When I walk around the gardens, I see lots of raised beds. It takes a lot of work to create a raised beds, especially in the fairly heavy soils what we have. I see two results for raised beds: 1) They get the roots up further away from the water, and 2) they require lots of hand work to control weeds. You can't use a tiller or even a hoe very well on a raised bed. Neither of these results are desirable during summer months. The only time I would use a raised bed is to get an early start in the spring in a very wet garden. I might create a raised bed in the late fall to have it all ready for early spring planting for freeze-hardy vegetables. That's the only time.
If I were lame and could not get down (and up) from my knees in the garden, I might also wish I had a raised bed. But a container garden would serve me much better in that case.
My advice: don't make raised beds. If anything, dig troughs for your plants to catch and contain water.
The Red Barn Community Farm is in the Lowell Neighborhood, Everett, WA. It lies in the 100-year flood plain of the Snohomish River. The soil is rich bottom soil, Puget Sound Silty Loam. It has been well drained with ditches and a drainage canal. The farm is part of a 400 acre area owned by the City of Everett. 2011 is our first year as a Community Farm.
No comments:
Post a Comment