I use Earth Boxes and Gardener Supply Self watering containers for veggies as well as raised beds. I prefer the SWC because I can locate them near my kitchen door. For a newbie gardener I think a major advantage of self watering containers is there is no way to over water and fertilization is very simple if one uses the Earth Box methodology with a cover. Perhaps buying her an Earthbox (get the bare bones kit for around $30) and if she is internet savvy, the URL to the Earthbox site (earthbox.com). I recommend the EB above all others including homemade for absolute beginners because it has very simple instructions and they also have a forum for people to ask questions. Nobody else offers this. You can even spend a little more and get one earth box kit that has caster wheels if moving it around will be necessary, potting mix and fertilizer all included. There is literally nothing to do besides put in some plants and add water to the reservoir. In other words, there is just growing, no thinking about what potting mix to use, what fertilizer to use, how often or how much to water, none of that. Plug and play system.

Thimbleberry unless you talking about a really small raised bed or your cat is peeing pre-emergent weed killer the two things are probably not related. So what sized raised bed is this? But yeah, IF the problem was caused by cat rather than 50 other possibilities then just turn the soil well and flush the bed out. You don't indicate where you live but in some parts of the country leaving a soil bed fully enclosed in a clothe of some type all winter can cause all sorts of pathological bacterial and fungal growth in the soil. Dave

Hi Freshair! Yes, I did consider a planting table and to be honest, that will probably get made before benches and tables :)With all the planting and potting I do, and I was thinking it could be made into a wonderful seedling tray holder as well. And I was thinking a couple of them could make a lovely cold frame greenhouse along with some plastic sheeting. Yeah, it's pretty wide and deep. That headboard sits inside it with an inch or two on each side of the legs! And when the headboard is standing, it comes pretty close to reaching the bed line (ya know, where the bed would butt against it!) It's really deep enough that I'm also considering, provided I can get more, making some raised veggie planters. Would make tending the plants much easier on my back. Especially low growing (lettuce/chard) or root veggies. I was also thinking it would give squash and cukes plenty of room with a couple plants in there. Or a potato bin, I could keep laying the vine down and burying it. I'm really excited about all the possibilities with this and am wishing really hard to be able to get a few more of them! So keep the suggestions coming! Kathy

Just my 2 cents: I recently removed the soil from my garden beds because of topsoil. Gardner placed "topsoil" into the bed and it started to burn my plants. (it was a mix with other things but mainly topsoil) I called up the soil company to find out about their product. Their "topsoil" is enriched and only for lawn (raising, setting up etc..) not for medium planting. As you someone said it is a good idea to make sure the topsoil you are using is good for planting and doesn't require you to wait 6-8 months in the garden beds before you plant.