Healthy soil and sustainable growing

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

With these raised beds we need to pay close attention to those who have 
worked out systems they can live with, as in the post below. And not just for 
those officially disabled but those who just work smart and make tending beds 
less strain. Many of us need to allow for physical limitations. Those of us 
with even slight limitations know that width and height of beds is no 
laughing matter. Four feet wide is about all most can reach from either side 
to the middle. Planting, weeding, mulching, harvesting etc. can be way too 
much strain if beds are too wide.

I see many different ideas here put into practice, cattle panels, whatever. 
Mixed planting like vining plants on one side and lower vegetables on the 
other is maximizing production from available space. Hopefully we can place 
the tall things on the north, esp in higher latitudes when the midday sun is 
lower. I'm trying snow peas down the middle with chicken wire trellis between 
two close rows, with beets just inside the edges. Which reminds me I'm taking 
too long on the midmorning green tea/banana break and need to get those snow 
pea trellises up before they decide to climb the beets instead ...

paul tradingpost@lobo.net


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

On 6/13/2010 at 2:15 PM birdwalk@frontiernet.net wrote:

>love the raised beds. we too did concrete blocks only I have them 3
>blocks high (24 inches).  adding a level next year as leaning over the 3
>vs 4 blocks makes a big difference to my back. 4 feet wide including block
>is good and most are 40 30 - 40 feet long.  I used micro jet irrigation
>but like the idea of the water shooting up into the plants to knock down
>bugs....  we filled the sides with sand as that helps hold moisture and we
>can plant
>
>I added cattle panels to some of the beds for the vining things and
>tomatoes...  permanent.
>
>we placed them along one side about 6 inches in - gives planting room and
>allows the other side of the bed for other things such as the beans - okra
>- eggplant - beets and such.
>
>as the tomatoes would get to tall to harvest them we treat the panel as a
>trellis and tie the tomatoes along sideways as they get taller.
>
>we filled the bottom with old hay and barn clean out shavings and
>'hazanga' we have had to add more compost and good dirt top as the hay in
>the bottom rots down.  this gave us a couple years to keep adding stuff
>instead of having to have it all at once.
>
>the beds are 4 feet apart or separate as site dictated.  between the bank
>of beds we added carpet scrap to keep the weeds down and allow better
>footing or wheelchair 'roll'
>
>other wise they are on level ground and easy access.
>
>
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