Save money, increase your physical activity, and grow your own nutritious food by integrating home gardening into your wellness goals.
Rx for Wellness:
These demonstration garden beds are brought to you as a part of Rx for Wellness, a program that looks to help Open Door patient’s partner with your Care Team to develop creative strategies toward your wellness goals.
For further questions, contact:
Our Garden Coordinator
Alissa at (707) 826-8633
garden@odexternaldev.wpengine.com
To see an example of a all our garden beds, head over to the demo gardens, located behind the Eureka Community Health & Wellness Center.
are a great choice if you…
- -want a garden bed but have a tight budget (no need to buy wood!)-have small space for gardening-want more lettuces, berries, and culinary herbs-love recycling found items for quirky garden decor
What does it cost
to make your pallet garden?
2 Pallets…………………………….$0.00
1 roll weed cloth…………………………$10.00
1 box nails/staples……………………….$5.00
1 bag (2 ft3) soil………………………..$ 10.00
TOTAL (before plants) : $25 – $29.00
How to
put together your garden*
- Pallets are often available for free from garden and hardware stores
- Be sure to get clean, natural pallets that are not made from pressure-treated wood
- Nail two pallets up against each other for double pallet power or just lean one up against a wall or fence
- Use weed cloth make pockets at the bottom of each slat on the pallet, attach with wood staples or nails
- Fill each pocket with enough soil to plant your garden!
What to grow
in the pallet slats
-Be sure to get clean, natural pallets that aren’t made from pressure-treated wood or have been around harmful chemicals
-Pallets are often available for free from garden and hardware stores (it’s easier to find clean pallets at small, local businesses)
-Nail/screw plywood as backing for the pallets (if your pallets are single-sided)
-Nail/screw two pallets up against each other for double pallet power or just lean one up against a wall or fence
-Use weed cloth to make pockets for the soil at the bottom of each slat on the pallet. Attach with staples or nails
-Fill each pocket with soil to plant your garden!
Cool Weather Crops
- Lettuce
- Spinach
- Cabbage
- Radishes
- Peas
Warm Weather Crops
- Beans
- Bell Peppers
- Beets
- Summer Squash
Winter Weather Crops
- Kale
- Scallions
are a great option if you…
- Have back or leg joint pain
- Require greater accessibility
- Are wanting to save money by growing your own food!
- Care for a spin on the traditional garden bed
What does it cost
to make your accessible garden?
Wood……………………….$$$
1 roll weed cloth…………………………$10.00
1 box nails/staples……………………….$5.00
1 bag (2 ft3) soil………………………..$ 10.00
TOTAL (before plants) : $25 – $29.00
How to
put together your garden*
-can’t plant straight into the ground near your living space
-might want to move your garden somewhere else later
-have a gopher or pest problem and would like to line your bed with weed cloth or gopher wire
-like the look and feel of wood materials to frame your garden
What to grow
in an accessible garden bed
If you are a beginner consider starting your new garden bed with these easy to grow crops:
– Culinary herbs (like basil,
sage, thyme, etc.)
– Salad greens
– Radishes
– Green beans
– Peas
– Carrots
– Beets
– Strawberries
– Bush zucchini
– Spinach
How to
put together your garden
-Construct your wood box with desired wood.
-Line bottom with gopher wire, if you have
a rodent problem!
-Fill with soil.
-Plant your plants!
Supplies Checklist
to make your accessible garden
Wood planks
Nails/Screws
Soil
_____________________
(write in your own item!)
It is best to use natural, untreated wood. We recommend fir, cedar, and redwood (listed in order of least to most expensive).
How to
put together your garden*
Method # 1
-Place four strawbales in a square box and fill the middle with soil.
-Plant straight into the soil!
OR
Method # 2
-Place the strawbales side by side, in any way you would like: in a square or in a row.
-Soak bales with water everyday and fertilize every other day for ten days to start composting
-Top bales with a few inches of soil (use more soil if planting seeds; less is needed for starts).
-Plant straight into the composting bales.
What to grow
in an strawbale garden
If you are a beginner, consider starting your new garden with these tasty, easy-to-grow crops:
– Radishes
– Salad greens
– Green beans
– Peas
– Carrots
– Strawberries
– Table beets
– Bush zucchini
– Spinach
– Culinary herbs (like
basil, sage, thyme…)
Anything you would grow in a normal
garden bed!
Strawbale Gardens are a great choice because…
-provides a container for your plants, as well as composting!
-unlike soil, strawbales have no weed seeds, which means, less weeding!
-strawbales heat up quickly to encourage early season root growth
-the hollow tubes of straw hold water
-strawbales are less expensive than wood supplies for a garden bed!
Supplies you might need
to make your strawbale garden
Strawbale
Soil
Fertilizer (for Method #2)
Trellising (for vertical gardening)
_____________________
(write in your own item!)
*We used the strawbale Method #1! For an example of how we built our strawbale garden, check out the Demonstration Gardens behind the Eureka Community Health & Wellness Center.
Vertical gardens
are a great choice if you…
-don’t have a lot of room
-would like a less expensive garden bed
-want to use a planter instead of building a box
-want to save water. Vertical gardening has less soil surface area so there is less evaporation.
-need easier to reach plants (less bending over!)
-are just starting out and want a smaller garden
How to
put together your vertical garden
-Construct your wood box with desired wood OR purchase a SmartPot
-Fill with soil
-Place stakes, evenly spaced throughout the pot
-Use string or garden twine to create a trellis between the stakes.
-Plant trellising plants nearest the stakes
-Plant non-trellising plants in the extra space
What to grow
in an vertical garden bed
Plants for trellising
-peas
-pole beans
-Japanese climbing cucumbers
-Malabar spinach
Non-trellising plants
-lettuce
-strawberries
-chives
Supplies Checklist
to make your accessible garden
Wood planks OR SmartPot
Soil
Bamboo stakes
Twine
_____________________
(write in your own item!)
It is best to use natural, untreated wood; we recommend fir, cedar, and redwood (in order of least to most expensive).
