What does spring taste like? For gardeners it is crunchy green lettuce picked right from the soil and fresh, sweet peas straight from the pod. Gardening is not only healthy; it is family-friendly and a great way to save money. It is also good for the soul. “You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted a fresh tomato straight from the vine,” says Tom Johnson. “Or witnessed the excitement of a child tasting the first strawberries of the season.” Johnson, the owner of Eastern Shore Forest Products, knows a thing or two about gardening. He has spent two decades experimenting with raised garden beds, perfecting a combination of soil, water and techniques.
“This has become our produce section,” says Johnson, surveying the broccoli, cabbage, onions and lettuce growing in neat beds in his backyard. Summer will bring cucumbers, blueberries, melons and tomatoes. “Instead of getting a recipe out and then going shopping, my wife, Anita, goes out to the garden, picks what’s ready, and finds a recipe for it. And it is much more nutritious than what you find at the grocery store.”
Most gardeners know that a bountiful harvest comes only after months of work: tilling and testing soil, balancing nutrients, adding the right amount of water, controlling weeds and insects. Johnson decided to find a way to make gardening easy for anyone. “As I got into it, I really tried to take everything to the next level and figure out what you need to be successful — high yield, less work and more fun.”
The result is Expert Garden Systems™, a stress-free garden designed for those who crave home-grown vegetables, fresh herbs and fresh flowers for the table, but have little time to prepare a seed bed, weed, water and battle pests. Available through Eastern Shore Forest Products, Johnson’s raised bed gardens are framed in cypress wood, filled with a custom blend of organically approved soil, and include a customized water-saving irrigation system. Best of all, the complete raised garden system, including the soil and mulch, can be delivered and assembled in less than a day, either by the company or by the purchaser.
Expert Garden System’s Marketing Manager Kurt Schuster says each component of the Expert Garden System was designed to promote healthy, hardy plants with minimal work. The 3-inch thick, 12-inch high natural cypress wood is termite and rot resistant and won’t bow or warp when exposed to heat or moisture. “You just can’t buy this wood in these dimensions at a home improvement store,” he points out. The specially designed irrigation system not only delivers an appropriate amount of water to the garden each day, it conserves water by delivering moisture right to the roots through drip irrigation. “A lot of people think they don’t have a green thumb. This system makes it easy to plant and grow just about anything.
“The secret to this great growing system lies beneath the surface,” adds Johnson, who has spent years experimenting with various formulas to create the ideal soil for the Expert Garden System. “It is organically approved soil, compost enriched and pH balanced to provide essential nutrients and microbes. That really is the key to success.” Johnson continues, “The system also includes mulch around the beds and contractor-grade landscape fabric to prevent weeds.”
Just how much food will a Expert Garden System produce? Johnson harvested 243 pounds of sweet potatoes from one raised bed last summer; he estimates that is nine times the yield of an ordinary garden. Last summer his family picked “more tomatoes than we could ever use” from another bed. “Each bed is 12-inches deep, so you get a better root system,” explains Johnson. “You get robust plants which not only produce more, but are healthy and resistant to bugs and disease.”
Gardening has now become a family affair for the Johnsons. Daughter Lindsey, 11, grows strawberries to sell at a roadside stand, and has a variety of vegetable seeds picked out for spring planting. “This is great for kids. Give them a seed catalog and let them pick out purple carrots or yellow tomatoes. Or give each grandchild a garden bed and let them grow their own vegetables,” says Johnson.
The Expert Garden Systems garden can be designed to fit nearly any space. And once an Expert Garden System is installed, gardeners can spend more time having fun with a garden and less time tilling, watering, weeding and spraying. The “Expert Garden” is a great investment for today’s economy and lifestyle that offers a fun and exciting family activity while putting delicious, safe and nutritious food on your table.