Winter Raised Bed Garden

My harvest today was collards, lettuce, and cilantro. I live near Tulsa, Oklahoma, located in the southern midwest of North America.

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I have black gumbo clay dirt, which is awful for gardening. It dries rock hard and acts like pudding when wet. I installed eight 8 x 4 x 1 foot galvanized beds. I installed frost and bug netting with support made from 1/2 inch PVC pipes and 1-inch x 8-foot wood. I screwed the wood slats to the PVC pipes and attached the piping to the beds using 3/4 inch water pipe brackets. The hard part was hauling all my dirt delivered by Gem garden dirt company from my front yard to my backyard using my Gorilla dump wheelbarrow. I love that wheelbarrow; it's super tough!

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My chicken house is to the left; I have eight hens and get three to four eggs a day in the winter. The Hens slow down from limited sunlight and go on a vacation. The neighbors don't seem to mind the hens fighting over the nesting box. They all want to nest in the same box at the same time. Silly hens!

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I grew winter crops that are easy to care for, like collards and kale, which have a high mineral content and are essential vitamins.

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You can see curly kale, collards, romaine, and winter lettuce.

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From September through October, I planted winter lettuce, all-season, and red lettuce. I pick the bottom leaves until the plants start to develop seed heads. I let the best plants go to seed for my next round of plantings. Lettuce grown in quality dirt has a high nutritional content too. I was surprised by how many vitamins are in a serving of lettuce.

  • Vitamin C: It helps in supporting the immune system. Being high in antioxidants, it keeps bones and teeth strong.
  • Calcium helps in the healthy development of bones and muscles, nerve functioning, and blood clotting.
  • Vitamin K again is necessary for blood clotting. It also prevents bone mineral loss and fractures caused due to osteoporosis.
  • Vitamin A supports cell growth and reproductive health. It is also important to maintain the health of the eyes, heart, kidneys, and lungs.
  • Folate to support cell division, production of DNA, and genetic material.
  • Phosphorus works with calcium to support healthy bones and teeth.
  • Magnesium relaxes the muscles and promotes the functioning of enzymes.
  • Potassium regulates the negative impact of sodium on your body and support nerve function. It also helps in the normal contraction of your muscles.

Health Benefits Of Lettuce

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The small dark green leaf plant is called the Japanese mustard plant. It has a subtly sweet taste and doesn't taste like mustard. You can steam, stir-fry, or use the leaves in salads. The plant sprouts quickly either through starting in a tray or direct planting. It grows year-round in my garden if I start it before freezing temperatures. We can have a month's worth of days below freezing in Oklahoma. But extended freezes last a couple of weeks, usually after January through March.

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Even we have tried keeping a lot many plants in the garden of our home. Some of them grows well while some do not. But we still try. Thanks for sharing your part of the story! :)

That's a very interesting to watch your garden farming about lettuce and consumption nutrients fact description, have a nice day with healthier vegetables wnd more.

All the plants look super fresh and in excellent condition, just what I was thinking was that most of them are excellent for our organism, I think you have double benefit there, the gardening hobby and also many vitamins/nutrients at your disposal. It is clear that you have a lot of knowledge!

Thank you, I don't have to shop for vegetables😂😂❤️

Wow, that is quite the garden,. You've done a great job making all those! That's very inspiring. And looks like they have given you quite a good harvest. Thats great!

Thank you, gardening is my gym workout 😂😂😂❤️🍀