[permaculture] Walls for raised garden beds
Keith Johnson
keithdj at mindspring.com
Mon Apr 6 21:46:33 EDT 2009
I too have been using basically permanent raised beds for at least 30
years for all the reasons listed. I rarely use constructed walls though
most of the suggestions for materials seem quite reasonable and
practical for many circumstances. In the heavy clay soils that I have
presently raised beds mean the difference between getting crops in early
or waiting for the "swamp" to drain. I just took a bunch of pix of the
garden during a heavy rain yesterday. If it wasn't for the contour
raised beds my crops would have washed away.
Keith
Golden Love wrote:
> Brad Lancaster, in his book "Rainwater Harvesting," explains how creating
> earthworks to harvest rain in arid regions like the Western US is an
> efficient way to water. I am also using this idea to water my fruit trees
> and other crops (excluding baby salad greens that are close to the surface)
> with graywater.
>
> I have been using raised beds for over 25 years and this is a big change for
> me....it really makes sense. John Jeavons was the first person to get me
> going on that path.
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Walls for raised garden beds
>
> Raised beds can help you get two weeks (or more) from each end of the
> growing season.
>
> They can also help you to create micro climates.
>
> Raised beds are extra, extra good for those that have soil that is too wet.
> Or for those with no soil at all!
>
> Raised beds help you to have a planting area that nobody ever walks on and
> compacts - thus having exceptionally fryable soil without tilling and
> without tilling, you can accumulate soil structure and OM.
>
> I think if we tried, we could probably come up with two dozen reasons to
> have raised beds - this is just what popped into my head this moment.
>
> I guess the moral of the story is that the one time work pays you back for
> decades into the future.
>
> Can you think of a time when it isn't worth it? I've heard that in some
> super hot places, they actually do the opposite: trench gardening.
--
Keith Johnson
"Be fruitful and mulch apply."
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