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Greenhouses & Garden Structures

Raised beds or not in new GH

11 years ago

Was able to get a used 30x96 greenhouse, it will be going up this fall. I want to hear the pros & cons of raised beds.

My initial thoughts are less bending down, but man that is alot of space to cover in raised beds. However the raised beds could be done in sections.

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

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Comments (3)

cole_robbie
11 years ago
That's huge! I think you will have plenty of work on your hands without trying to fill that big of a space with raised beds.

What are you trying to grow? If you want to get above the ground, you could use smart pots. Commercial tomato growers often use long bags of perlite on pallets, irrigated with a drip system. They also make long sock-shaped bags of compost to grow in. You have so much space to fill, if I were you, I would try to mimic what commercial growers do. You also have space to experiment with several different methods and see what you like best.
jcatblum
Original Author
11 years ago
I grow for market so we will do lots of experimenting! I think I am going to break it into 2 seperate houses. One house with kool lite film for tomatoes & peppers. Then the other house could be for winter stuff & seedlings. I have heard great things about the kool life film, but you can't use it for seedlings or winter crops. Breaking the big house into 2 smaller ones may also help me heat te smaller space better when needed. We have a pretty mild climate, but there are times that I will need to supplement heat for seedlings in the evenings.
I feel like I would loose valuable growing space using raised beds, but I know the noble foundation here in Oklahoma uses raised beds in all there houses. I am going to contact them & find out what benifits they feel are gained by not growing directly in the ground.
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I do. I simply placed my frames on the soil I used for my row garden. In fact the only real amendment I routinely use is leaves. Tho last year I did mix in a half bag of purchased composted manure for my heavy feeders and started using compost tea. Made by simply putting puchased composted manure in knee-high nylons (after I get done wearing them, of course ;-) and soaking in rain water. Seemed to stretch my manure, plus the plants seemed to like it. If (like me) you don't wear knee-highs, simply go to the dollar store, 3 pair for a buck. Oh, also last year, I put a knee-high in a bucket I used in each bed for watering. So far this year I haven't had to water much because of the rain (but then the garden isn't growing either but I don't think I will be using the buckets in the beds. I am thinking about trying the tea 'brewing' method (using MY compost) recommended by DCHall in the soil forum this year. http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/soil/msg0300105612497.html Back to the topic....I do, I just find watering a challenge in SFG beds because of the close spacing. Good Luck, Gumby_CT Here is a link that might be useful: Deep watering for heavy feeders
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There is a difference between a raised bed and a large container, and it makes a big difference in the growing medium. A container is a completely enclosed artificial environment. The container has little access to the actual soil and all the diverse ecology that lives there. Everything it needs has to be provided by you. A raised bed is a garden with sides to which amendments have been added. It is connected to the natural environment with earthworms, beetles, fungus, bacteria, and everything else that interacts with the soil. It can be organically pretty much self-sustaining, if you choose. What you have here leans more to the container side of the equation. It has a bottom. It is essentially a big pot. Because of that, I suggest you look at filling it with a container / potting mix. Also, treat it like a pot and use synthetic fertilizers. You can't count on the right biology being present to break down organics into simple nutrients that the plants can take up. Another reason to avoid actual garden or topsoil is that I doubt that this fabric could take the weight and pressure that actual soil would put on the fabric year in and year out. You want something lighter that won't rip the sides.
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karin_mt
11 years ago
There aren't many disadvantages to raised beds aside from the expense and effort to build them. But they are wonderful to work with. They keep the beds and paths clearly delineated, and thus, you will never walk in your beds. They keep water and nutrients inside the bed instead of running off across the surface. They provide a firm structure to attach hoops, stakes, trellises and hooks into. They keep things very well organized and many feel that you gain space rather than losing space. I wouldn't garden any other way, either inside or out.

That said, your space is HUGE! Building raised beds of that scale is going to be super pricey. And then you have to fill them with yummy soil, also pricey.

I like your experimenting approach and you can always start off with a couple and see what you think.

Good luck!

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