Raised bed for vegetable garden

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

Not a bad idea. Although is me one eat gungo peas ... the legume, mi ah talk bout

Anyway, the soil will be delivered on Saturday. 100% LeafPro

[sistacaf]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

you know about Rudolf Steiner?

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sistacaf</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> you know about Rudolf Steiner? </div></div>

I googled him. I don't get the connection?

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gungo Peas</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: sistacaf</div><div class="ubbcode-body"> you know about Rudolf Steiner? </div></div>

I googled him. I don't get the connection? </div></div>


Dude is considered one of the founding fathers of organic/biodynamic farming....well rather a return to organic processes after the introduction of pesticides etc. in farming.

He pushed the concept of the raised bed for small urban farmers- he plus viewed farming, like the version that we do in our backyard's as experienced-based rather than knowledged based. You plant; you observe what happens; you adjust your skills accordingly.

Kinda puts the &quot;organic&quot; back in Organic if you follow my drift

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MGee</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Gungo Peas</div><div class="ubbcode-body">It's 10&quot; deep well within the 8-12&quot; recommended for raised beds. Is that what you mean? </div></div>
yes, that's what i meant. it still seems shallow to me, but i suppose if you grow veggies that don't have deep roots, that's fine.

tell the truth, is not so much the depth of the wood as it is the fact that the veggie roots,if they want to go deeper, will get blocked by the plastic. am imagining one hellebba root bind caused by all the roots coming to that barrier.
</div></div>

I dont tihnk this should be a problem since vegetables are picked and consumed on a constant basis. The roots shouldnt have time to bind and all of that. My beds arent more than 2 ft deep and I dont have problems with it. It is more a soil issue b/c on part of my vegetable patch has heavy clay, so I get stunted, mutant carrots if I plant any in that area

but beets and green onions do fare okay.

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden



Here is an article that explains Steiner's influence and the mentions the raised bed concept far better than I can

It shows that why he considered the forefather to many of the current organic farming techniques today. However, alot of it to me is <span style="font-weight: bold">old old wisdom</span> that my great great grandfather would know about........
<span style="font-style: italic">

======================================
........The use of pesticides has gone up 10 times since World War II, but damage to crops by insect pests has doubled. Do poisonous pesticides weaken a plant's resistance to pests and make it less nutritious to insects? Think about it. If a crop is less nutritious, an insect must eat more of it to maintain its same growth rate. Just as a healthy person resists disease better, properly nourished crops resist pests more effectively.


........Are residual amounts of deadly pesticides on fruits and vegetables harmful for humans to ingest? Since your body responds quite dramatically to only scant amounts of its own bodily chemicals, why can't trace amounts of poisonous pesticides disrupt the bodily system too, especially in accumulative amounts? Even the absence of one trace element in the bodily system can produce disastrous results.


........Biodynamic farming was spawned by the late anthroposophist, Rudolf Steiner, and has grown and developed in popularity since 1922. The term biodynamic is taken from the Greek words bios meaning life and dynamis meaning energy. Hence biodynamic farming refers to &quot;working with the energies which create and maintain life.&quot; By sidestepping the typical preconception that light makes chlorophyll plants grow, biodynamic farmers realize that other energies contribute to a plant's growth. Because of the differences in these contributing energies, planting your crop one day will be totally different than planting it another day. In fact, planting during certain days of the moon cycle is important.


........Biodynamic farming is not easily learned from a textbook, but rather it is better &quot;sensed&quot; through &quot;experiencing&quot; it. Hence, an enthusiast can best learn biodynamics through observation and feedback from an already practicing biodynamic farmer. For example, instead of indiscriminate distribution of vast quantities of compost and organic materials over the soil, the correct disposition of specific quantities of specific qualities of organics can better maximize your crop's potential more effectively. It is far more complex than just planting crops organically. There is an integrated relationship between plant, animal and soil that must be understood.


........Largely through the efforts of Alan Chadwick and John Jeavons, biodynamic/French intensive gardening has slowly gained a reputation among organic gardeners in North America. Striving to produce the optimum yield in the smallest possible space, John Jeavons (author of How To Grow More Vegetables - 1979) has produced nothing less than amazing results. His per acre production has often been 4 to 6 times that of the average U.S. yield, and all without pesticides and chemical fertilizers. <span style="font-weight: bold">Biodynamic gardens waste little space for walkways, and often use raised beds that are 4 to 10 inches high and 5 feet wide. Moreover, the beds are &quot;double dug&quot; to a depth of 2 feet to give plant roots a cushion of well worked soil ash, bone meal and compost. Plants are arranged so that each mature vegetable leaf will just barely touch the leaves of its neighbors, creating a leafy cover.</span> This &quot;living mulch&quot; keeps weeds down and helps to moderate soil temperature and improve water retention. Companion gardening is also important so that certain vegetables, flowers and herbs can mutually benefit each other in eliminating each other's pests and influencing the quality of each other's taste.


........Biodynamic farming involves restoring to the soil a balanced living condition through the application and use of the completely digested form of crude organic matter known as stabilized humus. Crop rotation, correct composting and proper intercropping can all contribute to a healthier biodynamic yield. If you have ever tasted the sweet flavor of biodynamically grown spinach leaves, you'll be startled at the difference that this form of organic gardening produces.</span>

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

Thanks, Nylah.

Have a busy day today with the LeafPro being delivered to our curb. Then we have to use wheelbarrow to cart it back. All good work ... and our two strapping almost-grown sons are here to help.

More pictures coming soon.

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

~tapping foot~

where the pictures

gonna have mine set up tomorrow when my brother comes to help me drill the rebars in place

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

It has been an exceptionally rainy late Spring in the DC area. And it is impeding progress of my garden bed. The cubic yard of compro did not fill the beds as I expected.

So now we have to buy more and we opted for the bags this time. I even have the young woman I'm mentoring wanting to help me in the garden

This project is slower than I expected but I'm taking it in stride. Gardening teaches patience, doesn't it?

Rain, rain, go away...

[kia027]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Nylah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">~tapping foot~

where the pictures

gonna have mine set up tomorrow when my brother comes to help me drill the rebars in place </div></div>

like u should talk bout tap foot anda wait pictures

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Kia</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Nylah</div><div class="ubbcode-body">~tapping foot~

where the pictures

gonna have mine set up tomorrow when my brother comes to help me drill the rebars in place </div></div>

like u should talk bout tap foot anda wait pictures </div></div>




wadeva

we are having the same wet weather here as well

the temp dropped enough yesterday that I had to pull the annuals inside the house or put them in the garage

cant get outside to finish things

i am keeping my fingers crossed that the weather will ease up a bit tomorrow bout i doubt it from the forecast

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

OK Tapping Foot Nyler, here is the almost finished project.

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'"><span style="font-weight: bold">We had a sunny day yesterday, filled the beds with more Compro, and added some flagstones around garden. This is still a work in progress but didn't stop me from planting 3 sweet pepper, 1 hot pepper, 3 cucumber, 2 eggplant, and 2 plum tomato plants.

Miss Kia: please note the whole heap of empty space fi mi callalloo plant weh mi a go come a yuh yaad and get from yuh </span>

</span>

[Peasie]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden

<span style="font-weight: bold"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS'">In this view you can see the chicken wire that Mr. Gungo put under the raised beds. This is to prevent burrowing vermin such as moles from coming up to the garden. Even though it is a fenced back yard, and we live in an urban area, I am not far from Rock Creek and deer have been known to jump over my neighbors' fences and eat their vegetable gardens and whatever else meets their fancy. Curried venison anyone? </span> </span>

[Nylah]

Re: Raised bed for vegetable garden




and it was about freakin' time

It looks really good so far Gungo Peas

I like the ceramic tiles you are laying down in front of the bed. That will be really nice when you are done!