Steve Masley Consulting and Design

Home Improvement Professionals , Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers
6 Reviews
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Steve Masley Consulting and Design
6 Reviews

ME Garden, Menlo Park

If any garden could be described as a "postage stamp garden", it's this small garden in Menlo Park, California. Just 7 feet by 8 feet, it's located right outside the kitchen, the perfect place for growing herbs and vegetables.

We designed a keyhole raised garden bed with an L-shaped access off the kitchen door, so the client can slip out to clip herbs or harvest salads, vine-ripened tomatoes, and other vegetables. The deep root zone of the raised bed allows you to plant on tighter spacing, then train plants vertically to make maximum use of a small space.
Country: United States
Before
If any garden could be described as a "postage stamp garden", it's this small garden in Menlo Park. Just 7 feet by 8 feet, it's located right outside the kitchen in an ideal spot for growing herbs and vegetables.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
Even small spaces like this 7 foot x 8 foot garden can be tremendously productive with deep-dug or raised bed gardening.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
Although gopher incursion in this garden is unlikely due to the brick patio surrounding it, it's not impossible. Pocket gophers can wipe out small gardens in a couple of days, so a layer of 1/2 inch hardware cloth is laid down under the beds to prevent gophers from getting in.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
We chose a "keyhole" raised bed design that allows easy access from the kitchen. Bed design by Patricia Browne and Steve Masley. Bed constructed by Edy Aceituno-Pineda.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
Another view of a keyhole raised bed design. Bed design by Patricia Browne and Steve Masley. Bed constructed by Edy Aceituno-Pineda.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
Another view of a keyhole raised bed design. Note the L-shaped access off the kitchen door that allows easy access to the center of the bed. Bed design by Patricia Browne and Steve Masley. Bed constructed by Edy Aceituno-Pineda.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Before
Raised beds should be at least 20 inches deep. The deep root zone allows you to set plants closer together and train them vertically. Here the bed is being filled with a fast-draining but rich organic soil blend.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
The "Jackson Pollack" stage comes after filling the bed. Organic soil amendments are dusted over the surface, then mixed into the top 10 inches of soil. They release nutrients slowly, over the whole summer; all of the fertilizer is "built in" before planting, so it's like winding up a clock.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Here is the garden the next day, after planting. The key to small space gardening is a deep, rich root zone that allows you to plant on tighter spacing, and train vegetables vertically. Tomatoes will be trained to a single leader and spiraled up the green stakes, "Italian Grandfather Style". ...
ME Garden, Menlo Park
A raised bed vegetable garden two weeks after planting.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
Raised bed organic vegetable garden 3 weeks after planting.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
A month after planting, the tomatoes in this raised bed organic vegetable garden are halfway up the poles, and the garden is well underway. The client is harvesting lettuces and fresh basil that were interplanted between the longer-term vegetables.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
A month after planting, the tomatoes in this raised bed organic vegetable garden are halfway up the poles, and the garden is well underway. The client is harvesting lettuces and fresh basil that were interplanted between the longer-term vegetables.
ME Garden, Menlo Park
A month after planting, the tomatoes in this raised bed organic vegetable garden are halfway up the poles, and the garden is well underway. The client is harvesting lettuces and fresh basil that were interplanted between the longer-term vegetables.
ME Garden, Menlo Park