Designing raised beds for vegetables
Ruchi Oswal
2 years ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 years agoRelated Discussions
Raised vegetable bed questions
Comments (40)My raised bed garden is about 13 feet square and surrounded by stacked bricks... can not remember the name now but they have plastic tabs in the back holding them together with a 14x10 inch cap. They work great and I can walk on them when I am working. I live in Chandler and have never had a problem with the heat but I keep the garden pretty wet. the price of brick is higher on the front end but they will last forever and look very nice. I took about 10 inches of dirt out from the bottom and put in all new soil. It was a long time ago but I know it was a lot. I add steer manure every year but need to add another 5 bags of soil, do not know where it is going. Every time I turn the garden over with the shovel the level gets back up near the top of the bricks. The soil is amazing... if I step in where I have worked my foot sinks about 6 inches....See MorePros and Cons of Raised Beds for Vegetable Gardens
Comments (17)Disagree with a lot of the above Interesting comments: "I don't have to weed my garden or till it each year" Please understand. You DO need to keep the soil tilled, You DO need to hoe and keep the soil tilth. If you don't you WILL be growing more weeds that you can imagine. Some additional comments that I do not agree: "produce more per square foot" (How does a raised produce more per square foot) There is a strong tendency to plant more plants per square foot but this means overcrowding which ends with smaller plants and reduced production (and sometimes none) "warm up faster" (the same characteristic that makes them dry out faster... especially in mid summer. and you need to water, water, water) The early jump you get from them warming up faster isnt really much of an advantage overall. "get you above bad clay soil" Clay soil is awesome. It holds moisture, and nutrients. If it is tool heavy of clay, spend one season preparing it with lots of organic material. You will learn to love it. look really nice. Yes they can. but most I have seen look embarrassing by mid to late summer, Cons: expensive - Yup more soil and amendments to haul in - Yup. not too mention the additional costs, already mentioned dry out faster. Yup. weeds like it dry and hot. You will be certain to accomplish this....See MoreCan I use brick for a vegetable garden raised bed
Comments (6)If you buy used bricks, then you might be concerned about where they were used and if it was in an industrial process that deposited some heavy metals onto their surface. Assuming new brick, it is probably less toxic than treated wood. I think it would be a good idea to get a soil lab to test for heavy metals in your soil a few months after you build a new raised bed for growing food, just to be sure. Heavy metals are more common than people understand. In the Bay Area, a lot of the soil is contaminated with nickel, and guess what: my own heavy metals test shows very high levels of nickel in my blood and hair....See MoreRaised Vegetable Beds as Compost Bins?
Comments (15)I hear ya. [g]. I try very hard to get healthy no spray roses and this year, the foliage on the roses is bad. We have had so much heat and humidity. Yesterday I googled photos of diseased rose foliage and I think I have blackspot at the very least. And I've been watering on the leaves, which I shouldn't have been doing. And while the first flush of blooms was gorgeous, the 2nd flush has been nothing to write home about. And then there's the beetles and whatever it is that chews up the buds. Roses are not easy! I find myself wondering this year if I wouldn't be happier finding something else that is fragrant but less trouble. Then I was looking at photos this morning and wow, some of those early photos of roses, I think it would be hard to give them up. :-) We have a van...oh, I just thought of it, our son has a truck, I forgot. [g]...See MoreRuchi Oswal
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