be bubblers, streamers, flags. Each one of these, you can adjust.. ½ & ¼ “ black, irrigation tubing.
* Rain Barrel (Capture rain water)   Barrel (sometimes, Cities encourage you to do this to save water)

cut the boards (whatever you get) , to whatever widths & lengths you choose.

Set the blocks (2). Set the boards {I prefer redwood, but there is pressure treated for gardens, I found through an instructional video... I didn't go this route)b(1), cut the boards into whatever lengths you want. (4’ for the width, and 4, 5, 6’ for the length. Use the rebar in the blocks so they stay put.   They go in the center hole of the blocks I bought at Home Depot.

Fill up with soil. Consider a barrier at the bottom so gophers aren’t a problem (in some areas)
set up the drip system however you feel, rows, hodgepodge, bubblers, drip (you tube video link)

These type of systems requires some monitoring for periodic maintenance as drippers plug, break off, etc. Our current setup isn’t likely the best but you learn by trial & error.

I’d separate zones based on the water requirements of the trees you put there.  Sometimes, it’s not possible, but do the best you can. 

Watering during the dry summer, probably system should be on for 10 minutes, 4x a week. Ensure that the areas are wetter down an inch or deeper. If you have dryness down there, you’re not watering enough. I’m learning this the hard way..

The plots can be any length, but try to keep it 4’ or less wide, because you can only reach so far.
Feel free to drop me a note for any of your ideas that worked for you.