Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

homestead - Re: [Homestead] garden plans

homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Homestead mailing list

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Mark Stutzman <mark AT transvantage.com>
  • To: homestead AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [Homestead] garden plans
  • Date: Wed, 09 Jun 2010 10:30:10 -0400

Don, if you're doing raised beds, not sure if you even need to till. Just build the beds, lay the cardboard, add the new soil and amendments. I guess it depends how high you're going, though.

Don Bowen wrote:
I plan to do what I did in the last garden with some changes. I made raised beds that were 4X16, aligned E-W, with 2' separation. The size was fine, there was plenty of room in a bed and walking around was not too bad. If I were to shrink the bed at all it would be by only a few feet.

The major problem was alignment, there was a N-E slope to the land, one bed was at grade while the opposite corner was 24" above grade. If I were to do it again I think I would follow the contour of the land. Where I am thinking of a garden location the ground is mostly flat.

Next major problem was the 2' between beds. That was not enough for some vine plants and working between beds. I would dump shredded xmas trees on the paths to control weeds and that worked well. I think the next garden will have 3' between beds and 4' between the ends.

I also ran water to one corner of each bed and will do the same next time around. I bought a shop sink at a garage sale and installed that in one corner, very handy. One thing I always wanted to do was to build a garden shed, a small space to store stuff with a small porch along the front to provide a nice place to stop and watch the rain.

I think the first step will be to till up a space for the bed. I do not really know the soil there but I do know it has a lot of rocks. Once it is tilled I would like to pay out the cardboard and build beds around that. Put in some good soil, rotted sawdust, and manure to hold the cardboard in place then plant some sort of cover crop. That would be a good time to build the first fence for the chicken moat and let the chickens have their way with the beds.

The garden shed will be a long term project. I want to replace the well shed as an early project. I have plans to make it a garden shed for mower storage and the like. There will be an insulated box at one end for the pressure tank and well head. I want to experiment with solar heating and rain catchment with this little shed. In the box will be water storage for rain collection and the south end will have a collection box with one side Polycarbonite. The idea is that the sun will heat air in the collection box which in turn will heat the rain water as heat storage.






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page