You can combine them. We have hugel-style raised beds in our garden. They're not rounded heaps but they are layered with wood and varying degrees of compost. It takes more time to set up but -...
You can combine them. We have hugel-style raised beds in our garden. They're not rounded heaps but they are layered with wood and varying degrees of compost. It takes more time to set up but - allowing for the lack of a control bed to compare against - it certainly feels like we do less watering, and the plants definitely do OK.
Yeah, I put in a set of raised beds last spring and they've been really nice. And since I live in a mild climate, I'm wondering if I'll be able to put rings over them to have salad greens...
Yeah, I put in a set of raised beds last spring and they've been really nice. And since I live in a mild climate, I'm wondering if I'll be able to put rings over them to have salad greens year-round. Are there any PacNW gardeners that have had success with keeping salad greens, like spinich and lettuce alive through winter?
PNW gardener here. Yes, you can turn your raised beds into full year harvests. Not all salad greens are created equal, look for varieties that talk about performance during the winter. Here's a...
PNW gardener here. Yes, you can turn your raised beds into full year harvests. Not all salad greens are created equal, look for varieties that talk about performance during the winter. Here's a great post from West Coast Seeds about winter harvesting The biggest mistake people make is not getting their stuff in the ground soon enough for things to mature in time for winter harvests. Once we go into cooler weather, growth slows down and in many cases stops. A lot of winter harvesting is harvesting things that have paused, we're just holding them outside, keeping them fresh until we need them. Gardens have many different climates, so the first couple of years it's best to experiment with many varieties to find the ones (and maybe even collect seeds from) that do best for the particular climate of your beds.
Thank you! That's really great advice! The pausing thing is something I've noticed about some of my cold hardy plants like kale, but I never really connected it to winter harvests. I'm looking...
Thank you! That's really great advice! The pausing thing is something I've noticed about some of my cold hardy plants like kale, but I never really connected it to winter harvests. I'm looking forwards to implementing that. Thanks again!
I think raised beds are great. I've built them for lots of people but don't have any in my own yard though they are sorely needed. I have only one area in my yard that gets full sun, and a smaller...
I think raised beds are great. I've built them for lots of people but don't have any in my own yard though they are sorely needed. I have only one area in my yard that gets full sun, and a smaller area that gets enough sun to grow some cooler crop vegies. Both areas are a chore to work. The full day sun area has two distinct areas, a higher, sandy area, and a dip that takes all the run-off from the sandy area and is mostly clay. The dip is also filled with horsetail, morning glory, and blackberry. The smaller area that has enough room for cooler crops is nothing but tree roots. Raised beds in the three areas would solve most of my problems.
A few years ago I salvaged a lot of corrugated metal roofing from a barn that was being torn down. I've been using it for various projects around here, but the reason I got it was to make raised beds similar to these. Mine won't look as pretty, but I don't care. What I do care about is being to grow things without constantly battling weeds that have been damn near impossible to get rid of, soil that's not conducive to what I want to do, and wasted areas that could be productive.
Not everyone has land where everything is working in their favor to be productive. I think the OP of this article is taking the right steps to address their issues. The OP and I both have more than just a yard for our gardens, but I've installed raised beds on much smaller parcels, and I think it's those places where the raised bed truly shines. Many urban areas have poor and even toxic soil, raised beds bypasses those issues. Smaller yards often means easier access to irrigation, making it perfect for automation. People who don't have a lot of time to garden can often find the time for raised beds because they require less input once up. I often used the "set it and forget it" line when encouraging clients to go with raised beds.
I'm all in on anything that makes gardening lower effort, and more accessible to people, and raised beds is certainly one of those things.
Totally worth it. My available sunny garden area is on a sandy slope with a relatively thin layer of topsoil - any digging or tilling risks erosion. You can get 4' x 8' (about 3 m2) 12"-deep metal...
Totally worth it. My available sunny garden area is on a sandy slope with a relatively thin layer of topsoil - any digging or tilling risks erosion. You can get 4' x 8' (about 3 m2) 12"-deep metal raised bed frames for about $70 USD. I got 4 of them, plus 5 cubic yards of 50/50 compost and topsoil delivered, total cost about $100 per bed.
Of course, there's some sweat equity in filling them. However, I've double-dug an equivalent area of clay soil before and there's no comparison. Filling and dumping a wheelbarrow is much easier than hand-hacking and mixing clay with amendments to lighten it.
With the compost content I'm using, it did need to be topped off again this spring to replace organic matter broken down and compacted over the winter, about three inches depth replacement per bed. Nonetheless, last year's bountiful crops and extended growing season proved the worth of this technique.
This year, I'm looking at hoop covers to start out the tomato seedlings that are overgrowing my indoor lights. Also, we've got deer to cope with - the compactness of raised beds makes fencing much more manageable. That's this weekend's project - twelve T-posts and some netting will do the job.
Hügelkultur beds are another excellent option if you don't need the mobility aspect.
You can combine them. We have hugel-style raised beds in our garden. They're not rounded heaps but they are layered with wood and varying degrees of compost. It takes more time to set up but - allowing for the lack of a control bed to compare against - it certainly feels like we do less watering, and the plants definitely do OK.
Yeah, I put in a set of raised beds last spring and they've been really nice. And since I live in a mild climate, I'm wondering if I'll be able to put rings over them to have salad greens year-round. Are there any PacNW gardeners that have had success with keeping salad greens, like spinich and lettuce alive through winter?
PNW gardener here. Yes, you can turn your raised beds into full year harvests. Not all salad greens are created equal, look for varieties that talk about performance during the winter. Here's a great post from West Coast Seeds about winter harvesting The biggest mistake people make is not getting their stuff in the ground soon enough for things to mature in time for winter harvests. Once we go into cooler weather, growth slows down and in many cases stops. A lot of winter harvesting is harvesting things that have paused, we're just holding them outside, keeping them fresh until we need them. Gardens have many different climates, so the first couple of years it's best to experiment with many varieties to find the ones (and maybe even collect seeds from) that do best for the particular climate of your beds.
Thank you! That's really great advice! The pausing thing is something I've noticed about some of my cold hardy plants like kale, but I never really connected it to winter harvests. I'm looking forwards to implementing that. Thanks again!
I think raised beds are great. I've built them for lots of people but don't have any in my own yard though they are sorely needed. I have only one area in my yard that gets full sun, and a smaller area that gets enough sun to grow some cooler crop vegies. Both areas are a chore to work. The full day sun area has two distinct areas, a higher, sandy area, and a dip that takes all the run-off from the sandy area and is mostly clay. The dip is also filled with horsetail, morning glory, and blackberry. The smaller area that has enough room for cooler crops is nothing but tree roots. Raised beds in the three areas would solve most of my problems.
A few years ago I salvaged a lot of corrugated metal roofing from a barn that was being torn down. I've been using it for various projects around here, but the reason I got it was to make raised beds similar to these. Mine won't look as pretty, but I don't care. What I do care about is being to grow things without constantly battling weeds that have been damn near impossible to get rid of, soil that's not conducive to what I want to do, and wasted areas that could be productive.
Not everyone has land where everything is working in their favor to be productive. I think the OP of this article is taking the right steps to address their issues. The OP and I both have more than just a yard for our gardens, but I've installed raised beds on much smaller parcels, and I think it's those places where the raised bed truly shines. Many urban areas have poor and even toxic soil, raised beds bypasses those issues. Smaller yards often means easier access to irrigation, making it perfect for automation. People who don't have a lot of time to garden can often find the time for raised beds because they require less input once up. I often used the "set it and forget it" line when encouraging clients to go with raised beds.
I'm all in on anything that makes gardening lower effort, and more accessible to people, and raised beds is certainly one of those things.
Totally worth it. My available sunny garden area is on a sandy slope with a relatively thin layer of topsoil - any digging or tilling risks erosion. You can get 4' x 8' (about 3 m2) 12"-deep metal raised bed frames for about $70 USD. I got 4 of them, plus 5 cubic yards of 50/50 compost and topsoil delivered, total cost about $100 per bed.
Of course, there's some sweat equity in filling them. However, I've double-dug an equivalent area of clay soil before and there's no comparison. Filling and dumping a wheelbarrow is much easier than hand-hacking and mixing clay with amendments to lighten it.
With the compost content I'm using, it did need to be topped off again this spring to replace organic matter broken down and compacted over the winter, about three inches depth replacement per bed. Nonetheless, last year's bountiful crops and extended growing season proved the worth of this technique.
This year, I'm looking at hoop covers to start out the tomato seedlings that are overgrowing my indoor lights. Also, we've got deer to cope with - the compactness of raised beds makes fencing much more manageable. That's this weekend's project - twelve T-posts and some netting will do the job.