Can you believe it’s September already? It’s been quite the year so far. I moved into a new home this spring. Our family was adopted by a litter of kittens, two of whom we kept. And it’s been one household project after another since moving.

I’ll be finishing out the growing season with the biggest project yet.  

If you recall, we completely changed the layout of our garden this past spring to accommodate our heavy, clay-filled soil. We had severe drainage issues year after year with the garden.

Now, the drainage is better, but we’re still struggling to get a decent harvest in this soil. As you know, I’m a big advocate for soil testing before indiscriminately fertilizing. We’ve been testing our soil regularly since going no-dig, and while it is improving, both in nutrients and composition, it’s a slow process. 

A friend had to remind me this week that “In a world where raised beds are the go-to trendy thing to do, you’re using them for their actual intended purpose – to allow one to garden where your soil is crap.”

These raised beds will allow us to grow food in our space instead of fighting with it every year, and allow us to keep improving the soil below them.

It’s easy to get wrapped up in current gardening trends or environmental issues and to judge others on the internet for what they do or don’t do in their garden.

I wholeheartedly believe that our soil health and choosing natural or organic alternatives to chemicals that end up in our waterways are important.  

My rigidity in following “the rules” turned gardening into an arduous task rather than something I enjoy because I felt constricted to an ideal. Sitting here planning my raised beds, I’m reminded of the most important rule of gardening – there are no rules. 

There are many, many different means to end when playing in the dirt. If our goal is to grow something, then each of us needs to do what works best for us: our needs, our time, our space, our climate. Even if you’re the editor of a popular gardening website.