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Home Horticulture
Allen County's Horticulture Almanac
Excerpts from the February
2002 Issue of Home Horticulture by Ricky D. Kemery, Allen County Horticulture
Extension Educator.
Building
a Garden Bed
Have you ever heard the phrase- "You've made your
bed — now you can lie in it." I often would like to tell folks
who complain about the performance of their garden plants. Often the
plants were installed in lousy subsoil. So my phrase would be "You
didn't prepare your garden bed — and now you call me!"
Anyway, here is some general advice on how to prepare
a garden bed for planting — a bed your plants will be happy to
lie in!
Site
Preparation
Kill the existing turf with Round-Up (glyphosate) or
Finale or place moistened layers of the newsprint portion of the newspaper
down to smother the grass before installing the beds.
Punch drainage holes in the area after the turf is killed
with a spading fork or soil auger. In areas with extremely poor drainage,
a posthole digger can be used to punch several 3-5 foot deep holes in
the area. Fill these holes with pea gravel. Sub-surface drain tiles
can also be installed before the beds are installed
Till in 2 large bales (3.8 cubic feet) of Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss per 10'x 10' (100 square feet) area. The peat will help "break
up" clay soil, add organic matter and water-holding capacity to
sandy soils, reduce soil pH, improve drainage in clay soils, and improve
nutrient availability.
Add 1 1/2 lbs. of garden sulfur per 10'x10' area to
reduce soil pH one number. For example, the soil test reveals that your
pH is 7.8. Adding the sulfur will (for a short time at least) reduce
the soil pH to 6.8.
- Till in 1 bushel basket of well-rotted horse or cow
manure (about 60 pounds) per 10'x10' area. Never use fresh manure
unless you are adding it to a garden at least 6 months before any
plants are installed in the bed
- If you don't want to use manure, then add one actual
pound of 10-10-10 fertilizer per 10'x10‘ area. One actual pound
is about 1/2 of a small coffee can filled with the fertilizer.
Optional: Add a two-inch layer of compost or leaf mold
to the garden after tilling.
Raised
Beds
Question:
I am thinking of going to a raised
bed system to garden, as I am getting too old to stoop over to weed
and plant. What are some general guidelines for raised beds? What materials
can I use?
Answer:
Raised beds should:
- be no wider than 4 feet
- be at least a foot in height
- have at least a foot of friable
soil beneath them
Raised beds 2- 3 feet in height
are preferred for folks who have trouble reaching over and down into
a garden bed. Square-foot gardening incorporates raised beds that are
constructed on square-foot grids. For more information about this technique
check out Square-Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew at the library or
local bookseller.
Often gardeners have used treated
lumber to construct raised bed gardens. Consider the potential environmental
impact if considering treating lumber or railroad ties:
- treated lumber contains heavy
metals like chromium and arsenic to reduce decay
- heavy metals could "leach"
into the soil
- treated railroad ties can leach
creosote and other materials into the soil
- never use freshly treated railroad
ties in a raised - bed garden
- long-term disposal of treated
lumber or railroad ties may be a problem in the future
Other materials that can be used
to construct raised beds including:
- cinder blocks
- stone
- bricks
- untreated lumber
Nowadays commercial plastic
and stone materials are available to construct raised beds. While expensive,
these materials are environmentally friendly. Often a raised bed can
be pieced together (much like a Lego set) to construct the beds.
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