My son’s preschool, Riverhouse Children’s Center, has limited space for a garden, but there were some nice, sunny spots on the playground. My husband and I thought that if we could build a garden bed that could be easily moved, his class could have the best of both worlds. Last spring, my husband, 3.5-year-old son, and I built a raised bed on wheels and donated it to my son’s preschool class.
We constructed it out of non-treated, rot-resistant redwood and screws, left some small cracks between the boards in the bottom for drainage, and lined the bottom with weed fabric to hold the soil in. We secured swivel casters on the bottom side of the bed and filled it with a mixture of compost and potting soil.
My son’s class planted carrots and lettuce in the mobile bed. The teachers moved it into the sun during indoor classes and moved it out of the way when the children were on the playground. The children loved being able to see the progress the seedlings made each day and helped water the plants. They harvested and ate the carrots and lettuce at the end of the season.
A raised bed on wheels such as this can be a variety of shapes, sizes, and heights. The larger pieces of redwood we used ended up being a bit heavy for the completed project, but the wheels still make it a snap to move. We made it deep so that if bigger plants like tomatoes were planted in it, the roots would have plenty of room to grow.
This year, the preschool is planting carrots in the mobile bed again and has begun work on a new stationary raised bed in front of the school, along with soft fabric grow pots in various locations, for beets, carrots, peas, salad greens, tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers, and more. The infant area will even feature a planter with an edible sensory herb garden.
There are many creative ways to find space to grow food, as long as you have some sun, and a will, there is a way! Please see our web page on “Ideas for Small Spaces and Small Gardeners in Colorado” for more ideas.
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