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Sounds like the moats in this case are drainage ditches 
sometimes filled with water during a rainy season?

Not only do we keep seven large compost bins (also from 
pallets) full but the mulch you see on the paths between 
our beds is also chicken manured shreaded bedding 
composting in place on top of a layer of carboard and 
newspaper we would otherwise recycle. At the end of season 
it is also added to the nearest raised bed and the process 
begins again. We tend to plant things close together to 
discourage weeds, although most of our weeds are actually 
wildflowers that end up helping attracting the polinators. 
Weeds that are not poisonous are tossed over the fence to 
the sheep as salad. We would add their manure back except 
we fsupplemental eed coastal bermuda hay (the only kind 
available here) and being invasive we don't want to spread 
it any more than it does on it's own. The beds do dry out 
faster raised, but the drip keeps the plants hydrated. 
There's not much of a drainage problem in our paths 
because there's not much rain. The widths between our beds 
is wide enough for a wheel barrow, and the path splitting 
the garden in half is wide enough for our tractor.

We got 1/4 inch of rain yesterday and went out and took a 
walk in it just to remember what it feels like.

--Sage


On Thu, 3 Jul 2008 11:16:52 -0700 (PDT)
 bob ford <bobford79 AT yahoo.com> wrote:
> Below is some "copy and paste" from Toni's raised bed 
> print-out.  If the moats are dry, why would a disabled 
> person delete the moats in their garden design to make it 
> more accesible to a wheelchair or scooter?
> .....bobford
>
>
> - Good drainage:   In the wet Kentucky Springtime, these 
> beds have drainage with surrounding moats keep our new 
> root systems from being waterlogged.  
>
>
> - Keeps good soil in place: The heavy covering of paper 
> and organic mulches keep all the soil in place - even 
> thru the now counted on deluges of rain!  At the end of 
> the season, any topsoil that has filled into the moats 
> get quickly shoveled atop the beds before covering for 
> the season.  
>
>
> - Mostly weed-free planting areas:  Very few weeds come 
> up on these beds.  Those that do, are weak and can be 
> pulled out with two fingers, if needed.
>
>
>
> - Economy in irrigation:  During times of drought, 
> raised beds can dry out much too fast.  This thick bed 
> covering keeps plantings far moister than raised beds 
> unmulched.  Very little watering is needed thruout the 
> season.
>
>
> - Ease of maintenance:   As we grow older and our bodies 
> weary in bending   Each year the soil becomes more the 
> object of my thanks with this method.  If one is a 
> disabled gardener, the moats could be deleted in the 
> garden design, allowing a scoot-along seat or wheelchair 
> to be used with  plant heights being quite accessible ( 
> not considering such as Pole Beans or Heirloom Maters!)
>
>
>
> --- On Thu, 7/3/08, Warren <mogrits AT gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > From: Warren <mogrits AT gmail.com>
> > Subject: Re: [Homestead] Moats?
> > To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
> > Date: Thursday, July 3, 2008, 12:02 PM
> > I think as used on this list, a moat is just a spatial
> > barrier. If I recall
> > correctly, Gene's "chicken moat" is just
> > double fencing your garden allowing
> > chickens to patrol the perimeter. The "chicken
> > moat" keeps the bugs out.
> >
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