Feeling the Love!

Monday the 9th was a good day for the garden.

The girls and I took a drive to Habitat for Humanity in Vero Beach to have a look at scrap lumber we could use to frame out the raised beds.  They have a LOT of what appeared to be usable wood, but I learned something interesting:  We can't use treated lumber for this garden.  Of course, this made sense once I heard some one say it, but I hadn't thought of it myself before.  Treated wood has been chemically changed to make it more resistant to critters like bugs and mold.  Sounds good...except the chemical treatment is toxic.  Obviously, that's not going to work in a garden where the results are supposed to be eaten!  The man I met at Habitat also said that it would be a good idea to use untreated wood to outline the beds, but that ultimately, we will want to use pavers, bricks or something else less subject to weathering and decomposition than wood.  He also mentioned the polyvinyl edging blocks I have seen at places like Lowe's and Home Depot, but, we're Sea Turtles Gardening Organically, and it wouldn't do to be using non-renewable resources to edge our gardens. 

Our next stop was Orchid Island Botanicals on US 1 in Vero Beach.  Neil, one of our school crossing guards, works there and came right over to say hello and see what help he could offer.  He donated a giant stack of black, plastic pots we can use to get seeds started and suggested that we build our beds right on top of concrete, instead of over dirt in an attempt to circumvent the nematodes that would eventually destroy our crops.  Neil told me he would stockpile supplies for us when they weren't needed at the garden center.  It feels so good to know that community people are on our side!