“I want to grow my own tomatoes like I did before” says Debbie Sargeant-Cridebring, 57. Being a kidney cancer survivor with debilitating degenerative disc disorder and osteoarthritis, Debbie can no longer work a tiller, kneel or bend over a garden bed like she did before. Debbie started to think about elevated gardens so she looked in several big-chain stores hoping to find a suitable planter. The only thing she could find were raised garden slats that sit on the ground that are made from flimsy and potentially toxic “plastic wood” and white vinyl boxes and rickety all wood elevated beds that she knew would only last a season or two.
Debbie and her husband Alan, 69, who is also disabled, looked on the internet and found elevated beds made completely from cedar and put together with screws, but knowing that wood contracts and expands with the weather conditions they felt they were not sturdy enough to hold their garden soil and plants, nor were they deep enough to grow Debbie’s beloved tomatoes. There was just nothing in the stores or on the Internet that would suit her needs.
There is a new “growing trend” across America. With the price of food continuing to rise and all of the pesticides and e-coli scares, not to mention the fact that our food travels an average distance of 1,500 miles to get to the grocery store, many people are being compelled to grow their own produce like our ancestors did not so long ago. People, like Debbie, who have always enjoyed growing their own vegetables and herbs, have been finding it more and more difficult due to limited mobility or limited gardening space and time.
The answer to these gardening challenges lie in thinking “inside the box”; Elevated Garden Planting Boxes to be exact, waist-high planting boxes. Debbie wanted a planting box that was tall enough so she would not have to bend over and stable enough to support the weight of the soil and water, yet deep enough to grow vegetables that have long root systems, like tomatoes, beets and carrots. She asked her sister Julie, who along with her husband Aaron owns a small manufacturing plant in Corry, PA (Corco Industries, Inc.) to fashion such a planter. They designed, manufacture and now sell to the general public an Elevated Garden Planter Box that has a galvannealed powder-coated metal frame and a rot-resistant and insect repelling cedar wood planting box with a 14” depth. The total height is a comfortable 30” or 36” high, and has a planting bed size of 2’ by 4’ so plants are easily accessible from all sides of the box.
To prevent root rot the planter box was designed so that excess water can drain from the bottom of the box, therefore no more water-logged plants. As an added benefit, of the elevated planter, is that rabbits, snakes and other varmints cannot reach the plants or foul the soil.
Debbie, along with her sister Julie, believes that other people like her may benefit from the elevated planter box they designed. The belief that people with limited mobility can still enjoy the things they once were able to do and the belief that watching things grow and being productive can breathe life into a person’s soul.
With these sturdy Elevated Garden Planter Boxes people (with limited mobility or limited growing space) can achieve a bounty of vegetables, herbs, and flowers. There is nothing more gratifying than to watch your food being grown and know that your food is safe to eat because you know where it came from.
The Elevated Garden Planter Boxes along with other raised garden beds, garden boxes, potting benches and accessories can be purchased directly from the manufacturer, on-line at www.AaronsHomestead.com by calling (814) 665-2628, or contacting them via e-mail at Corco [!at] velocity.net