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I made some 10 inch deep beds. Will these be deep enough for most vegetables?
I also want to make a dedicated bed for strawberries. Can I get away with 6 inch deep or what would be required?
One thing I have learned about raised beds...That is a LOT of dirt.
Both should be sufficient for your garden. Strawberries have the habit of producing smaller and smaller fruit each year. By year 5 or 6 you'll have to pull them and replant. I'm on year 5 currently with mine and the crop is much smaller in size this year. I can't think of a common veggie that would require anything deeper than 10 inches.
They do that because they are depleting mineral content in the soil, a good fertilyzer would go along way in keep production at maximum. I prefer Miracle Grow, but I'm sure there are others out there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rick
Rick, do you not place the runners into the spaces between plants to keep the rows thick?
Strawberries propagate by runners and we always had new first year growth between the old plants as the runners rooted where we placed them as we turned the stray runners out of the walking paths between rows.
Our strawberry patches were not a plant here and another 2 feet away, they were solid strawberries from one end of the row to the other.
10" beads are more than enough......
Over the years my whole garden has grown up with soil amendments, so if effect it is now a "raised bed".
I started with boxed in beds as the soil was all clay and hard as a rock.....I used 6" timbers....which have rotted away over the years.
The perimeter has a gravel "sidewalk/drain" as it was a low spot....Dug down into the clay, about 6" and filled with sand and gravel.
Sadly, this year it is just sitting there, with a cut down weed/shredded leaf cover waiting for tilling...(Doc says maybe next month).
I've always snipped the stolons then replanted them. My strawberries are not in rows but in an area along one side of my house. The stolons replace any damaged plants or fill in areas where needed. What I have not done is fertilize them. That's certainly worth a try. These are Ozark Beauties so they are everbearing.
I think for most things a six inch deep bed would do, but what is under the bed may make a difference. E.g., if it is real hardpan, then many root vegetables would appreciate the extra room that 10 inch beds give them. I believe either Rick or Hunter described the soil interface phenomenon in another post, but the bottom line is that the roots tend to hit the soil interface and stop (or curl) there. The good news is that after a couple of years with the raised bed in place, the interface starts to break down and become good garden soil.
Yes, raised beds do require a lot of soil (and soil amendment like compost). I have ordered a load of decent top soil from a subdivision developer who was blading it off homesites to install foundations. (He should have been saving it for the homeowners, but developers almost never do.) I had it delivered by a local hauler with a dumptruck. Obviously, I do a lot of raised bed gardening, but the overall cost was way cheaper than buying the bagged "topsoil" at the home center, and the material was better quality. Dumptruck backed up next to the new beds and I didn't have to schlep the topsoil very far.
As you probably know, some vegetables will, if they are happy, start to take over. Strawberries can be like that with their runners seeking out new territory at the expense of other plants. Mints, Jerusalem artichokes, and chives are other examples of competitive veggies/fruits. With its big leaves, rhubard can shade out other plants. It can be helpful to give these kinds of plants their own beds.
Early on....the hard clay was so bad that I literally bought bag of top soil, laved them end to end....then slit the bags and planted. Following year, the remaining plaitic parts of the bags were stripped away and I started "double digging French intensive style" with a spade, in the now softened clay underneath....Tough work.
Added compost and any other "good dirt" I could find.
They were doing the "strip the land of top soil, build new houses then sell you back you own dirt" ....was a big (really BIG pile) a few blocks away....but was kinda fenced in and guarded.
Across the street was farmers field.....and they started digging more foundations....and filling in....Sadly the layer of the top soil was about where the basement floor was....so a lot got covered up.
I would go over at night and pick up "blocks" of top soil....was still clay but very dark and about 18" deep....so you could pick up clumps and drag it home with our neighborhood "skid" (had partners in clime)....old concrete mixing box with a rope on it, behind a VW bug.....LOL .
Surprising what you do when you have time,.... no money, and need something done....and beer.
Anyway....the bottom line is that after 30+ years I now have great dirt....and can't do all the stuff I want.
I'm using 5-6gal paint buckets for my "garden". I cut some buckets in half as an experiment to see if it would work with tomatoes, hot peppers and some sweet peppers.
So far so good except I am dropping flowers on some plants which I believe is due to some colder nights (~60's). Is this true or should I be looking at other causes?
Found my first aphid this morning, squished him fast! Sprayed the rest of the plants with soap/water mix to try and prevent a hostile take over.
Question? What are the better herbs to winter over in my region (NE Ohio)? Other than my chives, I didn't have much success from the ones I planted last year. We did have an unusually long cold winter though. Is it best to plant them in pots or raised beds?
Grizz - Sorry, I just saw your post. There are some issues with bucket planting but they can be overcome easily. The smaller the bucket the smaller the plant. If the plant becomes root bound it will not grow any larger. Typically, the underground root system is as large as the above ground plant so limiting the root system also limits the plant. You should still get a good harvest from them. Another issue to consider is the buckets are more susceptible to overheating from direct sun. That's not good for the roots. Just make certain the buckets aren't in direct sunlight. Finally, you need to ensure you have adequate drainage. You don't want the roots standing in water. Crash can probably give some pointers here. His maters are in tubs.
Phil - I've not had much luck overwintering herbs. Some are invasive (like the mints) so I plant them in pots. Others are pretty delicate for our cold winters. Garlic does very well, however. You might look for a book titled "Herb Gardening for the Midwest" by Debra Knapke. Lavender, Oregano and Thyme you can be cut back and cover with mulch. After a couple of hard freezes cut the plant back and put about 3 inches or so of mulch over them to protect the roots. Last winter was particularly hard. I even lost some garlic and that stuff is pretty hardy.
My two lavender plants were first year plants and they did fine. Covering the herbs make sense. Thanks Rick, I'll look into getting that book.
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