Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

[ChristineMM]

The gardening standard for preparing a bed is to dig down two shovels deep. The plants grow better in soil that is enriched with compost, with aged manure and other organic materials. The plants grow better when the beds are 'fluffed' (a better term is escaping me at the moment). Vegetable plants do not do well when growing into compacted soil. Rocks should also be removed.

It is very hard to do in New England, to dig down that deep, due to rocks. It is also back breaking work. Some people may have only a thin layer of top soil also, and they may hit sand or clay, or rock layers, so in those cases, the bed should be build up/raised.

It is easier to dig down a little and then to build up with a raised bed, with new soil enriched with compost and/or aged manure. For that matter you could also raise the bed up 18-24 inches and do NO PREP work to the natural ground underneath.

If you make a raised bed with 10-12 inch high sides, made from wooden planks, then you also have the option of stapling 'hardware cloth' (wire mesh) to the underside. This prevents critters such as woodchucks or voles from entering the bed from the underground part and eating the roots. Voles were a problem for me in the past. I didn't find out about this technique until it was too late.

Some people make raised beds by mounding up the soil and they don't put anything on the sides at all.

I used 12 inch high non-pressure treated wood for mine. I made 9 of these in 1996 and 9 years later 6 are still intact. Only 3 rotted (a little), in 2001, so when we moved we decided to throw them away rather than to repair them whilst in the midst of a move! It was not expensive to buy non-pressure treated wood.

There is also the issue of the shape of the bed and the walking path. If we made the garden the 'typical' way by preparing, say, a rectangle shape, we'd do a lot of digging or a lot of rototilling. We'd be preparing also the part we walk on. I didn't want to go through prep work on the part I'd walk on.

If you use the old straight row method you basically use an equal amount of walking path as growing path. This is not space-saving. You also have to weed the paths (who wants to do that?).

I chose instead to use "Square Foot Gardening" method by doing a 4x4 foot square raised bed. I left myself 2 feet of walking path in between each box. I grew the plants up trellises rather than spreading out the plants lying over on the ground (i.e. tomatoes).

I put down landscape cloth on the paths and then a thick layer of WOOD mulch which was ground up trees and shrubs that our local landfill gives away for free. Since my garden was away from the house there was not an issue for me with attracting carpenter ants too close to my home (a risk with using WOOD mulch vs. bark mulch). Bark mulch is more expensive. If you buy mulch for paths look for the thick chip type rather than fine-ground which decomposes faster. Feel free to layer it up thick, up to 6 inches if you want and are able.

I did not use bricks to make the sides as I was looking for a cheap method.

Hope this helps,
ChristineMM
www.thethinkingmother.blogspot.com

[CAkidd]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

I used 12 inch high non-pressure treated wood for mine. I made 9 of these in 1996 and 9 years later 6 are still intact. Only 3 rotted (a little), in 2001, so when we moved we decided to throw them away rather than to repair them whilst in the midst of a move! It was not expensive to buy non-pressure treated wood.

I made the mistake years ago of using railroad ties for raised beds. The chemical that is used to preserve the ties leeches into the soil contaminating it. Even though they are cheap to buy and they make great raised beds I avoid using them.

Also, the only way I have found to discourage deer and rabbits from feeding off my garden, is to fence it off using heavy duty wire fencing (8 ft high). To discourage them from feeding off my bird feeders, I use hot crushed chili peppers mixed in with the seed. The birds love it and the deer take off lickty split.

I'm anxious to get my garden tilled and planted, but more rain is in the forecast...when will it end?

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

I chose instead to use "Square Foot Gardening" method by doing a 4x4 foot square raised bed. I left myself 2 feet of walking path in between each box.

To help save even more space make 1 long bed that is 4 feet wide. Just make sure that you can reach into the centre of the bed from either side without standing on the bed.

I grew the plants up trellises rather than spreading out the plants lying over on the ground (i.e. tomatoes).

Growing plants up trellises is an excellent way to grow more in a small space. It is sometimes called vertical gardening.

I put down landscape cloth on the paths and then a thick layer of WOOD mulch .

I would put down the landscape cloth at the same time you build the beds. then you can tuck the cloth under the edge of the board.
I used several layers of newspaper (rather than landscape cloth) covered thickly with coarse sawdust.
After about 3 years the paths will have rotted down and you can dig them up and use them for compost.

[LMonty]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

I do raised beds- and I spend nothing on it except elbow grease- to start, I rented a tiller and dug out and tilled the new garden area, and then raked it smooth. (Id have spent that rental$ on any method I used, so I dont count that one time cost as part of the raised bed cost)

I determined where I wanted the beds to be- then dug out the paths, putting th edirt onto the beds. This created mounded beds- and I just smoothed them down with a shovel and rake. No cost, the beds arent ever walked on, and all the benefits apply. Ive also done the wood side method. Both have good things to recommend them, but he box method is better IMHO if you are importing dirt and not digging up your own. Might be less work if you are doing it that way, and alos easier if you are doing one bed or square at a time. Otherwise, the decision is mostly esthetic. It takes vey little extra effort to maintain the unboxed mounds in my experience, but in a larger garden (mines about 20 x 40) that small effort might outweight the intitial outlay for wood and the time to build the beds.

[Goju]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

Friday... 4/7/06

I am starting a raised bed based on square foot gardening concept.

so far...

planted 72 heirloom seeds in a growing Burpee seed container... they are starting to sprout

obtained 4 2"x12"x4' non treated boards
obtained 3'x 100' of anti weed mat.

will decide on type of gate in a few days...
the plan is to start with 1 bed, 4' x 4' divided into 16 square foot sections.
Surrounding the bed will be 2' wide path of nice white pebbles.

More to come... this will take a couple of weeks to complete.

[Mellie]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

We made a raised bed in our backyard several weeks ago. Why? For fun. We have other beds around the periphery of the yard that we have double dug and planted. They have regular artichokes, raspberries, blueberries, Jerulalem artichokes, potatoes, onions and beans and flowers. We got inspired to make a raised bed after reading here and after we cleaned out and rebuilt the compost bin.

This bed is 18 inches deep and just under 5' wide and 10' long. It's made of pacific coast cedar (blowdown from winter storms and milled 2x6 by the nephews).

We turned the soil, built the box and added more topsoil, a bit of sand and all the compost from our bin, mixing well. I'd been adding garden worms to the bin over the last few years, so the new bed has many earthworms. The racoons came nightly the first few days to feast on worms... There's a 5' tall hogwire trellis suspended on 2 heavy duty stakes at one end.

So far we've planted mostly greens, local organic starts from the farmers market, about half are from heritage seeds: Russian kale, ruby chard, arugula, head cabbage, a bok choy kind of cabbage another Japanese green or two, several kinds of red and green leafy lettuce and broccoli and snow peas under the trellis. To drape over the very end we put in some Syrian Oregano (Oreganum maru, spicy; thought to be hyssop of biblical times and an ingredient of zatar), Conehead Thyme (Coriothymus capitatus, has tiny spicy leaves and edible blue flowers), regular thyme, catnip and rosemary.

Anyway, it's fun and the good rains we've had with a few sunny days between have been good for settling the seedlings in. Only one day of hard frost and that didn't kill anything, thank goodness.

[beekeeper]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

Hi, I am new to the forum. I built 3 raised beds 2 years ago. I still grow in my garden, but I use the raised beds also. I built the raised beds using landscape timbers stacked 3 high. I fastened these together with very large nails. Each of the raised beds is 4 foot by 24 foot. I cut timbers in half for the ends. Building the beds was easy compared to hauling the dirt, manure, and compost. I haul in horse manure from a nearby horse ranch. I pile it in piles and let it breakdown further. I have compost piles that I throw leaves, grass clippings, vegetable peels, and fruit peels into. I mix some manure in with the compost piles also.

The raised beds grow plants that dwarf the plants in my regular garden. I get more produce per plant. Last year, I grew tomatoes, peppers, cabbage, onions, broccoli, and cauliflower in the beds. This year, I have tomatoes, peppers, yellow squash, and zuchini squash planted in the beds so far. I am going to try raising canteloupes in one of the beds. I have had problems with canteloupes in the past in my garden, because of inadequate drainage. I am optimistic that the canteloupes will do well.

Raised beds are definitely easier to weed.

[Goju]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

Goju's garden project...

4/8/06

Today i bought "hardware Cloth" - wire mesh that is 1/4" square openings. I figure I'll put that down on the grass, as a first layer under the raised bed to keep any critters out from digging up into the garden. Then cover it and the walking path with Landscape cloth to keep out the weeds.

Also got 2 - 2" x 12" x 6' and 2 same size 2' for a longer but not so wide bed... goes against the fence I'll put up as a deer and animal block.

More to come...

[beekeeper]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

I have used black plastic as a barrier when planting tomatoes. The tomato plants grow really well in the spring. It keeps the weeds out. It keeps the moisture in and absorbs the heat. In the summer, the plants play out earlier. I assume this is because of the heat absorption.

I had better luck when I used black plastic, then covered with mulch late in spring.

[Sally Furniss]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

The first step in building a raised bed is site selection. You want a location that has full sun; that means a minimum of 6 hours per day, preferably more if possible.



After you have selected a site you need to choose material from which to frame your bed.

You have a vast selection of materials to choose from. I was fortunate to have a friend who owned a large farm. Each spring before plowing he had to clear the field of large stones; he would pile them up and give me a call. I had an endless supply of field stone to use for our raised beds. They are decorative as well as functional. Cement block as well as wood also makes an excellent raised bed.



Pressure treated lumber is probably the most economical type of lumber to use that will last the longest. Prior to 2005 pressure treated lumber contained arsenic. Since that time it is no longer permitted; if you use pressure treated lumber older than that don?t grow vegetables in that bed. This will eliminate possibility of some of the harmful substances being absorbed by the veggies.



Cedar and Red Wood are also good choices although red wood can be a bit pricy.
If using lumber there are corner brackets available from home centers, and catalogs that makes joning the corners very easy.

Cement block is also an inexpensive material from which you can construct a raised bed.

As far as the size of your raised bed, you can build them as large as you want. The most important factor to consider is that you will need to be able to reach into the bed to harvest and weed etc. The most recommended width is 48 inches wide and as long as you desire. This will enable you to reach across the bed from either side.



After completing your bed, you will need to fill it with a planting medium. I prefer to use a mixture of 50% top soil and 50% compost, I mix these together and they make an excellent planting media. I also mulch with compost to retain moisture and deter weeds.



A couple of ?extras? that I have added to one of my raised bed.

A hoop house. This bed is framed with landscape timbers. I drilled holes into the timbers and inserted 1 inch PVC pipe into the holes. I placed 3 of these pipes along the length of the bed. Over the pipes I placed a heavy 6 mil piece of plastic, (visqueen). I place stones on the plastic to secure it to the ground. This is an excellent way to extend you growing season. After the weather warms I remove the plastic and pipes.


I leave the bed covered all winter; I can get a jump start on planting my tomatoes in April here in zone 6 as the soil has been warmed inside the hoop house.

Watering, my hoop house bed is approximately 4X10 feet. In order to water, I took some ? inch PVC pipe, a 360 degree sprinkler head, and a quick connect garden hose fitting and built an in ground watering system. Before planting in the spring I bury the pipe 3-4 inches below the soil surface making sure the sprinkle head is in the center of the bed. When I?m ready to water, snap your garden hose onto the quick connect fitting and you?re ready to go. No worry about moving sprinklers from bed to bed. The pipe can easily be cut or added to if you need to move it to another location. PVC pipe is easily glued together and also easer to lengthen by using PVC couplings. PVC pipe and fittings are very inexpensive.

Raised beds are also an excellent solution to folks with disabilities who like to garden. They can be built to a height which is reachable from a wheelchair or motorized scooter.


here you have it, raised beds are limited by only your imagination, and you can tailor them to fit your particular needs. Have fun building you raised beds.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/489/?utm_source=nl_2008-03-10&utm_medium=email

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[Amish Country]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

Raised beds also provides for good drainage in areas that land is flat or can be easily swamped by heavy rainfall.

Wood mulch is good for keeping weeds down in the walkways between the raised beds, and around the bases of fruit bearing bushes and shrubs and I can get it free from my local municipality by agreeing to take it by the truckful. The municipality dose not have to worry about disposing of the solid waste and we get free mulch.

[Farmer]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

- snip - Cedar and Red Wood are also good choices although red wood can be a bit pricy. -snip - .

Other local rot resistant woods for raised bed containers in North America include: eastern and western red cedar, black locust and osage orange.

[mixin]

Re: Raised Beds for Gardening: Why do it this way?

I have used newspapers to mulch my garden plants with. It protects the bottoms of the tomato plants from some type of fungus they can get from wet dirt splashing up on them when watering. Tuna fish cans or rings of alunimum foil protect from cutworms.