Diane Svenonius Ron Nicosia Nicholas Breymaier Rhett Winthrop-St.Gery

Building a Raised Garden Bed

CONSIDER

• Location,

• Design,

• Material, and

• Decor

4

LOCATION

• Location of Sun, Shade, or Sun/Shade.

• Match plants to sun and location

• Minimum 6 hours for veggies,

• 4 hours sun for flowering plants

• Shade loving plants – little, indirect or no sun

5

Plan for Location and Setting Sun and Shade but no deer here

6

PLAN YOUR DESIGN

• Design depended on:

– Setting and Landscape,

– use,

– pest,

– budget

• Measure out area of design,

– Mark it on the ground,

– buy material required

7

Iraq Desert: Design for Use raised bed in a sunken garden for flooding

8

Iraq: Design for use

9

MATERIALS & BUDGET

• Depends on decor you want • PVC boards: last forever, $$$, do you like the look? • Vegetable garden = ???? 4’ x 8’ x 7”h = cost $2.92 liner ft; Total footage 24’ = $70; PVC 1”x2”x8’ cut to 1’ length supports $5; Total $75 • WOOD: Cedar – attractive, rich looking, long lasting • @ $2.06 p/ft 2 ea 4’, 2 ea x8': (by 6” h) = total 4

boards = 24’ = $50; supports = 2”x2”x12”, 8 ea = $7 Total $57

10

MATERIALS cont.

• OTHER MATERIALS: • Redwood, a bit more expensive, long life = $$$ • kiln dried lumber, Untreated, safe, short lived.

4’x8’x6” = $27 • 6”x6” timbers – long lasting 4’x8’x6” = $24 • Logs from forest – big as you want it el cheapo • Bricks, cinder blocks – Expensive but forever • Treated timbers – last longer than kiln 4’x8’x6” = $28 • DO NOT USED TREATED WOOD FOR VEGETABLE

GARDENS

11

Material - Bamboo, N. Viet Nam

12

GATHER MATERIALS AND TOOLS

• Have all materials and tools together before you start

• Lay out design on ground – paint or rope

• Lay out base material on ground

– along design line to ensure proper fit

• Start building

13

Plan Design, Gather Tools, Layout

14

TIPS

• Inside bed: lay down screen if you have moles, rabbits, etc; 4’x8’ = $9

• Inside bed: Lay down cardboard to prevent weeds coming up =$0

• Screen in top to protect from wind, sun, birds and other animals and insects

• Fence in garden to protect from pest

15

Easy access design personal use, no rabbits here, $$$

16

TIPS cont.

• Pathway: 18” to 36”: gravel, wood, bricks, grass, straw, etc.

• Dig trench where boarder will be, lay weed block, fill with 2" gravel for drainage, slowdown wood rot and stay level

• Poor drainage areas, dig out 3” garden bed, lay weed block to maintain drainage, and fill with gravel 3“

• Drain holes on side, pvc tube, prevent rotting and blockage

17

Easy out: Buy a Kit on line, Hire a handyman, relax and have a beer

18

Enjoy the Finished Product http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/how-to-plans/lawn-garden/4308264#slide-1

19

Raised Beds

•Can save space over conventional

rows

•Allows more garden and less

path

Keyhole Beds •Horseshoe shaped bed.

•Saves space by decreasing path area •6’ – 10’ in diameter

•Warmer microclimate in center

•Allows more garden and less path

•Curved shape – think outside the ‘box’

Soil • Mix of topsoil,

compost, leaf gro, manure, and existing dirt depending on your crops, materials and environment

•Keep in mind raised beds can dry out more easily than other beds

Commonly used plants • Depends on your

conditions

• Baby or full size greens- lettuce, chard, kale, collards

ECO City Farms, Riverdale, MD

Commonly Used Plants

• More vegetables: peas, carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers.

• Herbs: thyme,

basil, cilantro,

rosemary,

parsley, chives

Maximize Space with Climbers

• Peas, cucumbers, melons, etc…

Yield

Polycultures

• If you can put plants together that help each other like tomato and basil. companion plant or guilding.

Three sisters guild: corn, peas, squash

See Tables

• Plant cover crops to crowd out weeds, provide ground cover, and fix nitrogen in soil

• Plants such as marigolds and horseradish root can repel insects from beds

• Host plants for pollinator species should be planted in or around raised beds

Gift to Queen Amytis from King Nebuchadnezzar II

Circa 2600 years ago, only upper two storeys of eight shown, it had ponds, trees from Medo-Persia and likely Lebanon and Israel. Columns not made from the limited real stone supply, lasted nearly 300 years until a bad earthquake.

Real Steak Tomato not store bought please

Container Gardens http://gardening.about.com/od/gardendesign/tp/ContainerGarden.htm

Hammacher Schlemmer RGB for Sun Window

Very Heavy! Bucket Handle strong enough?

Topsy-Turvy

Large Marge Coconut Fiber Basket

Patio Pots, Bucket Planters, Flower Wagons (examples at Lowes) http://www.google.com/#q=lowes+large+planters&hl=en&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=TrgkUeSRI5SE0QHr1IDACw&ved=0CJ4BELMY&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.42661473,d.dmQ&fp=fcd27865468c1d7c&biw=1440&bih=785

• Hanging Support Frame – over turf, oriented N to S or

NW to SE, no blocking shade (no worries too hot or too

shady)

• Suspended 8 to 10 feet off ground at attachment point,

plastic coated wire best, NLT June 1st please

• Pulley with 100 lb poly rope feasible for plants not too

big, else two rope loops

• Man wearing gloves must hang prepared containers –

Before Watering!

• Strong eye screw or bolt feasible, neater than wrapping

wire or rope about support

• Water 3 to 4 cups/day until July & August, then 4 to 6

cups daily, may need more or less

• Soil mix – 1 part sphagnum or leaf grow, 1 part compost,

2 parts soil, 3 parts Miracle Grow potting soil; no manure

at all, not ever, death likely

• Soil mixed and blended thoroughly in wheel barrow

before use!

• Not suspended over asphalt ! Regardless of height!

Reason: Too Hot!

• Do not hang alongside hot metal or brick structure, also

too hot

• Finding best sunny spots tricky, even with big home and

yard

• Large Bucket Planters with Tomato Cages are often okay

for Sunny Patios

• 65 mph wind will happen at least once or twice, tornado =

wipeout

• No hanging tomatoes on 2d storey or higher balcony,

death possible

• Roots grow down, branches try to grow up, natural does

not change

• Wide cable ties for support of branches by nylon twine

• Around sunny side of gazebo is okay if not shaded by

tree

• Roots start 4” from top of soil, insert minimum 1.5 ft tall

plant c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y, the hardest part, concludes with

adding soil mix while temporarily suspended

• Grown Topsy-Turvy tomato with fruit may weigh 120

pounds or more

Good Reference URLs • If you want these by email for Raised Garden Bed or Hanging

Tomatoes

• Or for RGB in General in or out of Greenhouse

• Please write your email address on Title Sheet for 2d Handout

• Likewise for requesting copy of this group’s Raised Garden Beds presentation

• Proper tomato watering during vacation, phone explanation no good, plants will be dead – requires demo with you showing how as the standby water person does

• Spaghetti sauce is best made from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Marzano_tomato

Largest Raised Bed Garden ever (except for natural mountains) was Hanging Gardens of Babylon constructed during reign of Nebuchadnezzar for his Queen 2600 years ago.

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/the-hanging-gardens-of-babylon.html