I started with sand and gravel. As the last of the glaciers
retreated from Georgian Bay, they left, what is now, the predominant soil
structure around the area of Midland, Ontario. Theoretically, my garden zone is
somewhere between four and five, but my particular acre of land, in a valley of
sorts, surrounded on three sides by majestic white pine and facing in a
southerly direction, often acts like a zone three. The garden is protected from
wind and sudden frost and often receives twice as much rain as my
not-too-distant neighbors. That’s most years; some years, I lose all sight of
what is really going on here!
I have gardened here for the past eight years. What once was an
open acre of land has filled in with a small barn and goat yard, a sixty- by
fifty-foot vegetable and flower patch and an eight-tree apple orchard. The first
year, I planted squash and garlic and started an asparagus patch. The next two
years, I added potatoes, which loved the sandy soil. My planting style is:
“Plant as intensely as possible, worry about how to get in to harvest later.”
The first soil amendments were composted chicken manure mixed
with shavings, straw (as my mulch decomposed) and organic seaweed powder. Each
year, there was less lawn and more local food! My foray into raised beds
happened out of necessity. I wished to plant herbs closer to the kitchen door,
but the area that I wished to plant could not be tilled or dug into, as it was
too close to the septic bed. I had read about “lasagna gardening,” so after the
beds were constructed out of hemlock boards and positioned on the lawn, we
layered cardboard, leaf mulch, chicken manure and topsoil mixed with compost and
peat.
The beds are now spectacular with herbs and perennials. Each
year, I add a bit of composted goat manure and mulch heavily with straw. These
particular boxes are edged by grass, which is, in hindsight, lovely to look at
in the late afternoon light but difficult to maintain. As I try to reduce my use
of the lawnmower and trimmer, I find the grass an ecological strain. Learning
from my trials and errors as the years have flown by, the plants themselves have
been my most valuable guides to what works and what doesn’t.
Two years ago, I faced my growing dilemma of where to find the
time needed for all this gardening. Somewhere around the end of July, I would
become tired of every spare hour being spent in the garden, as it left so little
time for book reading or visiting or just plain sitting down to rest; and the
weeds would win the battle of “Whose garden is it anyway?”
I’d like to be okay with the weeds but, really, I love a very
tidy garden. Even eating the weeds and making tinctures out of them on the full
moon did not make much of a dent in my dilemma. Over the years, the soil has
turned from sand to dark, nutrient rich, compost. It has benefitted from
amendments and plant rotation. However, the constant rototilling also
intensified the weed problem.
Research into Permaculture gardening had expanded my vision for
no-till methods. Wishing to preserve the soil ecology that I had so
painstakingly developed, and in deference to the many earthworms and soil
bacteria that now teemed under the surface of the soil, I decided on converting
the entire garden to raised beds! This time, we could not afford the hemlock. We
bought pine boards and enlisted the help of our friend Bill to construct
eighteen six-by- twelve-foot beds, organized over the face of the garden with
just enough room for a small wheelbarrow to fit inside the rows. In early May, I
left for Colorado, where I helped my cousin plant a garden in almost desert
conditions, near the border of Utah. Bills’ wife Silke filled my boxes with
topsoil, as only a true friend would. It was a very big job. That, and her
helping me lay down garden fabric between the boxes, made me feel very guilty
when she asked me why I could not just garden in rows like the rest of the
world! We piled straw through the rows, adding kitchen compost and year-old goat
manure/straw to the topsoil in the boxes.
We’ve decided on wood chips for the rows after this; the straw
decomposed into a lovely weed growing medium over one season, curtailed only by
a dense canopy of squash leaves. Last winter brought heavy tree damage but, in
return, as we try to maintain a closed supply cycle on our property, we will be
blessed with a plethora of wood chips from the fallen branches.
Borrowing from the philosophies of Bio-dynamic gardening, and
Permaculture practices, we have been able to create a garden that supports the
many eco-systems thriving on our smallholding.
Last year was my best garden yet! The raised bed system has
provided me with many advantages:
Plant Earlier: Despite heavy rainfall, the beds
drain beautifully and I can access the garden a good two weeks before my former
first planting day in April.
Reduce Watering: Heavily mulching each bed
keeps the soil dark and moist even during a drought period. For plants that do
not like mulch, I am able to utilize beds that are more heavily shaded due to
their proximity to the tree line. Tomatoes are fitted with individual watering
devices made of a plastic spout attached to a decapitated water bottle. I can
then water only the individual plant at the root level instead of the whole box.
Tomatoes need extra fish fertilizer halfway through the season, applied to the
leaves. You may decide that all things water-loving should be placed in beds
close to the house and drought resistant crops in beds further out.
Customize Acidity/Alkalinity: Because I am
surrounded by pines and cedars, I need to test the soil for acidity. My garden
journal helps me to remember which beds where adjusted for what each year and,
as crop rotation occurs, I am able to know definitively which bed is suitable
for which vegetable. Everyone gets what they need, as each box is an entire
garden in miniature. Good records are essential to maximize on soil fertility.
Weed Less!: Weeding has become a much lighter
proposition. As time allows, I can weed one or several beds, in a very organized
fashion and, if I have to leave instructions for someone else to weed a bed or
two, they are easily marked. Because I plant intensively and use mulch, there
are really very few weeds to speak of. The mulch between beds eliminates having
to till or weed. Squash planted in eight of the beds create their own weed
control and moisture retention. Be sure to plant semi-bush varieties or you will
have squash in all the wrong places!
If a particular bed gets away from you and you feel pressured
for time to weed it before the snow flies, just cover it with black plastic and
in the spring you will find a warm bed that is easily weeded for stubborn roots.
I have one bed full of dill, calendula and random lettuces that I leave alone
for the most part, except for harvesting and thinning. Leave the volunteers;
they are often the most hardy plants in the garden. A self-sown box like this is
a blessing of Nature. If you like to eat weeds for their superior nutritive and
healing powers, you can leave the odd dandelion, chicory or chickweed plant.
They make great salad additives. Just remember to remove seed heads before they
pop! I leave wild daisies and Johnny Jump Ups here and there, as well as
self-planted sunflowers for food and beauty.
Creating a Raised Bed
A raised bed is simply a garden in an open-bottom box. It can be as
simple or as fancy as you like, and it can be as high off the ground as
you like. (Wheelchair gardeners, for instance, will want an elevated
bed.)
If you’re building it in place, start by leveling off the ground where
your bed will be located. Then mark out the perimeter of the bed using
stakes and string as a guide.
Try to use wood that weathers well, such as cedar, because
pressure-treated lumber contains poisonous preservatives. (If you’re
using recycled boards, be sure they’re not pressure-treated either.) If
you’re not a carpenter, you can have the wood cut to the required
lengths at the lumberyard. For an elevated bed, you’ll need corner posts
as well as side boards.
Once you’ve positioned the boards, pre-drill them to prevent the wood
from splitting and nail them in place with galvanized nails.
Attractive raised beds can, with significantly more work, be constructed
from layers of stones or bricks. In that case, you would create the
garden by layering the soil, organic matter, etc. first, then building
the retaining walls around it, leaning inward slightly and with the
seams overlapping.
Either way, allow the soil to settle for a week or two, adding more soil
as needed prior to planting.
In very wet climates, you might want to dig a small trench around the
perimeter of the raised bed and fill it with gravel to divert excess
water from the pathways. |
Increased and Second Harvest: Boxes are great
for planting closely. As long as there are enough nutrients in the soil, and you
can keep up with eating all those baby greens and carrots and peas, etc, you
will have a harvest of Biblical proportions. Last year, I harvested an average
of thirty squash from each bed. That’s one hundred and eighty squash from a very
small area!
Two beds of Siberian hard neck garlic turned over in late July
were planted with cabbage plants started in the house, beets and late greens.
Beds of heritage pole beans can be inter-planted with cool weather crops like
lettuce, as the beans provide much needed shade for the greens. Shallots love
the company as well. Plant the shallots in early spring on the outer edge of the
bed. Add pole beans a little further in and seed lettuce in the middle. You can
keep reseeding the lettuce all season under the growing bean vines. Neither the
lettuce nor the beans nor the shallots need too much fertilizer, but they all
like water, so they make good companions. I was taught that onions do not need
much watering, but I have not found this to be true in my garden.
Raised beds can be used over and over as the seasons change,
allowing for a three to four season harvest depending on your locale.
No-till Method: Preserve soil culture and
decrease work load with the “no-till method.” One does not have to disturb the
soil at all by adding compost to the beds each spring or fall and, as long as
you are not stepping into the boxes, there will be very little compacting. A
light fluff with a garden fork is okay for those who just love the sight of
freshly worked soil.
Make sure that you build boxes that fit you! A four-foot by
eight-foot box suits most folks just fine. If it’s uncomfortable to work, it’s
too big. Try three-by-eight if you need to. If you bring in top soil to fill the
new beds, it will need amending, no matter how much you pay for it. Rotted
leaves, garden compost, cured manure, rotted hay or straw are all good
additives. Some folks do not like rotted straw or hay because of a likelihood of
weed or mold issues. I leave my straw out in the elements for half a year
until it has sprouted all of its seeds or else it composts with the goat manure.
Mini Greenhouses: Create a mini greenhouse
quite easily using row cover fabric for frost or pest control. Or build a cover
out of wire and greenhouse plastic. The sturdier the frame and plastic, the
better chance it will have to survive a heavy snow fall. A raised bed can also
be converted into a cold frame. Organize your beds so that the greenhouse type
ones are closer to the house for use in early spring and during winter months,
depending on your climate.
Donate Some Boxes: Support the local community
by sharing some boxes with mothers and tots, the handicapped in whatever
capacity, the homeless or youth in mentorship programs. Working the land is a
healing balm. Local artists may also find your garden an inspiring place to
create. I call these Gratitude Boxes. The gratitude is mine; a garden is a
blessing to share.
Free Time!: One of the best things about a
beautiful garden is having the time to collect some herbs for the tea pot, then
to sit and enjoy the view. This makes my garden a place that feeds my soul as
well as my body. A raised bed garden has created balance in my life. Aside from
that, the sight of a raised bed garden in full swing is quite intoxicating!
Experiment with your raised beds: You can
create several different micro-climates in your garden, just by choosing varying
positions. Some beds against a stone wall or flanked by a stone path can provide
almost Mediterranean conditions but will require more water. A shadier area will
be well loved by lettuces, onions and peas. You can organize boxes into a
pattern of your desire, be it square or rectangular or hexagonal with a garden
sculpture in the centre.
Strictly speaking, raised beds are best suited for areas of
heavier rain as they drain well, and less suitable for arid regions or if you do
not have the capacity to water your garden much. Water your beds early in the
morning to avoid the spread of fungal diseases. Water deeply and only in areas
that really need it.
Raised bed gardening may require some planning and note taking
for best results, but it is still easier than all of that tilling and weeding!
Monika Carless, a former unschooling mom, works
as a freelance writer and nutritionist. She is dedicated to promoting
sustainable living practices. An animal and plant communicator, she is currently
writing a book on the subject of plant consciousness, debating the issue of
vegetarianism as it relates to spirituality and what the plants have to say
about the food chain. Contact her via her website
www.wholeearthspirit.com.
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