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Re: Bed Construction

On Tuesday, May 06, 1997 8:58 PM, 
bettye spatafora <bettyels@msn.com> asked:
> What do you consider the ideal width for raised beds?

I work with both 3' and 4' beds.  That's because I plant different crops in
each of them.  Yes, it makes rotation a little more difficult to manage,
but I have trouble doing ground crops of certain crops (like cucumbers) in
a 3' bed.  I suppose that I could trellis the cukes and do everything in 3'
beds.  Hmmm.  

4' beds are nice, too, if you can put an aisle on either side.  It really
becomes two 2' beds arranged side-by-side with no aisle in-between.  

3' beds are nice if you need to work from only one side.  

A 3' bed is 3 overlapping tiller passes.  I usually do the edges first,
then finish down the middle.
A 4' bed is 4 overlapping tiller passes.  If the bed is not too rough,
maybe just 3 passes, but it doesn't look as nice.  

Using a tiller, obviously, I do not have permanent edges to my beds. 
However, I do maintain a Dutch clover cover in the aisles, and keep that
mowed during the summer.  It tends to invade the bed edges, and that's a
good reason to till the beds when they are finished, and at the end and
beginning of the season.  I have no hardpan layer to consider, and am
pumping enough organic matter in that the tilling does not seem to create a
soil tilth problem.  Yes, I destroy the soil structure every time I till. 
But the worms seem to enjoy recreating it for me!
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