Raised-Bed Gardening Is MORE Fun
Raised-bed or square-foot-gardening has become a popular way to garden during the past few years. Let's take a look at the basic principles and advantages of this type of gardening.
• Expanded growing season - better drainage speeds soil warming and allows earlier spring planting. In wet seasons, soil dries faster so planting can procee between rains. This is one of the better benefits especially when we have a wet spring.
• Soil modifications - gardeners with heavy, poorly drained soils should consider raised beds because this allows plant roots to develop in soil above water-logged or compacted zones. The beds can be built up with vermiculite, perlite, compost or other forms of organic matter to improve the soil structure, drainage and nutrient-holding capacity.
• Higher yields - improved soils lead to higher yields for food crops. Also, intensive planting in raised beds means more plants can be grown in a smaller area than with conventional row-cropping techniques. No space is wasted between rows.
• Easier maintenance - less stooping is required for weeding, watering and other chores. Intensively planted raised beds provide dense foliage cover, shading out much weed growth. If soil is avoided there will be far fewer weeds to contend with.
Raised-beds also reduce back strain when bending over to tend the bed. This is especially helpful to older gardeners or people with bad backs. And if the beds are built well, the gardener can sit on the edge of the bed while weeding, and for some gardeners this is the biggest benefit of all.
You can build your own elevated garden beds with relative ease. Decide what kind of wood to use, the depth you want the bed to be, and whether you want to build the entire bed yourself or use pre-made corner braces which simplify the construction process and provide a secure corner that won't work loose over time. Cedar wood is one of the best to use as it resists rot and has no chemicals or preservatives. One thing to consider is lining the bottom of the raised-bed area with cardboard to suppress any perennial weeds from growing up into your well prepared soilless growing mix. A good size to build is beds 4' wide by any length. Cross supports should be placed every 4-6' to prevent bowing of the side boards when the beds are particularly long. There are kits available to purchase or you can build your own structure. An 8" depth is a good place to start.
A basic growing mix you might want try is one considered to be a simple standard. Mix 1/3 horticultural grade Vermiculite, 1/3 Canadian sphagnum peat moss and 1/3 well-rotted yard compost. This mix will settle and it will be necessary to add more growing mix for the first couple of years as the mix has a lot of air in it and will tend to settle. But think of this...no more tilling is necessary and very few weeds!
Meadow View Growers
Growing locally for 33 years