Calliope's Table

           Portland, Oregon

A Garden Box is a great way to get you started doing some growing in your own yard. Often called "raised beds", Garden Boxes are quite simply a frame to hold garden soil in which you can grow things. To get more folks started with gardening, Calliope's Table has partnered with RiverHouse CSA and Sellwood Garden Club to build Garden Boxes for anyone who wants to do some growing in their own yards. We'll work with you to situate your Garden Box in the right area of your yard (or patio, balcony, driveway, or parking median), build and install it, fill it with good organic compost, help you plan what you're going to grow, provide seeds and plants with plenty of planting tips, and teach you how to care for your new garden if you need help.

Garden Boxes have become quite popular with urban gardeners for a few reasons:

• Higher yields in smaller spaces – A Garden Box eliminates unnecessary walkways and increases yields by five-fold over the traditional row-path-row garden layout.
• Reduced soil compaction – A Garden Box establishes walkways outside the growing area to keep foot traffic off the growing bed, reducing soil compaction.
• Earlier planting – A Garden Box facilitates better runoff and drainage allowing soil to warm faster in the spring. Boxes can be covered with plastic during spring rains, allowing for early planting even in rainy years.
• Frost protection – A Garden Box is easy to cover for spring and fall frost protection. It can also be shaded in the hot summer.
• Soil improvement – A Garden Box is a clearly defined area where the gardener can concentrate soil improvement techniques, such as the addition of soil organic matter.
• Architectural interest – Garden Boxes become an architectural feature of the landscape design.
• Accessible gardening – A Garden Box is ideal for enabling persons with limited mobility to garden.
• Easily managed - A Garden Box keeps your garden contained within the borders of the Box.

Garden Boxes are priced from just $50.00 for a 4 foot by 4 foot Box, and can be designed to fit any space and situation. To do our part in helping to get more people started gardening, we're offering Garden Boxes on up to a 100% sliding scale to those that need some financial help getting started. We're able to do this by using what we make on the fully paid Garden Boxes to purchase materials to build others, and we'll donate our time. What this means is, if you're able to purchase your Garden Box for full price it will allow us to build another Garden Box for a family that could use some help growing their own food.

Garden Boxes also make a great gift for someone you know that would like to get started with their own garden. We'll provide you with an attractive Gift Certificate you can give them, and they can contact us when they're ready to get started. The Gift Certificate can also be redeemed toward a different size Garden Box or another garden they'd like.

If you're already thinking about a larger garden, or a garden in a space other than a raised-bed box, we can help you with that too. Just send us a note at and let us know what you've got in mind. We'd love to help you get started or take the next step in your home gardening.

Thanks,
Calliope, Marie, and Nikki