In Which Physics is not my friend (Gardening)

[aldersprig]

We have 8 4x6 raised beds against the garage in two 4-bed rows, made of 1x8" locust boards.

We bought - late in the season because of shenanigans - locust enough to raise 4 of the beds up to 16" (The posts were left tall last year for that purpose) and - even later in the season - compost/topsoil mix to fill them.

Saturday, I hauled approx. 100 gallons of dirt (mostly in 5 gallon buckets) to get one bed filled up to the top & transplanted a couple of plants that had been waiting (one poor little tomato plant is like 8" tall and already giving me one solitary tomato).

Yesterday, I was working on leveling the back beds up to their first boards before adding in the second row. I stood on the front board to smooth out some dirt...

...and the board tipped backwards out of its screwholes, neat as you please.

Whoops.

Longer screws, more screws, board replaced. But seeing all the roots there was kinda neat. Maybe my next project, I'll make clear plexi raised beds.

Comments

Deep beds

[dialecticdreamer]

If they're permanently deeper beds, what are they over? Regular soil? Concrete? 8" beds are deep enough for the vast majority of things I've tried to grow. I prefer modifying big trash cans and growing potatoes in those the few times we've experimented, though.

Re: Deep beds

[aldersprig]

They're over rocks. Err, that is, soil that is full of rocks.

We want to grow carrots and some other root veg, and the requires deeper than 8". And I like the deeper depth in terms of planting comfort, as well. :-P

How do you modify the garbage cans?

Re: Deep beds

[dialecticdreamer]

Two ways-- for smaller cans (kitchen trash size), just drill LOTS of holes for drainage. no need to put rock or aggregate of any kind in the bottom. Lay down 3-4" of working soil, lay the prepped eyes in and barely cover. When the leaves are six or more inches tall, add more dirt. Repeat util trash can looks like a huge, mounded pile of vegetation.

When it's about time to harvest--I'd have to check my memory of the brown/curling leaves stage against a calendar-- just tip the can over and shake the potatoes loose. If you put the cans on a patio, great, but put them on a layer of spacers, either bricks or bits of board, to allow some air circulation between the hot concrete and the bottom of the can. (It gets over a hundred F here, regularly, and some containers are better in this area than others.

For the BIG, 55 gallon cans, DEFINITELY buy one with wheels. More expensive, but WOW, will it pay off even trying to TIP that sucker.

Even a five-gallon bucket (the orange ones from Home Depot are food-safe) will work. None will yield LARGE potatoes, and the fewest number will be in the 5-gallon bucket, but they WILL be more likely to be the fingerling, lovely little guys.

Now you've got me thinking about next year, and planting purple potatoes because I can NEVER find them in the grocery more than once a year.

Re: Deep beds

[aldersprig]

Sounds awesome. Maybe I'll try that next year.

Mmmm, purple potatoes.