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Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/5/2010 11:13:27 PM
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sharonjef2007
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So, I'm considering jumping in and doing raised beds this year for my veggies. Anyone else do this? Is it better than just planting in the ground? Is it really that much easier to manage and harvest as I have heard? Do you have a border to hold it all in or just use the mound method?
I'm taking the time this winter to plan and think spring even though we still have well over a foot of snow outside.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/6/2010 6:18:06 AM
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Pamsy
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From: WI
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I was thinking of doing the square foot gardening method on a table, like on old picnic table. I know this doesnt answer your questions. Would like some good sweet red peppers. 
Some neighbors a couple of houses down have raised beds. They have wood boarders around each plot. I see them kneeling when they do weeding and see it is easier to get to, not so far down there.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/6/2010 11:01:03 AM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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I don't think their necessary, but they can be nice. We have 2 raised beds. We used extra wood we had around the house and yard (probably not the best idea because its probably treated). In one of the beds we used logs. Cardboard and newspaper on the bottom the layers of compost & leaves (mostly leaves). We set it up in March one year and could plant by May/June.
Pros: the boards can give you a nice ledge to sit on while you pick/weed/etc. It's easier to separate the plants from invasive species in your lawn (our lawn is crazy with violets and many other 'pests'). The soil warms faster in the Spring. Easier for kids & dogs to see and understand you can't run in them.
Cons: the cost and time. If you live in a cold area you can't plant perennials there as easily because the dirt gets colder in the winter. The fun of mowing around them. Tripping.
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Tamara
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/6/2010 1:42:43 PM
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Liveloved
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We have raised beds. They have a number of advantages. For us, the first advantage was that we could actually raise vegetables! Our property is surrounded by walnut trees so we made raised beds and bought dirt to grow our veggies in.
The second advantage is that the task of gardening is not so daunting. It is a managable area. Planting and weeding are easy.
This year I plan on putting a trellis on one end and having pole beans as well. But I generally have tomatoes, broccoli, eggplant, basil, kale, parsley, thyme, rosemary and tarragon. And maybe a few other things I'm forgetting.
This year I'm planning on having less basil and try brussel sprouts and the beans.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/6/2010 2:11:34 PM
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jhuperetes
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I have raised beds, made out of 6 pieces of 4"x4"x8' beams. It is only 7" off the ground, but the soil is the best. I have had tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, and some annual and perennial herbs. I have a rosemary "tree" in one corner.
I cut two of the 8' beams in half, then lapped each piece. I used 4 anodized carriage bolts to secure the beams together. The whole frame is movable, and I was able to easy shift it to the exact position where I wanted it. I got a rectangular 4' x 8' of 8" high frame.
I drilled large, 1" bore holes from the sides of the frame on one layer. I should have notched it, instead of boring, but worked just as well. These holes help to drain excess water to drain from the frame.
Laid gardeners' sheets (weed block and such) where I wanted the frame. Dropped the frame with bore holes toward the bottom. Cut the sheets to edge of the frame, then filled it with dirt.
That was it.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/6/2010 8:07:43 PM
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uncabeeil
Posts: 4984
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From: Joisey. Got a problem wit dat?
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I'd love to have raised beds, but can't afford the soil. It's funny how expensive dirt can be.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/15/2010 5:51:05 PM
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countrypreacherman
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I made 2- 4x4 ft beds last year after always using the traditional method and I loved it. I used 50% garden soil and 50% compost because I couldn't afford the "good stuff either.I am really looking forward to getting back out in the dirt.Especially since we've had 3 snowstorms in the last 10 days.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/17/2010 3:30:09 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Uncabeeil, you don't need dirt. You just need leaves and cut grass. You can 'make' dirt with that. We didn't use any dirt in the construction of our raised beds. It just takes time.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 2/18/2010 10:03:06 AM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Just to make sure folks know...it takes a lot longer to compost a cow carcass. 
It took 2 months to half break down my 'lasagna style' mix (based on a book called Lasagna Garden...it's just a mix of greens (cut grass, veggie leftovers) and browns (fallen leaves from the year before). By the end of the summer it was soil. I planted in it when it was half broke down and things grew with no problem.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/3/2010 2:35:55 PM
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PrimaryOvertone
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I have heard of people using old tires to build their raised bed gardens. They don't beak down, they can be moved, they don't warp like wood, and they last forever. I have seen people paint the outside so that they are easier to see when mowing and tilling also. They are normally available from land fills and used from tire stores. They are much more inexpensive in most cases than wood and you are recycling something that normally just sits in the landfill for ever.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/10/2010 1:12:52 PM
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meg4
Posts: 172
Joined: 4/21/2005
From: North Georgia
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quote:
ORIGINAL: sharonjef2007
quote:
I want concrete walls... in my dreams!
Well, in a perfect world when my husband and I have some acerage, we are going to want to rotate the soil used. So, concrete wouldn't work as well for us. But then, we probably would only have raised beds for certain types of growing anyhow. Most of the rest would just go right in the ground after the pigs have had their way with it. Great fertalizer AND pigs make great tillers 
You could use concrete beds and rotate the ones that you use. For example, if you had four beds you could plant one of them in a green manure cover crop such as winter rye or clover each year and use the other three for vegetables. That way each bed would have a break every fourth year.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/10/2010 1:24:44 PM
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Auben
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From: Where pines tower and cranberries float
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Old tires have the same problems treated wood has...the chemical leach into the soil.
That doesn't bother some people. It's just another unknown.
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Tamara
~Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time~
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/17/2010 12:50:32 PM
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meg4
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From: North Georgia
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I made a cold frame with concrete blocks and planted lettuce, spinach, onion, and parsley seeds in it about a week ago. I keep it covered with plastic at night and when it is cold. Hopefully I will see some sprouts in it today. I am anxious to have some fresh homegrown food!
I also have a lot of wood chips that the electric company gave me when they were clearing right-of-ways nearby. I made a bed that is about 8 ft. X 15 ft. and filled it with the wood chips (mostly pine). The wood chips had been in a pile for about a month and they were composting (hot and moldy when you dig into the pile), but not completely composted. I mixed some vegetable scraps, powdered lime, wood ashes, ammonium nitrate, and 17-17-17 fertilizer in with the wood chips, and piled them in the bed about 12-18 inches deep. That was two weeks ago and I am hoping they are composted enough now to plant potatoes in them this weekend. I have never done this before, so it will be an experiment, but I hope it works. I am making a pile of the wood chip mixture to hill up the potatoes as they grow (if they grow).
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/17/2010 3:21:13 PM
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PrimaryOvertone
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Your mixture sounds very Basic (lacking acid). You might want to check the Ph before you plant anything. You might end up with burnt potato plants.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/18/2010 10:41:37 AM
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meg4
Posts: 172
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From: North Georgia
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Yes, since it is mostly pine chips it might need more lime. I will have to check it.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/20/2010 11:13:08 AM
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happytnlife
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Joined: 3/20/2010
From: Tennessee
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I have 5 raised beds that I use for herbs and some tomatoes and peppers. I'm planning to buy some cabbage and broccoli today to set out. It's been so cold this winter that it's hard to think of actually being time for cold weather crops in my part of the country (TN).
The only thing about raised beds - as most other things - plan ahead. I wish I would have done a better job of planning my little raised bed garden 10 years ago when we built it. Now it seems overwhelming to think about starting over again. Our landscaping timbers that we used for the perimeters have now all but rotted to nothing - so the raised bed is more like a mound of dirt that we keep adding to each year. It's like a burial mound filled with the carcasses of tomatoes and peppers from previous years. I do have "volunteer" tomatoes that come up each year.
The other thing I have learned over many decades of gardening is - don't let your desire get ahead of your energy. When I was younger I would be overzealous in planting a garden and by the time June rolled around and the weeds were getting ahead of the beans it became an unbelievable chore rather than a pleasure to tend to it. Now, I try to stick to a few beds with a small number of plants that can be tended to on a somewhat consistent basis.
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RE: Raised beds for veggies/herbs? - 3/25/2010 10:27:24 PM
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KidfriendlyKaren
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Joined: 12/12/2007
From: Oregon
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I have also decided to move my herb garden to a raised/container garden, I am thinking of using an old truck bed and layer with rocks, for drainage then soil/compost. I havent been able to find a truck bed yet. everyone wants to sell the entire truck.
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