Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

How high would depend on the soil beneath the beds and the depth of roots for 
the plants intended. If the soil beneath can be dug up or loosened initially, 
you gain eight inches down. I did this and added more height with soil from 
the property, with amendments mixed in at the time. My tomato plants get a 
good foot and a half to grow in. I use 2" cull lumber cheap from Home Depots, 
from 2x6 to 2x12 depending on the beds purpose. I screw ends and sides 
together (power drill of course) and limit them to eight feet long so no 
other bracing is needed. All told it came to about 75 beds including 
greenhouse beds. However, fence beds for pole beans are just one foot wide 
and the length of the fences, and held in place with 2x4s and short stakes 
that don't have to go deep to hold 2x4s steady. It all depends on what you 
have and what you want to do.

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


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

On 6/11/2010 at 5:47 AM Emery Mitchamore wrote:

>One thing that I've never been satisfied with is the material to contain
>raised beds.  I know some people (who have actual "soil"), just mound the
>bed up in the middle, with no structural sides, but I need to raise the
>bed more than that.  BTW, how high should beds be?  Others use scrap
>lumber, but I can't drive vertical posts to support the sides (6" to
>Limestone), and I'd hate to rebuild it every few years.  Most other
>materials, like RR ties (poison!!) and stones (expensive - have to buy),
>make an unproductive border of 6" or so.
>
>E. E. "Mitch" Mitchamore
>www.hillcountrynatives.net
>
>
>
>On Jun 10, 2010, at 11:37 PM, Tradingpost wrote:
>
>>
>> Great details on my pet topic, raised beds. Or permanent beds as I like
>to call them. You have the background and knowhow to make comparing notes
>very useful. I don't make progress by being satisfied. Lots of people can
>grow; growing a lot in small spaces and growing well with a minimum
>investment of time and money is a whole nother matter.
>>
>> It's late for me but I have to get in a couple things on this. My beds
>are on a slight slope, stepping down to the east with beds running north
>and south. I left 2 1/2 feet between for room to kneel transplanting and
>move a wheelbarrow between. They're 3x8 with four foot aisles running east
>and west, room to turn a wheelbarrow around in. I level the beds surface
>so water will soak in evenly, with hay mulch applied after transplanting
>or seeds sprouting, and use soaker hoses in most beds on top of the mulch.
>It cuts watering from once a day to about once a week in the hottest
>weather (arid climate, 5000 elev), and just by connecting hoses to the
>soakers in sequence I can get other jobs done while the beds soak. Saving
>time on routine jobs is the name of the game. Without some system I
>couldn't grow enough beds to make two markets worthwhile. Hope we can get
>back to this. Sunup comes early now.
>>
>>
>> paul tradingpost@lobo.net
>>
>> *********** REPLY SEPARATOR  ***********
>>
>> On 6/9/2010 at 7:17 AM Don Bowen wrote:
>>
>>> I will be putting in a new garden at a house we are moving to in the
>>> Ozarks.  Right now between packing and tossing I am planning my new
>garden.
>>>
>>> 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 th 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.
>>>
>>> --
>>> Don Bowen           KI6DIU
>>> http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html
>>>
>>> _______________________________________________
>>> Livingontheland mailing list
>>> Livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
>>> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/livingontheland
>>
>>
>>
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