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Re: Raised beds

Hi Richard,

I will give my two cents worth toward answering your questions.  I'll paste
the question in and then my answer right below it.
QUESTION:Mel really doesn't say much about raised beds,
>like if it is better to use them or not.
ANSWER: It depends.  Raised bed are great when you have soil that stays wet
late in the spring or if your soil is really hard.  And as you said it does
make the working level a little higher fo us old folks.
QUESTION: My question is do I really need to make a raised bed to sqft or
can I do without it?
ANSWER: It really depends on your situation.  But assuming that your soil is
average, not too hard, not too wet, No you don't really have to build raised
beds to Sq Ft garden.
QUESTION: If I do make a raised bed does it just sit on the top of the soil
or do I dig it into the ground a little?
ANSWER:  It can be either way.  Diging into the ground a little helps to
loosen the soil and provides better conditions for the crop roots as well as
better drainage.
QUESTION:  When filling the bed with soil do I add the vermiculite, peat
moss and humus on top of the existing soil and turn it all over to mix it up.
ANSWER:  This is my method, and certainly not the only way.  I dig and
remove one shevel full of dirt from the bed area.  Then I dig and loosen the
dirt to the depth of one shevel.  I then mix my vermiculite, peat moss and
humus with some of the dirt I removed.  Then fill the bed about half full
with the mixture, then using my shevel I turn and mix the loosened soil with
the added mixture.  I then fill the bed to the top with the mixture and
again mix the layers.

I know this sounds like a lot of work, but I am one who likes to "play in
the dirt" so I enjoy it.

Good luck Richard, have fun!


Charlie in Alabama


At 02:47 PM 1/10/97 -0500, you wrote:
>Hello everyone,
>
>I'm in the process of reading Mel's book and I really can't wait until
>spring comes around so that I can get started. Since I didn't prepare my
>soil this fall I'm going to have to do it this spring. Now here's my
>question, in his book Mel really doesn't say much about raised beds,
>like if it is better to use them or not. My question is do I really need
>to make a raised bed to sqft or can I do without it, the pictures in the
>book all seem to be of squares without a raised bed around them. Is it
>just for looks or does it really serve a purpose (other than making the
>bed a little higher off the ground thus easier to reach). If I do make a
>raised bed does it just sit on the top of the soil or do I dig it into
>the ground a little. Also when filling the bed with soil do I add the
>vermiculite, peat moss and humus on top of the existing soil and turn it
>all over to mix it up. I know this question is a little long but I want
>to make sure that I'm going to start off on the right foot.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Richard (zone 6 Brooklyn, NY)
>
>
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