Raised Gardening Beds

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NannyPatty

NannyPatty

nannypattyrn
Neighbor
Joined
Dec 1, 2017
Messages
1,169
Location
Oklahoma
Hello all! We have been doing raised beds for around 3 or 4 years now. We have dense heavy clay soil in our area. I started by searching Pinterest and You Tube. I found the instructions for the "lasagna" or layered bed style of raised beds. My hubs built an 8-10 inch high frame to hold the material in. Then we started with card board as the first layer and the we alternated leaves (we started in the fall) and chicken "leftovers" from our coop. Each layer gets watered well. It was up to my knees. Then we covered it with heavy plastic to keep every thing in and compost down. Weeds are minimal and after the 1st or 2nd year the coveris no longer necessary. Rabbit wire fencing is very necessary though to keep them from destroying your crop. We've had great results with improvements each year due to just learning. I'll post pic as soon as I figure out how to. This past season was excellent. I got to can and free a lot of our own produce.
 
When you are making your post, Look to the lower right for Upload a File. That will bring up the box to upload file. OR, you can be somewhere else and copy from there and paste here and be seen.

Not to those raised beds. Sounds good, but I don't have any chicken "leftovers" or chickens here. Wonder where I could find some.

What's been your best crop? Do tomatoes do well?
 
Patsy, it should work the same way as the other forum.
 
Our best crop so far has been pole beans and onions. We planted the onions in Feb (we can start cold crops pretty early here) then planted the green beans at the end of March. The onions were harvested at the end on May. I'm still working on my tomatoes, but had a fair crop this year. I think I had too many for the size. We also had summer squash, cantaloupe, and okra. Next year I won't plant as many tomatoes and no cantaloupe at all. I canned 2 1/2 cases of green beans and 1 of tomatoes and I had enough for salsa. I was pretty busy this past summer with that and and my fruit trees. The raised beds are much easier to water and care for.
 
She had success and mine cooked, even with shade cloth over it from July on. Next year I am going to start things later that are not cool weather crops.
 
Robin, I had to give up in August due to the heat and other circumstances that made it very difficult to stay on top of it. Most of my crop was in before the hubby had his surgery in July. If it hadn't been for all that, I would have kept on plugging. I could've had a 3rd crop this year just because of the weather !
 
We were much too hot and dry here. They even mentioned starting gardens later here to grab the heat for the new plants but have them maturing as the temps are beginning to drop. I never pulled my tomato plants, like you life got in the way, the danged things look better than they have all season and have amazing looking tomatoes on them.
 
We're four inches under what we should have for just the past three months. Yep, we're in a drought here now.

I haven't done a danged thing with them but they are still growing. I think it's the straw under the dirt holding moisture so that they aren't withering up to nothing.
 
Fall tomatoes seem like they taste sweeter than spring tomatoes. I've only had a year or 2 that mine survived the Oklahoma heat and fought to make tomatoes. I even set new plants out the last 2 years. I haven't heard how much rain we're behind but it's substantial.
 
I am going to try a different kind of raised bed next year.

I will be making a very narrow raised bed with some 6x6's. I will drop the potato pieces on the ground and cover them up. When the plants break through the surface I will put another layer of 6x6's and dirt on top. When the plants die back I will pull the wood away and then pick the potatos up with my fingers. I do not expect to dig at all.

There is a very prolific type of long-keeping potato that I have heard of: I sent away for a catalog so I can try it.
 
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We use two heights of raised beds; 5 1/2 inches high for the things that don't need deep roots like strawberries, onion, garlic, beans and lettuce and others that are 15 inches high for Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, pumpkin and cantaloupe. The tomatoes grow best stuck in the dirt that's about 60% clay. We use soil treated with compost, steer and horse manure in the raised beds. You might as well use what's free. Next spring we will be adding another 12 beds to increase the garden size, We let some of the onions, garlic and carrots winter over so they will go to seed. Everything we plant is heirloom and we collect seeds every year and plant the oldest seeds we have. You have to rotate them because they are viable for just so long (at 5 years we get noticeably fewer sprouts)
The raised beds I designed to have inside dimensions of 3 feet by 8 feet and we use 4 x 4 posts on the outside of each corner. Three 2 x 6s make one low bed and it takes three 2 x 4s and six 2 x 6s to make the tall ones with just enough 4 x 4 to bolt the lumber together. We use hem/fir lumber and the ones we have had in the ground for five years are still in great condition. We don't use treated lumber and we don't seal it just in case something would leach into the ground and be absorbed by the plants.
 
We just have 1 very large raised beds 24 x 36 approx. We're still learning. My hubs has a bad back from a fall so we're trying to simplify our gardening. I enjoy hearing about everybodies gardens. I gather ideas that we can also use. We raised the best and biggest onions ever this year. They are gone! We'll plant twice as many next year.
 
Am redoing our raised beds next year, too. Leaving our old 8 ft by 8 ft beds to our son to grow in...we have 5 of them. He's got his rabbit hutches over a few of them right now so they'll be good and ready. I need higher raised beds, like stock tank level. I have bad knees and was tired of fighting tree roots coming into the old ones. They need to be dug out and liners replaced. I'll leave it to the young son and his young knees and start again. Am saving lots of red worm casings from my worm farm. lots of old chicken poop, egg shells, and coffee grounds for the new beds next spring.
 
We have raised beds made of rock that we have taken from our property. We have 7 wood ones, but this year took them out and will be making that area an orchard. the beds we have left are not that high but I think my husband will be building them up for me since I have those bad knees too.
 
Patsi Manning said:
Hello all! We have been doing raised beds for around 3 or 4 years now. We have dense heavy clay soil in our area. I started by searching Pinterest and You Tube. I found the instructions for the "lasagna" or layered bed style of raised beds. My hubs built an 8-10 inch high frame to hold the material in. Then we started with card board as the first layer and the we alternated leaves (we started in the fall) and chicken "leftovers" from our coop. Each layer gets watered well. It was up to my knees. Then we covered it with heavy plastic to keep every thing in and compost down. Weeds are minimal and after the 1st or 2nd year the coveris no longer necessary. Rabbit wire fencing is very necessary though to keep them from destroying your crop. We've had great results with improvements each year due to just learning. I'll post pic as soon as I figure out how to. This past season was excellent. I got to can and free a lot of our own produce.
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Chicken wire 2' high around 4; welded wire fence in garden area keeps them out. It is expensive and hard work at first but last a lifetime.
 
I do raised beds but not the traditional. I dig out trenches and pile onto my rows. I till then do the lasagna type thing with cardboards, kitchen scrapes, chicken poop and then top with old hay dug out from what the cows waste. I have two rows right now composting down for spring planting. Hopefully this will give you an idea. . . IMG_20170526_183529.jpg

For those who want to grow cantaloupe but not have vine that it because of space, they do pretty good on a trellis. I did that years ago before I got the expansion.
 
Dani said:
I do raised beds but not the traditional. I dig out trenches and pile onto my rows. I till then do the lasagna type thing with cardboards, kitchen scrapes, chicken poop and then top with old hay dug out from what the cows waste. I have two rows right now composting down for spring planting. Hopefully this will give you an idea. . . View attachment 143

For those who want to grow cantaloupe but not have vine that it because of space, they do pretty good on a trellis. I did that years ago before I got the expansion.
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Neat it is kinda like Hugelkultur. Looks like it is working too.
 
my raised beds will last for a lifetime I live on the side of a mountain SO FOR BEDS i GO TO AN AREA TIRE DEALER AND GET FARM TRACTOR AND BOBCAT TIRES AND CUT JUST ONE SIDE TO THE EDGE AND LEAVE THE BOTTOM SIDE WHOLE AS IT WILL TRAP SOME WATER ON THE RIM AND THE PLANTS LIKE AND FR FILLER I USE ONLY HORSE AND COW MANURE I USUALLY GET 6 LOADS A YEAR AFTER I USE LAST YEARS UP THAT WAY IT sorry did not pay attention to the cap--will breakdown for the next year but right now I have over 75 tires had so much veggies last year kept the family canning all summer
 
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RB are great for clay or rocky ground.But here in midlands S.C. we have mostly sandy loam.
After organic gardening for 44 years, I only RB for perennial beds.
I use standard rows, because I have over an acre for a garden & do not need space saver.
Asparagus, Horseradish, walking onions & Collards are some of the Perennials.
Collards are not considered Perennials, but I have grown them for four seasons/ years.
Harvest them though the summer, fall, winter & spring.
I use coffee chaff,leaves,grass clipping,horse manure in my garden.
I am going to use landscape cloth & drip tape this year, 2018 season.
Keep down weeds & hold water.
 
Pretty much everything needs raised beds here. Everything is sand and glacial till with a fraction of an inch of poor topsoil. Neighbour tried to do a perc test for septic (where you fill a hole with water and time how long it takes to drain) he couldnt keep it full long enough to test, just kept going down through the sand.
 
Patsi Manning said:
Our best crop so far has been pole beans and onions. We planted the onions in Feb (we can start cold crops pretty early here) then planted the green beans at the end of March. The onions were harvested at the end on May. I'm still working on my tomatoes, but had a fair crop this year. I think I had too many for the size. We also had summer squash, cantaloupe, and okra. Next year I won't plant as many tomatoes and no cantaloupe at all. I canned 2 1/2 cases of green beans and 1 of tomatoes and I had enough for salsa. I was pretty busy this past summer with that and and my fruit trees. The raised beds are much easier to water and care for.
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I try those every year. Someone told me that green beans need warmth to start. I think that is wrong.

I would love to grow some large onions, and try every year. I think the largest I have ever had, was probably 1.5 inches.

I will keep trying!
 
Patsi Manning said:
Robin, I had to give up in August due to the heat and other circumstances that made it very difficult to stay on top of it. Most of my crop was in before the hubby had his surgery in July. If it hadn't been for all that, I would have kept on plugging. I could've had a 3rd crop this year just because of the weather !
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The weather is really strange last few years. This year we are having early summer in late December. I'm glad since in the middle of a project but it is still unusual.
 
Weedygarden said:
I try those every year. Someone told me that green beans need warmth to start. I think that is wrong.

I would love to grow some large onions, and try every year. I think the largest I have ever had, was probably 1.5 inches.

I will keep trying!
Click to expand...

We don't have any luck with potatoes for some reason. And one of my favorite watermelon either. Don't know why or what it is we are doing wrong. Only watermelon that grew here was one our horse planted years ago. It grew up from his stall and a seed he ate. Since he grew it we let him eat it. Guess that means watermelons like lots of nitrogen.
 
Meerkat said:
We don't have any luck with potatoes for some reason. And one of my favorite watermelon either. Don't know why or what it is we are doing wrong. Only watermelon that grew here was one our horse planted years ago. It grew up from his stall and a seed he ate. Since he grew it we let him eat it. Guess that means watermelons like lots of nitrogen.
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Watermelons are not easy to grow. A few years I found a variety, "Moon and stars" that was the most successful for me. I had full grown watermelons like I had never had before. Watermelons do need lots of water and heat. I find the same is true of cantaloupe and muskmelons.
The watermelons that are found in the stores now are largely seedless varieties. Has anyone else noticed how flavorless they are? Watermelons with seeds have much better flavor.
 
The first three winters here in SE Washington were very mild with little rain or snow but last year hit with a vengeance and this year we are already covered in snow and expecting more before Christmas. I am beginning to believe that this is more the normal winter than the first three we had here. I really like having well defined seasons and the snow and ice is inconvenient but we are adapting. With the heat pumps we can still work in the shop and keep the cars above freezing in the garage so the inconvenience is small. Shoveling snow is only a small thing so far... There are stories about county snow removal piling snow in the drives where they meet the road but it has not been that bad yet.
 
BugoutBob said:
Pretty much everything needs raised beds here. Everything is sand and glacial till with a fraction of an inch of poor topsoil. Neighbour tried to do a perc test for septic (where you fill a hole with water and time how long it takes to drain) he couldnt keep it full long enough to test, just kept going down through the sand.
Click to expand...
Here as well. Clay soil is such poor soil. I have removed clay soil and have added lots amendments: manure, compost, leaves. It seems like it is a losing battle without raised beds.
 
Weedygarden said:
Watermelons are not easy to grow. A few years I found a variety, "Moon and stars" that was the most successful for me. I had full grown watermelons like I had never had before. Watermelons do need lots of water and heat. I find the same is true of cantaloupe and muskmelons.
The watermelons that are found in the stores now are largely seedless varieties. Has anyone else noticed how flavorless they are? Watermelons with seeds have much better flavor.
Click to expand...

Weedy, I agree no flavor. I like the ones with seeds too. People around here sell them off teh side of the road all the time and fields are full of them. Must be hybrids or just us who don't know how to grow them.:dunno:
 
Most of the commercially grown crops are hybrid crops. They are more productive so less expensive to market. Seeds are purchased for each new planting because the seeds from hybrid crops will grow mostly the parent crop and not the productive hybrid crops. That is why we use only heirloom crops and collect the seeds for future planting. Once we grow a crop we have an endless supply of seeds that acclimate to the local environment over the years.
 
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