Frequently Asked Questions

How long will my garden last?

• Cedar is naturally insect and rot resistant and has proven to last at least 10 years.
• We recommend an annual or semi annual addition of compost and nutrients to top of the bed to maintain maximum productivity.

Why Raised Beds?

• We feel raised beds are the best way to garden effectively to deal with the heavy clay soil in Berks County.
• Raised beds provide an instant garden with the perfect soil mix, are easy to maintain, and are a highly efficient use of space.

What can I grow in a 4'x8' Garden?

• We like to visualize a 4'x'8 garden in either 1 foot by 1 foot squares or 1 foot by 2 foot rectangles. This helps to design the layout for the plantings.
• We usually suggest 1 to 2 tomato plants, 1 to 2 pepper plants, 2 to 4 kale and or Swiss chard, a few herbs, which produce for a long period of time, and a mix of root vegetables like carrots, turnips, radishes, beets, and leafy salad greens that grow fast and can be replanted often if desired.
• Some plants like cucumbers and squash (and even tomatoes) are definite space hogs and we will do our best to trellis and or cage these bullies.

How often should I water my garden?

• It is recommended that a garden receives about 1 inch of rain a week. To supply this amount of water during times of infrequent rains or extreme and prolonged heat, a 4'x8' size garden bed (32 square feet) requires just 3 gallons of water day.
• It is best to water in early morning or early evening.

How much time do I need to maintain my garden?

• While we recommend engaging with your garden often (both to enjoy the outdoors and to watch and learn as the garden grows) we also understand that your life is already busy.
• We recommend and use tried and true vegetable and herb varieties.
• We can normally set up an automated irrigation system so you can set it and forget it. Our soil mix is generally weed free. And we do the best we can to plant starter seedlings. All of this attention to detail results in a garden with very minimal maintenance on a daily and weekly basis.
• We want the focus for you to be on harvesting and enjoying your bounty of produce and not on battling weeds, struggling to get seeds to sprout, or remembering to water.

Home Fruit Growing

In the last few years we have nearly completed our mini backyard orchard and have been able to prioritize our recommendations for the best fruit to start growing.

• Strawberries, raspberries (including black raspberries) and blueberries are probably the best to start with. They are easy to grow, start producing fruit in just a couple of years or less and require minimal maintenance. Blueberries most likely will require protection from birds.
• Next, thornless blackberries*, jostaberries, service berries* and gooseberries would be good later additions. *Probably will require protection from birds. It is important to note that gooseberries do have fairly decent thorns and we HIGHLY recommend thornless blackberries.
• If you're adventurous, our next recommendations are for nanking cherry, goumi, and figs. Figs definitely will provide a challenge, but the reward is divine. The nice thing about nanking cherries and goumis is that they are a nice early season fruit.
• Finally, and we will update this when the time comes and we have more personal experience, certain disease resistant varieties of apples, pawpaws, European and Asian pears, American and Asian persimmons, mulberries, medlar, goji, and jujube all show promise for the Berks County area. We are also trying out some varieties of hazelnuts as well.
• One thing to note and have fun with, is that we also live in an area where with a little foraging, we can find tasty wild blackberries, black raspberries, wineberries, mulberries, and maybe even pawpaws.