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Raised Bed Gardening

Started by Mooseherder, March 09, 2009, 09:40:55 PM

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SwampDonkey

Great idea with your freezer beds. :)
"No amount of belief makes something a fact." James Randi

1 Thessalonians 5:21

2020 Polaris Ranger 570 to forward firewood, Husqvarna 555 XT Pro, Stihl FS560 clearing saw and continuously thinning my ground, on the side. Grow them trees. (((o)))

thecfarm

Now that recycling!! Good idea.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

DeerMeadowFarm

The chest freezers are better because:
1. They have less stuff inside them to remove
2. They are made to be in this position
3. They are taller, and therefore easier on you back

The guy at the transfer station keeps an eye out for me when they come in and he puts them aside. Ideally I wait until the guy from the transfer station home office comes out to recapture the refrigerant. I take them home, strip out all the electrical and condenser, plumbing, etc. and return the parts to the transfer station for disposal/recycling. The doors are removed as soon as they come in so I never have to deal with those. I drill a bunch of 1/2 holes through them for drainage.

We paint them so they don't look so red neck. Can't get much freer than that for a good raised bed!

21incher

Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

mike_belben

When pressed for time or feeling lazy i use tires temporarily.  A bottletorched  box cutter plunges through easy and sawzall zips the sidewall out.




Praise The Lord

Chuck White

Thinking about doing raised bed gardening next year!

I plan to use Plastic 55-gallon barrels, cut so to use top and bottom (similar to 5-gallon pails only bigger).

Looking for ideas on layering the material used to fill the barrels.

I'm thinking some holes drilled in the bottoms and gravel for the bottom layer in the barrel for drainage!

I have lots of grass clippings on hand for blending soil.

Now, looking for any/all suggestions!

I'm planning on placing the barrels on a bed of 5-6 inches of gravel!

These "could" be put together this Fall!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

Mooseherder

This year I laid old timbers down and put the soil in between them.   Very little effort with good results.   The soil is the most important part and you use less this method.  :)

doc henderson

you could also split them the long way and get more area, if you do not need deep soil.  (barrels)
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

21incher

I would leave the bottoms open to allow the worms to go deep in the winter. You really need worms for best results in raised beds. 
Hudson HFE-21 on a custom trailer, Deere 4100, Kubota BX 2360, Echo CS590 & CS310, home built wood splitter, home built log arch, a logrite cant hook and a bread machine. And a Kubota Sidekick with a Defective Subaru motor.

mike_belben

Living soil is critical for anything to grow well and resist pest and drought stress.  Once soil microbes and flora/fauna whatever start dying off youll just be adding more and more synthetic fertility for a declining harvest.  

Become a dirt nerd and itll get easier and easier. "Lasagna gardening" is a good intro. 
Praise The Lord

Chuck White

The barrel halves would end up being about the same height as the 5-gallon pails!

This to me seems like a good working height!

I plan to drill lots of 1" holes in the bottoms, this way, if I decide to move them some day I don't lose everything that's in them!

Got some good inputs so far looking for more, thanks!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

mike_belben

The fastest and cheapest raised bed stuff i have done was just sawzalling the sidewall out of a tire and pouring in good rich composted dirt.   A pickup tire is enough for 4 big maters if your dirt is good.  And again, quality dirt was the hardest part.





Potatoes grew like crazy and i kept stacking higher.  At 3 tires i started having very vigorous plants die back hard.  I had not considered that a tire doesnt breath, it pools water and the sun doesnt penetrate the tire.  Id overwatered them to stem rot by not knowing tge base was sopping wet.  2 high did okay.  Tomatoes did good in just one tire.  

Nice part is you can just keep moving this, even while plants are growing if you really had to.



I am able to make compost very fast with grass and sawdust during summer in a 2 bay pallet bin by layering and turning often. However that mixture alone does not support good growth, in fact it will hardly sprout a seed. But when that compost mix is thoroughly tilled in to my poor native clay and sand mix, with a dose of triple 10 or what have you, growth is very potent even with excessively dense stocking.

Its hard to see the log perimeter but this is kind of a raised bed.  The yard slopes so the logs are holding back dirt as a retaining wall on the thick side only, 8 to 10 inched deep i guess.






I planted the corn way too close and still had good harvest of cukes, squash and tomatoes from between them plus the corn we are reaping now.  Despite lots of bug pests.  Living soil makes all the difference. 







Praise The Lord

Don P

Michelle harvested taters and maters with the school kids yesterday. They each got to take home a few taters and a few maters. Not too bad. The garden suffered through the summer as time was summer tight and we were focusing on getting the bazillion pickets made and installed, and then the kids are gone during summer. But a good start. They had harvested spring stuff before school let out and have started some fall stuff and those beds from yesterday's harvest are now open.

She got home and said "I have no disciplinary control". Well, did anyone get hurt? No. Did they have fun? Yes. Sounds good to me, hopefully something rubbed off for later.

Chuck White

At Tractor supply the other day, I noticed they have some feeder troughs for livestock!

They are elevated about 2 feet, and about 1½ ft wide and about 8 ft long.

I think I'll get a couple of them rather than using half-barrels!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

farmfromkansas

I used leaky old livestock water tanks for raised beds.  Most are about 8' diameter, and a rear tractor tire turned inside out also.  For dirt, used straight compost from my cow corral.  It is not straight cow poo, has lots of spoiled hay and bedding mixed with the poo.  All winter I put out bales for the cows to eat, then move the feeders around so cows can lay on the leftovers.  Then I put the feeder back on top and another bale in it.  There is always some feed the cows don't eat, and they then use it for bedding.  Also put out some straw in bad weather, they eat some and lay on the rest.  Gets covered with poo and wet, packed down and creates pretty good compost.  In the spring I scoop it all up and pile it, then in the fall I haul it out and spread it on my poor grass.  This stuff is very effective at helping farmed out ground.  Tried it straight in the raised beds, and tomatoes and green beans and squash just went crazy.  Kathy watered just about every day.  We have been furnishing tomatoes for the neighborhood. 
Most everything I enjoy doing turns out to be work

mike_belben

you can slit a tight top steel drum into left and right sides then lay them down to make feed troughs or raised beds too.  id put some garden hose or something for sharp edge protection. pop in a few drain holes for downpours. 
Praise The Lord

Chuck White

In a raised bed garden made with a trough, barrel, etc, what would be an adequate depth of soil!

I realize that the shallower the soil depth, a more frequent watering would be required!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

doc henderson

ours are about 2 feet. depends on if you are talking root crops I think, vs above ground like lettuce ect.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

mike_belben

Just fill it up with good rich soil.  Roots will go wherever they need to. Ive grown big tomato plants in car tires where the root ball after is like another tire inside.  Solid with roots.
Praise The Lord

Chuck White

Not planning on carrots, beets, etc.

I plan on planting string beans, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers.
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

doc henderson

if there is no bottom in the container then it matters less, although if it is compacted soil underneath, they may not journey there.  Ideally you would have drip irrigation on a timer.  that was our issue, remembering to water when everyone was working.
Timber king 2000, 277c track loader, PJ 32 foot gooseneck, 1976 F700 state dump truck, JD 850 tractor.  2007 Chevy 3500HD dually, home built log splitter 18 horse 28 gpm with 5 inch cylinder and 32 inch split range with conveyor powered by a 12 volt tarp motor

Chuck White

The raised beds that I plan to use are about 10-12 inches deep!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

mike_belben

Youll be fine if its good nutrient rich soil.  I grew many cukes in 4-5 inches of depth on a portable sort of palletized arbor i built with a wooden base and wire racking over the top into an arch for them to climb. 
Praise The Lord

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