Do you use raised beds in your veggie garden?
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Sorry - I can't resist asking for more details about that greenhouse. I NEED one! Any tidbits you can share about construction, things you might do differently (if any), etc. would be greatly appreciated. I have wanted one for a while, but was concerned about construction quality of the kits I could afford, and I don't have the time and money to try and figure it out myself by trial and error as I figure I would land more on the "error" side ;-) If it works for you in Alaska, something like it should work over here in New Hampshire...
SolarAndWood said:
hopeful1 said:
I built a 2' high base, 24" centers, outside is 8' X 12', opening at the front for the door (32''). covered with plywood.
5 pieces total: 2 @ 2' X 12', 1 @ 2' X 89" & 2 short ones so front opening will fit a storm door.
set a treated 4X4 into the ground/gravel flush to top of 4X4 all the way around to nail the 2' walls into.
5' high wall frame on top of that. Front wall framed for door opening.
Drew out the barn style truss shape (7 total) on the floor with chalk, cut short pieces close to the angle, plywood across the joints .
Frame one end truss for a fan. Set both end trusses, 2" in from the ends so plastic sheets will overhang the ends by 2".
Wiggle molding & 26" X 12' greenhouse plastic screwed on. 1st piece centered top-middle & work your way down the sides.
cover the ends, cut out for fan, install the door. I used treated 2X4s, cheap storm door from Lowes, Sun tuff Greenhouse plastic with green screws
Fan up high, vent louver down low on a thermostat.
No plans, just started nailing/screwing wood together. Handles wind well.
This type (below pic) handles snow load well, I built it for buddy in Willow, he set his on pier blocks & treated 4X6 then backfill the outside with gravel :
Just different roof, ridge pole & then nail on 2X4 trusses
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See the Amish if possible and get some 2x10"s and make a box any length but keep the width under 3 -4 feet this allows for better reach keeping you outside the raised bed and you can sit on the edge and have at it much more comfortably. I coated my boards with stain and have had not issues with them, they are lartch pine.
I am by no means a gardener, but I do grow a few veggies each year. Last year I started raising the beds without any support and in between I used cut grass for mulch. Used to use newspaper (which was a pain) and straw (which was expensive). Anyway, the cut grass was great and its readily available!
From your other threads, I'm guessing this is an urban garden? In that case, I kind of like the cement block idea to contain the bed. Should be plenty of those around for free.
From your other threads, I'm guessing this is an urban garden? In that case, I kind of like the cement block idea to contain the bed. Should be plenty of those around for free.
Asian gardeners have been using intensively-cultivated raised bed gardens for thousands of years, with just the rounded sides some of the posters above have described. That's as inexpensive as you can get, and easy to change out if you don't like it. According to what I heard for their reasons is that having rocks or wood against the soil slowed down the warmth from the sun, and gave insects, fungi, etc., a place to get a foothold. Obviously, many of the posters here prove that this isn't necessarily so. Just sayin' it's not a necessity.
Works well in moist-soil areas, or ones prone to flooding. Gardeners in desert areas generally don't go that route. I've used raised beds (no boxed sides) for several years and found a lot of advantages to that. One summer it rained a lot and everyone I knew who didn't have raised beds lost their gardens to rot. On the dry summers, I had to combat the loss of moisture, and I harvested a lot of duckweed out of a local swimming hole, took it home, and used it to mulch my raised beds. Soil under it stayed moist but not sodden, so that when I watered the beds there wasn't a dried-up crust that shed the water that I would have had without it. The duckweed would soak up the water, and release it more slowly so that when I watered, it wicked down. It also looked really nice, as if my garden had astroturf beds.
Another advantage of the raised beds is that you can build mosaic-like designs. I always made a raised medallion in the center where I planted flowers, some long rectangles, some squares, ect. I also mixed a lot of flower plantings, companion- and otherwise in my beds. Made it more fun to be in the garden.
A few more options that people can consider if they have challenging planting conditions is the system known as `lasagna gardening' and straw-bale gardening. Google them for more info.
Your local cooperative extension service should be able to give you a ton of information on this, and let you know the applications that work best in your neck of the woods.
Works well in moist-soil areas, or ones prone to flooding. Gardeners in desert areas generally don't go that route. I've used raised beds (no boxed sides) for several years and found a lot of advantages to that. One summer it rained a lot and everyone I knew who didn't have raised beds lost their gardens to rot. On the dry summers, I had to combat the loss of moisture, and I harvested a lot of duckweed out of a local swimming hole, took it home, and used it to mulch my raised beds. Soil under it stayed moist but not sodden, so that when I watered the beds there wasn't a dried-up crust that shed the water that I would have had without it. The duckweed would soak up the water, and release it more slowly so that when I watered, it wicked down. It also looked really nice, as if my garden had astroturf beds.
Another advantage of the raised beds is that you can build mosaic-like designs. I always made a raised medallion in the center where I planted flowers, some long rectangles, some squares, ect. I also mixed a lot of flower plantings, companion- and otherwise in my beds. Made it more fun to be in the garden.
A few more options that people can consider if they have challenging planting conditions is the system known as `lasagna gardening' and straw-bale gardening. Google them for more info.
Your local cooperative extension service should be able to give you a ton of information on this, and let you know the applications that work best in your neck of the woods.
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