Raised bed gardening?

[MoochNNoodles]

Anyone have any advice on this? I'm wondering if it's a good option for me.

I was looking at tools and what not online. My yard is EXTREEMELY sandy. I actually live across from a sand quarry! Our grass is pretty terrible too. I know it's getting late in the season but I would still like to try planting a vegetable garden. Nothing too big or fancy.

Since I know I need to add in a ton of soil anyway; I was wondering if this is a good option to consider? We do have hot summers here; usually summer days are in the 80s and 90s into September. Officially I think they say 80s is average; but I know we have had some hot hot summers recently.

I seriously would love it if I could get someone to physically come teach me these things!

 

[whisky'sdad]

If you have sandy soil, I would definately get raised beds. Make sure to get a good soil/compost mix. I wouldn't worry about the hot weather, but I would wait to hear what others say. Just make sure the soil stays good and moist.

 

[gailc]

I have very sandy soil-when the temps reach the 80's (end of July in Wisconsin!) I cannot walk barefoot in parts of my veg garden! I have a 1/4 acre veg garden however. I do any lots of leaves in the fall and till them in. Slowly improving the soil though. Depending on how much of an area you want to plant and what you want to plant! We are located on 15 feet of "sugar sand" soil. lots of watering if no rain!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Thanks! Our sand isn't super fine; but it's almost beach sand...at least what our beaches are like! I couldn't believe it when I picked some up a few weeks ago while my husband was digging holes for the fence posts! Gail; with your gardening skills I wish you lived closer...I'd ask you to come teach me!!

I want to start very small. I see Lowes has some "kits" for raised beds. The smallest is 4'x4'. So only one or 2 of those at the most this year. I have this fear that gardening will make me face; so I was thinking long and narrow; but I do like the way the kits seem to work and the material it's made of. http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?...d=3104317&cId=

My problem after this is going to be picking out the soil to go in it and then knowing how much I can put in each planter!

 

[cococat]

Hot weather isn't a problem. Go to your local extension, they can help you for your area. Also, your local nursery can help better than a Lowe's or HD.
With a good eye (for potential bad bugs and also to make sure the good bugs stay - I garden organically do don't like to use the bad stuff and rely on the mini ecosystem) and adequate appropriate water and good soil, most plants do very well. Most plants want to live so don't worry yourself too much and I think you will do well and say go for it!
We get our soil in truck loads from a local place, not a big box store. It is more cost effective and supports the local guys. Good stuff too.
There are beneficial bugs it would be good that you learn, and bad ones. This can vary per plant. Also, you can plant certain flowers near certain veggies to help them grow better. Little tips like how you plant your tomatoes for strong root systems can also be learned at your extension or local nursery.

 

[gailc]

I too recommend getting the soil for an excavating company. It will be ALOT CHEAPER!!
You don't want to garden in potting soil. The local firm I use had a "potting mix" which is 1/3 compost, 1/3 topsoil & 1/3 composted cow manure. Make sure if you buy from a trucking company the stuff is screened so it doesn't have big chunks of soil.
Suncast makes pretty good products so you should be happy with the quality.
There is a formula for determining how much soil you need as well.

 

[milk maid]

I was just looking at the raised bed kit and it is a bit on the small side, you could make your own very easy with some wooden planks, and it would work out cheeper.

When you do plant your vegies go for some really easy ones at first this way it will boost your confidence and then you will go on to grow bigger and better things. Before I married a farmer I had my own gardening bussniss and I always recomended these books
http://www.amazon.com/Vegetable-Herb...4186447&sr=1-1

They are easy to follow and dont make things complicated, also they are not expensive so really worth investing in.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Thanks for the advice! I will take a look at the book you linked to!

I was reading the reviews and the thing that made me want to use a kit was that they are made from durable material and should last longer than wood. I'm hoping look nicer too.

I do really want to start small; so the size seems appealing. If I went in the ground; I was going to do a long, narrow garden. I can't have any plants in my face so I was thinking of doing 2 kits like that; and putting down some stepping stones or gravel in between them so the area wouldn't need to be mowed.

What vegetables do you consider "easy" to start with? I know I would use beans, peas, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash. But I'm not sure I can do all that this year. I don't want to try any lettuces or broccoli. Since there are just 3 of us in my house I don't need a ton of any vegetable. Plus I don't have a chest freezer to put things up in yet.

 

[ducman69]

Did you get the idea from TV?

Here Home Depot has been pimping the raised garden idea all week. Supposedly they have the stuff on sale, so I'd check their ad in your area.

 

[margecat]

Almost all of my vegetable garden is raised. I highly recommend raised bed gardening! Just make sure your bed is at least 6-8" deep for proper root development. I can even grow full-length carrots in my 8-10" deep beds.

WalMart has round, brown recycled plastic circle beds now down to $10 each (they were over $20 before). I bought 3 last year (also at $10), and I love them--they're not as pretty ase the fancy wood ones, but they work very well. You just snap the ends together, attach the side stakes, which help keep it rigid. put on the ground, and fill with good-quality garden soil. I like Miracle-Gro Organic Garden Soil.

I bought a 4th bed to use this season.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Originally Posted by Ducman69

Did you get the idea from TV?

Here Home Depot has been pimping the raised garden idea all week. Supposedly they have the stuff on sale, so I'd check their ad in your area.

Actually it was the Lowes website that gave me the idea! I wanted to see what kind of tool I needed to tear up my grass and then I saw those!

Originally Posted by MargeCat

Almost all of my vegetable garden is raised. I highly recommend raised bed gardening! Just make sure your bed is at least 6-8" deep for proper root development. I can even grow full-length carrots in my 8-10" deep beds.

WalMart has round, brown recycled plastic circle beds now down to $10 each (they were over $20 before). I bought 3 last year (also at $10), and I love them--they're not as pretty ase the fancy wood ones, but they work very well. You just snap the ends together, attach the side stakes, which help keep it rigid. put on the ground, and fill with good-quality garden soil. I like Miracle-Gro Organic Garden Soil.

I bought a 4th bed to use this season.

Oh thanks I'll look there when I go grocery shopping tomorrow!

I snapped this pic tonight...it shows how sandy my ground is! It's from my husband putting the fence in...my daughter had a blast! Apparently we do not need to buy her a sandbox let alone sand for it! Notice her shoes are covered and the finger rake marks in the sand around her!

 

[swampwitch]

We have 10 raised garden beds but we didn't put them in, they were here when we moved in. The garlic and strawberries don't like to get their "feet wet" and we have rainy winters, so they work great.



My suggestions after 9 years of raised bed gardening:

1) Raise the sides up as much as you can (I wish ours were 2X or 3X as high).

2) Don't make the garden beds the same size as burial plots unless you like Halloween-all-year, or the serial killer look.

3) MAKE SURE your mower can fit between them! (We can't mow between two beds and it's a real pain.)

4) If you get wooden sides, confirm that they are not treated with chemicals or pesticides - no railroad ties.

p.s. With hot summers, I would grow tomatoes and corn (if you have long days), okra, peppers... all the stuff I can't grow here!

p.p.s. Just saw your little girl, what a doll!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Thank you! She's my lil ham!

I'm definitely wanting to do tomatoes! I love a good tomato slice on toasted wheat bread! YUM! Since I'm starting small and we don't use a ton of peppers I think I might save them for another time. But down the road I would love to try them! Your garden looks really neat! I'm going to get my husband to help make sure he can get our mower around everything. And I wouldn't have thought the burial plot thing...but it does make sense! LOL! I was thinking of doing 2 smaller beds and putting something like gravel or stepping stones between them to block the grass. In future years maybe I will add the beds. We will she how I do this year! If I ever get started for real!