Raised beds vs the traditional plot

[albert onglebod]

There is a book at our local library which is called something like
'how to grow more fruit and vegetables than you ever thought possible' and is all about the raised bed system. It says that you can get 4 times the yield you would using the flat bed system.
John Seymour also talks about it in his book TheSelf sufficient gardener.
The idea is that the roots can go down further so dont need to spread sideways to find water. You are supposed to sow in a grid formation rather than in rows for maximum use of the area.
Ive made 2 little raised/deep beds 4.5' X 3' and 3.5' X 3' as thats all I had materials for and planted up carrots and parsnips. I sowed both of these as rows though as I had no idea what the seedlings were supposed to look like and didnt want to weed them by mistake. The local cats are very keen to climb into them though so they each have fleece on and a bit of old gate over them to hold it down.

[Mandyz]

I'm starting to think this is a better option... Particularly since we're already going to have to shore up the bottom on the slope to try and even out the garden a bit.
Sounds like a lot of extra investment to start up though, and I'm not sure if OH is up for that particularly now that our van died (difficult to transport supplies needed AND have to buy new vehicle, but NOT a van!)

Sigh.
I'll just have to wait for planting season to approach closer and the gardening centers to open up.

[wulf]

How steep is your slope? Perhaps you could build up some terraces, with the front edge raised and the back edge fairly much level with the ground. That would give you a flat area for growing (better for watering as the water won't run off, washing top soil away) without the effort of building fully raised beds.

Wulf

[albert onglebod]

John Seymour reckons you dont need the wooden edges to your beds.You just double dig and incorporate compost or manure in the topmost layer,then bank it up.The added material means it will be higher than the normal flat beds anyway.
Some people use old scaffolding planks or even roof tiles or old slabs for the edging.
Ive got one made of some breeze blocks we had and one made from some bits of plastic fencing.
Yesterday I found 2 quite good planks in a skip so they are going to be my next one.

[hedgewizard]

Mr Seymour is quite right, you don't have to edge your beds - but it's much less work in the long run if you do because the action of rain, sun and frost means that the beds are always slumping down and pushing into the paths, meaning that after every good downpour or hard frost you have to cut the edges back in. Rasied edges also give the advantage of keeping any soil dressings or mulch in place.

What expense? Mine are made entirely from reclaimed wood - a mixture of skip-bounty and old scaffolder's boards (I like these as they've been treated but are so well-weathered they won't be releasing much of anything into your soil). Just spend a few hours ringing round scaffolders, and ask if they have any old boards that are nearing the end of their life. Some charge, some don't. Boards can be anywhere from 14' to 19' long, so two 14' boards gives you one 4'x10' bed. You have to hammer stakes in on the outside of the boards about every 3' to avoid too much strain on them.

Wulf's idea is a good one if your plot is suitable: you'd have to have your raised beds following the line of the slope. Four feet thickness for the beds (although smaller people are happier with 3'6" or even smaller) plus 2'6" for the paths (again some people need less) means a 6'6" spacing between terraces, and although you'd need to smack fence posts in good and deep to put the shuttering against, you'd only have to do one side of each bed.

[Mandyz]

I think I need to think more creatively about the garden.
I posted some pictures in allotments
http://www.selfsufficientish.com/forum/ ... php?t=1564
but it's hard to demonstrate the slope in a photo. It's close to 45*
The large gardens on left and right are 3m square and I figured I'd put two stone paths across them, leaving three approx 1m deep growing areas.
But I'm doubting myself now and thinking there must be a better option.

[albert onglebod]

Golly that is a very steep slope. If you had steps you could have pots of veg etc growing one behind the other and they would all get the sunlight.

[hedgewizard]

Er, wow. I'd definitely terrace that, but the depth of each step would depend on how much topsoil you have there. This is something you could do yourself, although it'd take all summer. I'd love to do the path as a zig-zag rather than a central set of steps, but it might be beyond me...