How often do you have to 'lift' entire beds of plants?

17 years ago

At one point in my newbie-ness last year, someone mentioned during an 'amending beds' thread something about my not understanding the whole OM thing and what I assume now was the reference to knowing that it breaks down and 'sinks' over time.

My question today is: If you are planting in (what originally was) a completely OM bed, it would stand to reason that the plants, too, are going to 'sink' with the surrounding bed.

How often do you not just 'add' OM/finished compost to your beds, but completely have to lift all your plants and re-set them? I'm thinking this might be an every-other-year/every-three-years undertaking.

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Comments (9)

albertar
17 years ago
You should not have to lift your plants out, just keep adding OM as often as you can. Trust me, you are over thinking the process. I add as much OM as I can both spring and fall, and in between if I have some. Hope that helps ya some.
Alberta
joepyeweed
17 years ago
I haven't had to lift any plants, though my bosom could use a little lifting....
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esther_opal
17 years ago
Since we've moved to lifting personal parts mine doesn't lift quite as far as it used to.

This is a little silly yet it makes my point. Go to the nearest wooded area then on to a meadow. Who lifts the plants in those areas. You may have to set up a blind to catch them lifting those plants.
zebz
17 years ago
I know it's not necessary to life plants, but was actually thinking of doing that this year. Most plants aren't where I want them to be because when I had just started gardening several years ago, things would just get plopped in wherever there was a space. Not a good plan, so I thought I'd dig out everything that isn't a tree or shrub and amend the beds in a big way.

Though it could be quite difficult to find enough pots for multiple hundreds of plants.

Lofty aspirations, eh?

zee
pablo_nh
17 years ago
You can move plants, but you don't have to pull them out to amend the beds. Just lay the amendments down and mulch over them.

Pretty funny image I have now, esther opal
Kimmsr
17 years ago
As soil bacteria digest organic matter and the nutrients generated that way the organic matter "disappears" and the soil "sinks". This is very common in soils to which no organic matter is added, the soil particles have nothing to seperate them and they move closer together, apparently "sinking". Just keep the level of organic matter in your garden at a reasonable level and you won't see that happen.
seedmama
16 years ago
zee, keep your eye open for a new shopping center. I stopped and visited with the landscaping crew manager. He let me have all the 1,3,5,10, 20 and 50 gallon containers I wanted. When I pointed out to my husband that I only brought home 1,000 and left about 5,000 there, he conceded I had "exercised restraint."

You can also use milk jugs and soda bottles, a la winter sowing..
led_zep_rules
16 years ago
I have one raised bed that sank more than most, probably because it had a lot of citrus in it originally, and as they rotted it collapsed a bit. There is a flowering plant I put in it 2 years ago, a friend gave it to me, I think it might be dianthus. Anyway, it was a big blooming mat last year and the year before. Since everything had sunk so far down I put lots of OM into the bed last fall to build it back up. Most things grew through the OM, this stuff is just drowning and I can see it was a mistake to put stuff on top of it. I thought it would grow through it, it didn't. Oops.

So in that case, I should have lifted the plant so that I could get the soil level back to the top of the bed. I sort of tugged and lifted with a shovel the huge, won't come apart clump of giant irises, and stuck compost underneath it from different sides. That worked pretty well. I knew not to bury irises. So for perennials in sinking raised beds, lifting them once in a while might help. Somehow the rhubarb didn't have any problem, not sure why.

As for nature not having to lift its plants, note that nature does not build a foot tall raised bed and fill it with layers of rotting stuff all in one fell swoop. It does everything more gradually, so it doesn't have this trouble.

Marcia
bejay9_10
16 years ago
Using the box garden/raised bed type of gardening - so popular in suburban areas where land is at a premium - poses the sinking bed problem that is mentioned.

This applies to vegetable growing mainly for me, so with the annual types - beets, lettuces, etc., not so much of a problem, as more soil/compost, etc, is added prior to new seeding.

But with any perennial plants - like strawberries, yes - I dug out my strawberry plants carefully, added more compost and peat amendments, then replanted. They didn't suffer any setback, in fact, raising the crowns a bit, made them happier.

Just my 2 c's.

Bejay

How often do you have to 'lift' entire beds of plants?

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albertar

joepyeweed

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