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Re: raised beds

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

On Sat, 24 Oct 98 09:51:24 -0700, Susan & Greg Russi
<srussi@ix.netcom.com> , late of Pablo Fanques Fair wrote:

>Well, I've found raised beds to have many advantages for my garden (Zone 
>9, Sunset Zone 16 CA). For one, even though I have good soil to begin 
>with I don't want to have to "double-dig" down 2-3 feet, where the soil 
>gets more compacted so my raised bed, which is about 3 feet deep can have 
>wonderful loam all the way down. Root crops and things with long tap 
>roots grow much better. Also, the raised bed adds beautiful structure to 
>the garden.

I just finished my backyard raised beds. I have a typical small
suburban plot, lots of dogs, and pure clay soil. Like you, I wanted
3 feet of good soil, but I didn't want to dig down three feet to do
it. Because of the dogs, some kind of fence was mandatory. I also
wanted to have climbing plants and possibly hanging plants. So I
began by sinking 9 10ft. 4x4's (Western Red Cedar for natural rot
resistance) 30 inches deep into the ground anchored by concrete.

         X        X        X




         X        X        X




         X______X          X


The underline space was for the gate, and yes that post was shifted
off-center.

I then connected the tops of the posts with 2x6's and carriage
bolts. Around the outside perimeter, the posts held sections of
fence I built using 2x4's, 2x2's, and 2ft. chicken wire, held on by
staples.

Inside, I dug out 8 4x4 beds, dug down about 18 inches, and then
built 18 inch high boxes to raise the beds above grade. I am filling
them right now with a mixture of compost, peat moss, and topsoil.
When I am done, I will place landscape fabric on the 18 inch wide
paths around the boxes, and place a six inch layer of free wood chip
mulch (the township has a huge pile and you just drive up and load
your truck). The result should be a pretty low maintenance garden.

I realize my approach is not the *cheapest* way to do this, but I
have the garden I want. We plan to live here for a good 20 years,
and I built it to last that long. All told, I probably spent a good
$500 on materials, and worked my butt off all summer long to do it.
But I like having these projects to work on, and I need the
exercise.<g> Next summer I plan to add a garden shed


-- 
Kevin B. O'Brien                  TANSTAAFL
kob1@ix.netcom.com
"Waldheimer's Disease? You grow old and forget you were a Nazi."
Jon Marans

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