material under raised beds
coeng
12 years ago
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jolj
12 years agoRelated Discussions
Raised beds under small trees? What to build with?
Comments (5)Michelle, I'm still trying to make my "stone retaining wall" look appropriate using the keyboard. (Tried it a few months ago and think I only generated confusion. ;o) So here it is: --O-- -O-O- O-O-O Think of the dashes as nothing, okay . . . I took stones about the same size as you have and laid them in 3 rows directly on the ground. Then placed premixed concrete on top and set 2 rows of stones on top of the mix. Then more concrete and 1 row of stones. The result was a low retaining wall that has held together for 10 years. I'd take a picture but the soil has built up to the point where you can't see much more than that top row of stones . . . The bagged premix seemed more appropriate than mortar since the spaces between the irregular stones were so great. Further, they used pea gravel (not crushed rock) in the premix that I bought. The mix formed a nice firm bond. I've used various types of wood for raised beds - those 3X5 landscape timbers, hardwood salvaged from a cabinet shop, cedar fence boards, etc. What worked best was the hardwood but I wouldn't be able to tell you the species. Cedar was NOT very impressive in terms of its longevity - the landscape timbers worked better. What they were treated with - haven't a clue. Dad did a pretty good job preserving a pine board fence with pentachlorophenol. (I was surprised - pine?!?) We used copper naphthenat for various uses when I worked in the greenhouse. digitS' Here is a link that might be useful: Selecting Preservative Treated Wood...See MoreWill bermuda grass grow under & into a raised bed?
Comments (2)Last year was my first year at a sfg, and i placed my garden directly on top of the bermuda, and placed newspaper (about 3 sheets thick) along the bottom. I just knew I would have grass problems, but it was very minimal. It was just along the edge of one side, and it would grow out of the garden between 2 boards. It was fairly easy to pull as the soil is so loose...as opposed to pulling it out of your flower beds. I agree with the other poster that if you can line the walls of your bed, that would improve things. But Bermuda finds anyway it can to get it...so maybe just try to keep it weeded out. My bed was 4x8 with one half of that being twice as tall as the other (2 squares together, with one being tall) and it was along the short end of the tall side where the grass grew...and it would come out between the boards (since this was taller, I had stacked the boards if that makes sense,) I really thought the grass below the paper would make it's way up, but that didn't seem to be the case...it was the grass along the outer sides that made it's way in I think....See MoreWatery soil under raised bed
Comments (3)I Have only just started with such gardens but I put down a layer of pea gravel at the bottom and made sure water could filter down ad run off somewhere. So I think your best bet is to amend with compost this time around and next spring try building a raised bed with very small openings for the water to run off to....See MoreSoil under my raised bed
Comments (5)I wouldn't even remove the grass first, just mow it low and lay down the cardboard or newspaper on top. Anyway, yes, the raised bed is improving the soil below. Worms will go after your highly organic raised bed soil and in the process they'll leave worm tunnels in the soil below which will speed up the transfer of organic matter downward. It's a slow process but it does happen. Try digging a hole and see what's down there, before you plant for next season. It's OK to have some mineral soil in your raised bed in addition to compost. Some people grow in pretty much all organic container mix or compost. I'm not going to say it doesn't work but it's not a container so it's OK to add some soil. If nothing else it will keep it from shrinking so much every year....See MoreKimmsr
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