Saturday, April 13, 2013

Raised-Bed Gardening

Raised-Bed Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Raised garden bed of lettuce, tomatoes, basil,
marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini.
Raised-bed gardening is a form of gardening in which the soil is formed in 3 – 4 foot (1.0–1.2 m) wide beds, which can be of any length or shape. The soil is raised above the surrounding soil (approximately 6 inches to waist-high), is sometimes enclosed by a frame generally made of wood, rock, or concrete blocks, and may be enriched with compost. The vegetable plants are spaced in geometric patterns, much closer together than conventional row gardening. The spacing is such that when the vegetables are fully grown, their leaves just barely touch each other, creating a microclimate in which weed growth is suppressed and moisture is conserved. Raised beds produce a variety of benefits: they extend the planting season, they can reduce weeds if designed and planted properly and reduce the need to use poor native soil. Since the gardener does not walk on the raised beds, the soil is not compacted and the roots have an easier time growing. The close plant spacing and the use of compost generally result in higher yields with raised beds in comparison to conventional row gardening. Waist-high raised beds enable the elderly and handicapped to grow vegetables without having to bend-over to tend them.

Overview

Picardo Farm, Wedgwood neighborhood, Seattle, Washington:
A community allotment garden with raised beds for the handicapped
Raised beds lend themselves to the development of complex agriculture systems that utilize many of the principles and methods of permaculture. They can be used effectively to control erosion and recycle and conserve water and nutrients by building them along contour lines on slopes. This also makes more space available for intensive crop production. They can be created over large areas with the use of several commonly available tractor-drawn implements and efficiently maintained, planted and harvested using hand tools.

This form of gardening is compatible with square foot gardening and companion planting.

Circular waist high raised beds with a path to the center (a slice of the circle cut out) are called keyhole gardens. Often the center has a chimney of sorts built with sticks and then lined with feedbags or grasses that allows water placed at the center to flow out into the soil and reach the plants' roots. The charity Send a Cow is promoting the creation of these in Africa.

Materials and Construction

Vegetable garden bed construction materials should be chosen carefully. Some concerns exist regarding the use of pressure-treated timber. Treated pine that was traditionally treated using chromated copper arsenate or CCA, a toxic chemical mix for preserving timber that may leach chemicals into the soil which in turn can be drawn up into the plants, a concern for vegetable growers, where part or all of the plant is eaten. If using timber to raise the garden bed, ensure that it is an untreated hardwood to prevent the risk of chemicals leaching into the soil. A common approach is to use timber sleepers joined with steel rods to hold them together. Another approach is to use concrete blocks, although less aesthetically pleasing, they are inexpensive to source and easy to use. On the market are also prefab raised garden bed solutions which are made from long lasting polyethylene that is UV stabilized and food grade so it will not leach undesirable chemicals into the soil or deteriorate in the elements. A double skinned wall provides an air pocket of insulation that minimizes the temperature fluctuations and drying out of the soil in the garden bed. Sometimes raised bed gardens are covered with clear plastic to protect the crops from wind and strong rains. Pre-manufactured raised bed gardening boxes also exist.

See also:

References:

See the full article Raised-Bed Gardening From Wikipedia, 

          the free encyclopedia



Square Foot Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.


An example of an indoor square foot style garden.
Square foot gardening is the practice of planning and creating small but intensively planted gardens. The practice combines concepts from other organic gardening methods, including a strong focus on compost, densely planted raised beds and biointensive attention to a small, clearly defined area. Proponents claim that the method is particularly well-suited for areas with poor soil, beginner gardeners or as adaptive recreation for those with disabilities. The phrase "square foot gardening" was popularized by Mel Bartholomew in a 1981 Rodale Press book and subsequent PBS television series.


Overview

Conventional gardening can require heavy tools to loosen the soil, whereas in square foot gardening methods the soil is typically not walked on and thus not compacted, and it remains loose and more easily workable. Weeds may be easier to remove due to the light soil, and accessing them can be easier as raised beds bring the soil level closer to the gardener.

Using specific soil mixtures within the beds can help to increase water-holding capacities, so that the garden needs less additional water than in systems reliant on the native soil. Water is also spared by hand-watering directly at the plant roots, so that there is very little waste and tender young plants and seedlings are preserved.

Densely planted crops can form a living mulch, and also prevent weeds from establishing or even germinating.

Natural insect repellent methods such as companion planting (i.e. planting marigolds or other naturally pest-repelling plants) become more efficient in a close space, which may reduce the need to use pesticides. The large variety of crops in a small space also prevents plant diseases from spreading easily.

A plywood bottom can be attached to the bottom of a box, which can then be placed on a tabletop or raised platform for those who wish to garden without bending or squatting, or to make gardening easily accessible for wheelchair, cane or walker users.

Since the beds are typically small, making covers or cages to protect plants from pests, cold, or sun is more practical than with larger gardens.

Mel Bartholomew's Synopsis


A basic, 4x4, 16-unit 
"square-foot garden."
The phrase "square foot gardening" was popularized by Mel Bartholomew in a 1981 Rodale Press book and subsequent PBS television series. A full-length companion DVD, "Square Foot Gardening" (2010), was released in collaboration with Patti Moreno, the "garden girl".

The original square-foot-gardening method (per Bartholomew) uses a four-sided box with no top or bottom to contain a finite amount of soil, which was divided with a grid into sections. To encourage variety of different crops over time, each square would be planted with a different kind of plant, the number of plants per square depending on an individual plant's size. A single tomato plant might take a full square, as might herbs such as oregano, basil or mint, while most strawberry plants could be planted four per square, with up to sixteen radishes per square. Tall or climbing plants such as maize or pole beans might be planted in a northern row (south in the southern hemisphere) so as not to shade other plants, and supported with lattice or netting.

A book about square foot gardening, published
by Mel Bartholomew in February 2006.
The logic behind using smaller beds is that they are easily adapted, and the gardener can easily reach the entire area, without stepping on and compacting the soil. In the second edition, Bartholomew suggests using a "weed barrier" beneath the box, and filling it completely with "Mel's mix," a combination by volume of one third of decayed sphagnum peat moss, one-third expanded vermiculite and one-third blended compost. New compost should be added and mixed in each year. For accessibility, raised boxes may have bottoms to sit like tables at a convenient height, with approximately 6" (15 cm) of manufactured soil per square foot. For some plants, such as carrots or asparagus, it is recommended to build areas deeper than 6" in order to facilitate a deeper root requirement.

In Bartholomew's method, the garden space is divided into beds that are easily accessed from every side. A 4' x 4', 16 sq ft (1.5 m2) or 120 cm x 120 cm, 1.4 m2 garden is recommended for the first garden, and a path wide enough to comfortably work from should be made on each side of the bed, if possible, or if the bed must be accessed by reaching across it, a narrower one should be used so that no discomfort results from tending the garden. Each of the beds is divided into approximately one square foot units and marked out with sticks, twine, or sturdy slats to ensure that the square foot units remain visible as the garden matures.

Different seeds are planted in each square, to ensure a rational amount of each type of crop is grown, and to conserve seeds instead of overplanting, crowding and thinning plants. Common spacing is one plant per square for larger plants (broccoli, basil, etc.), four plants per square for medium large plants like lettuce, nine plants per square for medium-small plants like spinach, and sixteen per square for small plants such as onions and carrots. Plants that normally take up yards of space as runners, such as squash or cucumbers, are grown vertically on sturdy frames that are hung with netting or string to support the developing crops. Ones that grow deep underground, such as potatoes or carrots, are grown in a square foot section that has foot tall sides and a planting surface above the ground, so that a foot or more of framed soil depth is provided above the garden surface rather than below it.

The beds are weeded and watered from the pathways, so the garden soil is never stepped on or compacted. Because a new soil mixture is used to create the garden, and a few handfuls of compost are added with each harvest to maintain soil fertility over time, the state of the site's underlying soil is irrelevant. This gardening method has been employed successfully in every region, including in deserts, on high arid mountain plateaus, in cramped urban locations, and in areas with polluted or high salinity soils. It is equally useful for growing flowers, vegetables, herbs and some fruits in containers, raised beds, on tabletops or at ground level, in only 4 to 6 inches (150 mm) of soil. A few seeds per square foot, the ability to make compost, to water by hand, and to set up the initial garden in a sunny position or where a container, table or platform garden may be moved on wheels to receive light is all that is needed to set up a square foot garden.

See the full article 

      Square Foot Gardening From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.




Raised Garden Beds

Uploaded on Feb 26, 2011

Show how individuals in wheelchairs can garden successfully.


Standard YouTube License @ Handihelp




Wheelchair Accessible Raised Plant Beds Barrier Free

Published on Jun 30, 2012

How to make a wheelchair accessible, barrier free, raised plant bed. These three were made in the Village of Mill Creek in Kelowna, B. C. in June 2012.

SSTattler: At about 2:30 minutes have nice instructions it will show to make a raised bed instead of buying!


Standard YouTube License @ Graham Chambers



Gardening in a Waist High Raised Bed Garden: 

        Preparation for Spring Planting

Uploaded on Mar 15, 2011

http://garden-rack.com -- Get your GardenRack beds ready for spring planting.


Standard YouTube License @ The GardenRack Channel



Gardening in a Waist High Raised Bed Garden

Uploaded on Mar 24, 2009

http://www.garden-rack.com Tired of bending and kneeling to garden? Find out more about GardenRack, the waist high raised bed gardening system. You can garden again!


Standard YouTube License @ The GardenRack Channel





5 on the Farm: CHEAP Raised Bed Garden

Uploaded on May 19, 2011

How to make raised beds out of free wood pallets. IMPORTANT NOTE: If you aren't using a perforated liner, or something that allows water to drain, you'll need to, carefully, put holes in your plastic after stapling it to your pallets. Like our 5 on the Farm series? Subscribe to this station!


Standard YouTube License @ lkbolin's channel






Raised Bed Garden Part 1 of 2

Uploaded on Jul 6, 2009

This video shows how to construct raised garden beds using various materials and especially for people with limited mobility plus points on plants to grow and compost.


Standard YouTube License @ University of Kentucky College of Agriculture






Raised Bed Garden Part 2 of 2

Uploaded on Jul 6, 2009

This video shows how to construct raised garden beds using various materials and especially for people with limited mobility plus points on plants to grow and compost.


Standard YouTube License @ University of Kentucky College of Agriculture






Accessible Raised Bed Garden for Stroke Survivors to Grow Food

Published on Jan 31, 2013

John from http://www.growingyourgreens.com/ goes on a field trip to the redwoods retirement center to share with you their garden to show how they have designed their garden to be accessible for wheelchairs and some of the design elements they have used to make gardening easier for active adults who live in this community. After watching this episode you will have a better idea of some ideas you can use to design a accessible garden for physically challenged or active adults.


Standard YouTube License @ Learn Organic Gardening at Growing Your Greens






Newest Raised Bed Almost Completed - Putting on the Top Trim

Uploaded on Feb 16, 2010

John of http://www.growingyourgreens.com shows putting the trim on the newly built raised beds. He also shows how he will deter slugs and snails from coming in the raised beds. Also a mid-Feb update on how things are growing in his front yard.


Standard YouTube License @ Learn Organic Gardening at Growing Your Greens






Accessible Living: A Raised Garden

Uploaded on Oct 8, 2007

MobilityRules.com "Accessible Living" Series excerpt. Arwen Bird shows us her special raised garden, allowing her to garden from her wheelchair.


Standard YouTube License @ Mobility Rules






Superior Wooden Raised Beds.

Uploaded on May 18, 2011

The Superior Wooden Raised Bed Kits are very much the flagship of our extensive wooden raised bed gardening range, and provide a very sturdy, long-lasting and extremely attractive raised bed area for the discerning vegetable gardener.

Available in 4 heights - from 20cm/8" to an almost Atlantis-type 81cm deep - and 10 sizes, there should be a Superior Wooden Raised Bed which perfectly meets your needs- and if space is an issue, we've a Corner Wooden Raised Bed version available.

http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/superior-wooden-raised-bed-kits-pid7995.html


Standard YouTube License @ HarrodHorticultural






Harrod Wooden Raised Bed Tables

Published on Jan 20, 2013

We've raised our much sought-after wooden raised bed range up a level - quite literally! - with the introduction of our back-saving Wooden Raised Bed Tables.

The slatted base is covered with a stiff recyclable plastic cover, and we also supply a thick non-woven polypropylene fabric liner for water retention, containing fine compost particles and further protection of the raised bed table timber.

All the FSC accredited planed timber used in the manufacture of the Standard Wooden Raised Bed Tables is high pressure treated with a safe preserve and the beds carry a 5 year structural guarantee for complete peace of mind

http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/standard-wooden-raised-bed-tables-pid8093.html

http://www.harrodhorticultural.com/superior-wooden-raised-bed-tables-pid8308.html


Standard YouTube License @ HarrodHorticultural






Adaptive Gardening

Published on Sep 26, 2012

You can still garden even with limitations. we have a few tools and tricks to let you enjoying gardening even if you have challenges.


Standard YouTube License @ Garden Time





Raised Beds

Uploaded on Apr 30, 2009

If you are looking for some raised beds for gardening here are a couple of kits we found to help you.


Standard YouTube License @ Garden Time






Square Foot Gardening

Published on Jan 8, 2013

~ Introduction Video.


Standard YouTube License @ The Colours of Scifi
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