Raised bed veggie garden

[Egon]

That is looking good. You'll have some nice results.

Forget the bottom fabric. Baler twine works well for fencing wire. If you do want wire your local hardware or farm supply store will have what you need. ( page wire works well ) pass that past SWMBO THOUGH as it may not meet the looks nice standard.

And do consider a few Brandywine heritage tomatoe plants.

 

[NS Gearhead]

Forget the bottom fabric. [/ATTACH]

...but then I'll have mud seep out on my driveway!

 

[OldMcDonald]

NSG, No reason why you should not plant potatoes in 18" of growing medium. Plenty deep enough IF as I said you keep them well fed and watered. I just like all plants to be able to make full use of the depth of soil available - more depth, more available nutrients, and the less they need to be fed.

 

[charlz]

I agree you should be able to plant/grow potatoes in there as well. Now, with only a few plants you won't get a winters storage of potatoes but 'new' potatoes early in the season are always a welcome addition to the dinner plate.

 

[NS Gearhead]

vermiculite increases the moisture capacity of the medium. its commonly used in seed starting mixes.

So if I have an irrigation system, would it still be worth putting in?

 

[NS Gearhead]

Glad to hear about the potatoes guys! I don't think they'll make the list for next spring, but nice to know for future beds/ expansion!

 

[randy41]

So if I have an irrigation system, would it still be worth putting in?

for sure. unless you get reliable rain.

 

[Egon]

...but then I'll have mud seep out on my driveway!

Don't think so.

 

[Dutch445]

we have used the mix with peat moss and compost, along with vermiculite.
the vermiculite was hard to find a few years ago, but this year it was in several
local garden supply stores.
every spring we'll add a little more compost and peat, and if we don't get rain
for a few days we water with a hose, this year was a very good growing year for us,
had many cukes, yellow squash and zucchini more than we could eat (2 plants each), tomatoes did well (6 plants
of pink ladies),
although we don't support the plants like we should. we also had carrots, which did well,
hot cherry peppers (6 plants),, will definitely do more plants next year! lettuce grew faster than we
could eat (3x3' box), and green beans were good also. we had 2 plants of butternut squash, and
we may get 5-6 squash, not to great there but better than none.

 

[Jstpssng]

Nice looking setup. It should give you a lot of good eating. :thumbsup:
With good planning, you should be able to get 2 or more crops out of some areas per year. I don't plant my storage crops such as carrots and potatoes until the first weekend in July. I don't dig them until late either, they keep best right in the ground.

Remeber your ph though and don't put peat moss where your potatoes will go. (Unless you like scabby 'taters.)

You can also plant late crops and extend your season using pvc or metal conduit arches with plastic over them. That works best with cole products , spinach, or carrots.