This is a public-interest archive. Personal data is pseudonymized and retained under GDPR Article 89.

Re: Covers for sqft raised beds?

Square Foot Gardening List - http://myweb.flinet.com/~gallus/sqft.html

--------------------------- ListBot Sponsor --------------------------
Start Your Own FREE Email List at http://www.listbot.com/links/joinlb
----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: <Kimyoung@aol.com>
> I sure could use some more tips.  The ones I have had built are
unacceptable.
>  I have 6 4' x 4' raised beds.  The inside dimensions are 4'.  The boards
> around the raised bed are 1 7/8" cedar.  What I would like to build is a
> large framed box type of affair with the hard wire stapled incised and
doors
> on each side so that I can tend to each raised bed.  I was hoping for a
> height of 3' to accommodate flowers and herbs for companion plants. Any
ideas
> would be welcomed! Thanks, Kimberly

One idea you may wish to consider is similar to the archs I see for most
commercial plastic covered greenhouses.  I read about this particular
idea in a book by a guy named Jeff Ball, but the name of the book
eludes me currently.

His idea, if you have an enclosed raised bed (wooden box) is that you strap
short pieces of Sturdy PVC tubing to your beds at regular intervals along
2 oposing sides.  For example for a 4x4 ft bed you would put one PVC pipe
(say 12 inches long) at both ends and the middle of both the north and south
sides.  I am using conduit clamps to hold these PVC pipes to my beds, I
chose to use these pipe pieces inside my bed as I thought this might give
some
more strength.

Next you get some smaller diameter flexiable plastic pipe, You want the
outside diameter of this pipe to be less than the inside diameter of the
earlier ones.  You want them flexable but not too flexable.  You stick one
end of this pipe into a north PVC hole (end of the pipe) and arch it over
to its matching hole on the south end.  A 8 foot piece of tubing gives a
nice arch (with about a foot pushed into each hole).  You then drape
plastic sheeting over this.

My beds are 8 feet long and I like to lash another plastic pipe across
the top of these arches for a little extra stability.  Jeff suggests
that you just arch plastic over the supports in strips, that way you can
pull back one strip to work in an area.  Jeff also suggested possibly
making rigid ends for these resulting half tubes.  I don't bother with
that.  I just drap plastic over the ends.

The ends can be held down with rocks, coathanger staples (does
not work well, plastic just rips), I like to wrap the end around a
1x2 and staple the plastic to it.  I then just lean some weight on
the 1x2 to hold it down for the early spring windstorms.  I use
pieces of firewood from the woodpile.

Jeff suggests (I have not actually tried this yet) that you can
make other uses of your PVC supports once the hoops
are removed in summer (put plastic arches and plastic
covers away so they last longer, keep away from
sunshine).  Jeff says if you fasten them securely enough
that you can attach trellises to the tubes.

What do you put on the arches.  Plastic for heat retention
in early spring and late fall.  You could put chicken wire on
it (with our without plastic) to keep out birds and varmits.
Later you could put row covers on to protect against certain
insects.  The individual hoops can be removed allowing you
to have this hoop greenhouse just where you want it.

If you are into building stuff for your gardens this book by
Jeff Ball is a good read.  I do not consider this a replacement
for Mels book but more of a supplementary reading.

Good luck, YMMV
Ron Souliere, Lincoln Nebraska.  About 6 weeks till last frost here.


______________________________________________________________________
To unsubscribe, write to sqft-unsubscribe@listbot.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index