raised bed garden?

[RobertN]

3' wide is nice; it is easier to reach from either side. 4' wide is the max, unless you want to actually get in to the box to do necessary work.

3' between beds is nice; my wife's garden cart fit thru easily. We set a couple narrower; pain in the behind getting a cart between for mulch, compost, cleanup etc. It is easy to lean over from either side.

Another thing is if you can keep access to one side of the beds for the tractor for filling etc.

Depth of bed is dependant on root depth of plants. Sunset Garden books are a good reference...

thanks, that 4x24 idea never crossed my mind.
that's a good point

anthony

 

[anthonyk]

Guys, those are all great suggestions!

Thanks mucho!

Anthony

 

[MikeD74T]

I made raised beds for a 4H group of first time gardeners this year. Four beds 20' x 4' with 5' between so I can mow. Each kid has 4'x6' of clear space. I used 20' x 8"-12" firewood logs & ripped them lengthwise with a chainsaw. Stood on edge with the bark side in & pinned with rebar stakes. Smaller diameter cross pieces about 6' apart. Filled with composted dirt & woodchips I've had for about 5 years. Oriented east & west with 5' fence trellis on the north side. Kids grew carrots, green beans, green peppers, tons of tomatoes, cukes, egg plant, radishes ( only failed crop, all tops - how do you not grow radishes ????) pumpkins, zuccinni, summer squash, beets, spices?, marigolds. Did a display of pictures, plans, etc & got a blue ribbon at local fair in July. Kids were able to reach to weed by kneeling on the logs. High density planting resulted in amazingly few weeds. Kids got bored at first but got enthused by the ribbon & subsequently by the produce. Was a good experience& I can salvage the firewood if they're not going to plant next year. MikeD74T

 

[txdon]

For gardening organic vegetables using landscape timbers or railroad ties is questionable because of the chemicals they are treated with. I use 8"X8"x12" solid cement blocks. I have had more success with raised beds than row gardens because of the weeds. I tried 4' wide gardens and they are just a tad too wide so now I have 3' wide beds. Make sure you place the rows far enough apart so you can ride and mow easily. Fill the beds with finished compost and you are ready to go.

 

[jinman]

Here is a link to the designs I like best.

Noble Foundation Horticulture Site

 

[txdon]

Jim, that design is interesting. At 30' long, 20" wide and 14" high, at $1.36 a sq. ft. it sounds about right. It is interesting that the beds are put close together so you can use a 2x6 on the tops of the beds to use as a seat for weeding. The treated wood is only at the top edge and would not be in contact with the soil so it "might" be OK organically also.

One question: Where do you buy sucker rods?

 

[jinman]

Jim, that design is interesting. At 30' long, 20" wide and 14" high, at $1.36 a sq. ft. it sounds about right. It is interesting that the beds are put close together so you can use a 2x6 on the tops of the beds to use as a seat for weeding. The treated wood is only at the top edge and would not be in contact with the soil so it "might" be OK organically also.

One question: Where do you buy sucker rods?

Don, I think you could use 5/8" rebar to do the same thing, but you might find sucker rods at the same places that sell old pipe for fencing. In another article on this website, they talked about using 5/8" rebar instead of sucker rods. I think you could even drive down forms stakes, but they would not last as long as the rebar/sucker rods unless you made the stakes yourself from treated lumber. The most interesting part of this design to me is the corrigated metal. Since I have an old barn to tear down, I'd say I have plenty of raw material I could recycle for this use.

Here is another link to the Noble Foundation site where they have lots of interesting articles on hoop houses and projects with real numbers for commercial production. They are also very honest about the mistakes they make and where improvements are needed. I just like the site in general.

Noble Foundation Horticulture Index

 

[WayneB]

Jim up here in the north east we many us hoops over the raised beds to get an early start and also to extend the season.

We just did our last planting of greens and I will set up the hoops next week with open ends. With any luck we will be eating fresh greens right up to the end of November.

The are talking chance of frost here this weekend. Hate to see summer go away, but the bugs are gone too and the new apples are out so it is a great time of the year.

 

[anthonyk]

Hey Jinman, thanks for that link!

I like that idea a lot!

Anthony

 

[TedLaRue]

A second thanks for the link, jinman.

For other readers not familiar with the term "sucker rod", it's a steel rod about 25' long which is part of the linkage down to the plunger in the pumping system in oilfields. Here in coal country we use "roof bolts" for steel rods for stakes and the like. I think 5/8" rebar would suffice, or maybe 3/4" if you want extra rigidity.