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  • From: Keith Johnson <keithdj@mindspring.com>
  • To: permaculture <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [permaculture] Walls for raised garden beds
  • Date: Mon, 06 Apr 2009 21:46:33 -0400

I too have been using basically permanent raised beds for at least 30 years for all the reasons listed. I rarely use constructed walls though most of the suggestions for materials seem quite reasonable and practical for many circumstances. In the heavy clay soils that I have presently raised beds mean the difference between getting crops in early or waiting for the "swamp" to drain. I just took a bunch of pix of the garden during a heavy rain yesterday. If it wasn't for the contour raised beds my crops would have washed away.
Keith

Golden Love wrote:
Brad Lancaster, in his book "Rainwater Harvesting," explains how creating
earthworks to harvest rain in arid regions like the Western US is an
efficient way to water. I am also using this idea to water my fruit trees
and other crops (excluding baby salad greens that are close to the surface)
with graywater.
I have been using raised beds for over 25 years and this is a big change for
me....it really makes sense. John Jeavons was the first person to get me
going on that path.
Subject: Re: [permaculture] Walls for raised garden beds

Raised beds can help you get two weeks (or more) from each end of the
growing season.

They can also help you to create micro climates.

Raised beds are extra, extra good for those that have soil that is too wet.
Or for those with no soil at all!

Raised beds help you to have a planting area that nobody ever walks on and
compacts - thus having exceptionally fryable soil without tilling and
without tilling, you can accumulate soil structure and OM.

I think if we tried, we could probably come up with two dozen reasons to
have raised beds - this is just what popped into my head this moment.

I guess the moral of the story is that the one time work pays you back for
decades into the future.

Can you think of a time when it isn't worth it? I've heard that in some
super hot places, they actually do the opposite: trench gardening.

--

Keith Johnson
"Be fruitful and mulch apply."
Permaculture Activist Magazine
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