Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

market-farming - Re: [Market-farming] Re: beds for growing

market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Market Farming

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: "Woodyou" <woodyou AT hiwaay.net>
  • To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Re: beds for growing
  • Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 07:30:57 -0500

Liz, that is excellent advice. Also, to keep the weeds down and have a
relatively stable base to drive the tractor on, avoiding making ruts, a good
layer of mulch between the beds works well. Mulch from a local tree service,
in the form of chips from their chipper/shredders, works well and is quite
inexpensive. Often the tree service will provide it by the truckload at no
charge, thereby defraying their dump charges at the local landfill, and
helping the environment by not overusing the landfill. Just use caution
regarding what types of trees/vines they are chipping that day, as you don't
really need a bunch of Pine or Walnut chips near the produce garden, huh?
Hank
Huntsville, AL
----- Original Message -----
From: "Liz Pike" <liz AT laughingbrookfarm.com>
To: "Market Farming" <market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, June 09, 2003 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Market-farming] Re: beds for growing


> > our first gardens were also raised beds framed with timber. My husband
> made the widths between the beds just wide enough to mow with the
lawnmower,
> this makes keeping the weeds down quite easy, so you could actually sow
lawn
> grass or white clover between the beds when
>
>
> Just a thought...if you have the room, making the paths wider for
equipment
> makes it much easier to harvest, tend crops & work in general. This was
the
> first mistake I made as a newbie grower. Took me 5 years to relocate the
> beds, but the difference in speed & efficiency in which I could work made
me
> greatly regret not doing it sooner. The original width of my beds
> corresponded with my 4' garden cart...I could pull it over the beds and
> harvest right into it,but for vertical crops it was impossible. So I'd
have
> to leave the cart at the end of the row, which meant handling the produce
> twice in the field, from plant to basket, from basket to cart, and with
beds
> 100-200' long--not a good setup. Then I redesigned the layout, and was
able
> to have the cart right beside me. What a difference! The tractor & truck
> could be used then too. I had the land to spread out on, but I was
> initially thinking from the angle of a home gardener.
>
> It didn't dawn on me to do this until I noticed the tobacco fields with
the
> extra path in between every 4 rows for harvesting equipment. I figured if
> it was good enough for them, it was good enough for me. I tried 2 news
beds
> with the new path dimensions, and the next year went out of production
just
> to get everything switched over (I grew on permanent beds). It paid off
the
> next year with increased crops which meant additional sales--but I didn't
> have to hire in new labor because it was still all very doable by myself
> since I had the space in which to work.
>
>
> Liz Pike
> Laughingbrook Farm
> Westfield NC
> http://www.marketfarming.com
> http://www.laughingbrookfarm.com
>
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Market-farming mailing list
> Market-farming AT lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/market-farming
>
> Get the list FAQ at: http://www.marketfarming.net/mflistfaq.htm
>





Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page