Re: Raised Beds
- To: Multiple recipients of list <i*@rt66.com>
- Subject: Re: Raised Beds
- From: C*@aol.com
- Date: Tue, 14 Jan 1997 04:38:29 -0700 (MST)
In a message dated 14/01/97 03:24:22, Linda wrote:
<< Sorry - these are rows laid out by a 235 Massey Ferguson farm tractor -
about
36 - 40 inches between ridges - using a single set of 'plows' or
cultivators,
which just happen to ridge the soil some in the middle. However, the tines
are adjustable, so I can make the 'middles' just about any width I want. I
was estimating the ridge height from the lowest point to the highest, with
the lowest point being halfway between the ridges.
What kind of mechanical cultivating/bed preparation equipment do the big
growers like Schreiners and Cooleys use?
>>
We use a similar system ourselves. We plant two rows of iris on each raised
bed, each bed being 5 feet wide and separated by 12" valleys. The valley
floor is about 4-5 inches below the bed surface. These are this size to fit
our tractor equipment (inter-row cultivator, planter, lifter and sprayer). We
use a 1974 Massey Ferguson 135 - old but good. The beds all run from north to
south, with each plant planted mechanically so that the rhizome is on the
south side of the leaves to get maximum sun. The irises are planted in blocks
of seven beds, with the eight bed empty and seeded with grass to provide a
walkway for visitors. We use seven beds because that is the width of our
tractor sprayer that we use for herbicide and fungicide treatments. We have
77 beds in total, home to nearly 27000 plants.
I believe that Cooley's use a similar system - Rick Ernst did an article on
their methods in the AIS bulletin about 4 or 5 years ago - anyone remember
which issue?
Graham Spencer, Croftway Nursery, UK
croftway@aol.com
