Rows or Raised Beds - Pros and Cons
jusme_newby
12 years ago
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nc_crn
12 years agolast modified: 9 years agoRelated Discussions
Pros and cons of using pine straw for mulch
Comments (8)Pine needles do not significantly acidify soil. It's one of those old gardening myths. I have done soil tests beneath pine trees that have been mulching themselves for decades and the pH was identical to nearby earth in sod. Soft woods don't extract as much calcium from the soil as hardwoods and so you will be adding less calcium but it will not be a problem. If you need a higher pH you should add lime anyway. I have seen demonstration vegetable gardens at very well known botanical gardens using pine needles for mulch....See MorePros & Cons of Adding a Heating Cable to a Cold Frame
Comments (30)Hi Steve, To address your original questions about soil heat cables.......we live in a very cold climate here in Wyoming at over 6,000' elevation with winter temps as low as -40 degrees F. We have not used soil heat cables in an outside grow box - but did decide to experiment with a grow box inside our unheated GH. We bought the cable length we needed based on the area we wanted to cover - 30" X 96" and according to the spacing the cable manufacturer recommended. We followed instructions and mounted the cable to 1/2" hardware cloth and then mounted the hardware cloth to cattle panel for extra stability and ease of moving/storing. We purchased a thermostat and set the temperature at 55 degrees F and placed the cable buried 4"s in a raised bed within our GH and made a polycarbonate cover to create a box with lids. We tried to grow salad veggies during the winter months - November thru March. The daytime temps in the GH on a sunny day were between 30-70 degrees F even when OS temps were 0 degrees F so I would raise or remove the lid during the day and cover the box at night when OS temps were as low as -30 degrees F and IS GH temps as low as around 0 degrees F. The soil heat cables were usually only running during the night so I did not notice much difference in our electricity bill. The photo below was taken on January 31st. We are in Zone 3 where danger of frost remains through June 1st and there is snow on the ground usually through April but we have had snow and frost in every month of the year during cold spells. I think most would agree the experiment was a success! The cons in my opinion is the cost of the cables, wire and thermostat and the daily covering/uncovering of the lid (although the polycarbonate only needed to be removed on sunny days because of the heat build-up). When I retire I may do this every winter but for now - it is nice to have a winter break from the GH. We also use the Soil Heat Cable as a germination mat on top of the soil in the GH in February - March as an overflow box from our inside grow lights - that works well too. We are building grow boxes this year OS for our squash and other warm weather plants and appreciate your design!...See MorePros and Cons of Double Digging
Comments (21)Wasn't sure what it meant until I watched the video. It's very old tradition and still used today, it's like farmers plow their fields, more so in Europe. These plows are very high tech, what they do is, they cut the top, about 1 inch of the sod, weeds off, this gets tossed into the furrow deep down and the good soil gets thrown on top. A very green way to go, weed control with none or less chemical. By hand it's hard work, I used to do it for my Mom in her home garden late fall just before freeze up with the heavy garden fork,...don't you have any boy's? I call this turning over, bring the bottom to the top as much as possible, [not like video] hopefully bringing up some of the bad critters and or eggs, the deep freeze should get rid of some. We always laid down a bit of manure in the groove, then turning the soil on top of it. I know it's hard work, the best of all I like in spring when all those clumps have fallen apart and just a bit of raking or tilling needed. My old tractor I fire up one's a year only for this task, using a plow. If I had a fence, then I could not do it ...takes allot of room. I was thinking already...perhaps get rid of this old junk, build a deer fence and get a little garden tractor with tiller, till in fall with all the left over, then again in spring....See MorePros and cons of container vegetable gardening ....
Comments (15)We had good luck last year with indeterminate, cherry-type tomatoes, sweet (cooking) bay, and onions in 18 gallon yard buckets, the kind they sell at Target for $7 each. Greens work better in something that has more planting surface and a little less depth. Maybe big rectangular plastic boxes? The thing is, it gets old watering 2+ times per day in July and August. The bigger the container, the less the watering. We're trying potatoes, onions, swiss chard, salad burnet, sweet violets, and mint in the yard buckets this year. Tomatoes, okra, and sweet potato may come later. The problem with my yard, other than the poorly draining clay soil, is the nut grass and honeysuckle we're STILL trying to kill. Wimps, that's us! Yard buckets can be hauled inside during really bad plant weather. They are not real pretty, but the lady down the street has had her front yard garden in yard buckets for at least seven years that I remember, and I don't -think- she has had to replace any buckets. It's hard to tell-- last year we lost count at over thirty buckets, and they have creeped around the side of her house to her back yard....See Moremacky77
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