Growing a vegetable garden on a small hill

Instead of working hard, work smart and this project will go alot smoother and faster!

Leveling a small hill or even a steep slope can be achieved with just a few minor materials. Well, you can get an expensive landscaper to come and rearrange the yard. Building a small decorative retaining wall is inexpensive and will give your yard a fresh new look. There is pleanty of do it yourself projects that may look difficult but is actually quite easy.

You would need to get decorative blocks that interlock because these will not require mortar. This is best material when building a small decorative retaining wall. A larger or higher retaining wall will require further stability and consideration for proper drainage. The rule of thumb for proper height is about 15"-28".

When using your interlocking blocks they will have a lip on the bottome of rear side giving a pleasant side step effect. This design is safer stepped slope rather thana single tall wall.

While putting the wall together it may look goofy and thinking to yourself that it is all wrong.

Actually, you are on the right path. When you begin to fill the bed with soil this will push the blocks forward and strengthening the joints between the lips and the underlying blocks.

MATERIALS YOU WILL NEED

• Shovel
• Interlocking bricks
• landscaping fabric
• Mallet or Hammer
• Leveler
• Gravel or Fill dirt
• Soil

• Vegetables or flower seeds
• Landscaping cloth

Making the Trench

What you need to do is measure how wide you want your retaining wall. Grab your water house and use the length to mark the beginning of the trench and ending of it.

When making your trench make sure it is about 4" in depth. This allows the brick to set inside the ground about half-way. As you lay your first brick make sure it is leveled. The level bubble needs to be in the middle of marker. If it is not leveled simply tap brick until desired level is reached.You can go with a traditional straight wall or be creative and use a stepping method that will give it character.

Regular bricks are 4 to 6 1/2 inches long.This helps determines how many bricks are needed ; if making a curve retaining wall will require more bricks. The height of the wall recommendation is to be about twelve to twenty four inches tall. Any higher is possible but you may need to check with your home owners association ( if applicable) or your building codes in your city. Right before you finish building the retaining wall you can decide to put flat rocks or not so you may have a place to sit and enjoy the scenery.

Filling the wall

Now place your landscaping cloth against the inside of the retaining wall. This will prevent the soil from seeping thru any cracks or holes. First, place your gravel or fill dirt about one or two inches deep. Next, put in your fill dirt and distribute it evenly. Remember this is also helping your wall to be pushed together and interlocking properly. You are probably wondering how the water will be evemly spread... the gravel is the source that helps the water get evenly spread inside the wall.

Some of you are thinking why do we need a retainging wall? Why not just plant your garden and go? First, by building a retaing wall this IS helping the garden. This will prevent your garden from sliding of the hill on the next rainy day. Planting a garden is nice.... giving your house a wonderful eye appeal...adds value! Okay, my little garden planters go build, plant, and be proud. Let me know how it turns out.