Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["Tradingpost" <tradingpost@lobo.net>]

A three-foot width is easier reaching for me, seeding on hands and knees. 
Plus I don't try to do an entire bed at one time. Anything with bending or 
kneeling is interspersed with other jobs - and there's always other jobs ;-)

I was wrong about rows per bed; with roughly three-inch spacing I get about 
ten rows in a three-foot width. For even watering the bed has to be level 
before seeding. In a hot dry summer it also needs wind protection to retain 
moisture without constant watering. With a loose soil good for carrots, too 
much watering or rain can leach out soluble nutrients before the end of the 
season.

BTW we actually got an inch of rain yesterday. Unbelievable.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net

*********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********

On 6/29/2008 at 9:54 AM Marty Kraft wrote:

>I used an earthway seeder doing 8-9 rows on a 30X4 foot bed. Thinning
>was needed but didn't get to like I should have. Some spots got no
>seed. It was worth trying again. The seeds are so small that it's
>hard to tell when the seeder is dropping seed and when it isn't. My
>body wants to use the seder again so it doesn't have to feel the pain
>of bending over to get seeds properly sown.
>
>Marty
>On Jun 28, 2008, at 8:06 PM, Tradingpost wrote:
>
>>
>> It says, the guy does "raised beds 3 ft wide by 20 ft long. He
>> direct-seeds the carrots, four or five rows per bed, using a thin
>> carrot plate on his Earthway seeder so the plants won’t have to be
>> thinned later."
>>
>> My beds are 3 ft wide with four or five rows per bed. I haven't
>> used a seeder because I've read there are difficulties with seed
>> that small. Anyone using an Earthway seeder for carrots or other
>> small seed?
>>
>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>> ------------------------------------------
>>
>> Carrots to the core
>> Iowa organic farmer finds his niche with a long-season favorite
>> http://www.newfarm.org/features/0404/carrots/index.shtml
>> By Kristen Corselius
>> Posted April 19, 2004
>>