Home Vegetable Gardens

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Update for Chris and WR2 thread refugees...

I have 5 pallets of raised bed soil being delivered today. Before I even deal with all of that dirt, I need to:

- stake out where I am going to place my 10 raised beds.
- put down weedblock and wire mess under where I'll install the beds
- stake the beds so they will remain where I put them vs. migrating down the slight grade of my garden area
- add logs, brush, manure to fill about half the volume of each bed
- move the bags of soil and fill.

It's going to be a ball-buster of a project that will probably take me a couple of weeks to finish. I'm going to try and resist my normal urge to work obsessively until it's done as it will be pretty physical work.
 
Farmer Boone
 
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Put two of these together today, 8 more to go …
 
Where do you live Boone ? How big is the farm? Just curious
 
I live in the Piedmont Triad area of NC. I live in a small neighborhood tucked into a lot of woods.
 
One thing I am struggling with is what to do between these big raised beds. You would think we live in the Amazon the way that weeds and wild plants spring up the moment ground is clear. I don't know what to do to prevent it. I could put landscaping cloth down between them and mulch.... that's probably the best solution. Stuff will sometimes still grow on top of the mulch but it's more minimal. I could leave it alone completely and just keep it mowed. I could sow grass between them. I've even thought about gravel. I'm thinking landscaping cloth/weed block and mulch is going to be my best option. Some people use cardboard covered with mulch. I did find a website where you can request free mulch drops from landscaping/tree companies.

The more I think about it, I think spacing the beds so I can mow between them and just growing grass is probably the cleanest solution. We don't have a huge yard so mowing isn't that big a deal. Since I have tried a lot of things in years past and the weeds always seem to find a way anyway, maybe just going with the green solution and stop fighting nature is the best solution?
 
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If you have enough room to spread them out so the mower can run between them, that would be my suggestion.

If space is tight, then some sort of plastic cover or spraying with roundup would work. IMO roundup is safe as long as you spray it when there's no wind.

Here's a list of covers to use if you go that direction.

 
Thanks Dave. I guess I am leaning towards leaving the ground between bare (or maybe sowing grass) is because, although I like the idea of weed barriers, what I've found in the past is that the mulch breaks down over time and then weeds will grow in the mulch on TOP of the weed barrier. It works great in the short-term, but long-term not so much.

I will be using weedblock and wire mesh under all of my beds, but I think for the pathways I'm just going to keep it natural.
 
Zoysia grass would be my choice then. Very hearty and slow growing. I remember my Dad bringing some Wilson, NC zoysia back to Fairfax in the 60's to plant in our yard so he didn't have to mow as much.
 
Boone said:
One thing I am struggling with is what to do between these big raised beds. You would think we live in the Amazon the way that weeds and wild plants spring up the moment ground is clear. I don't know what to do to prevent it. I could put landscaping cloth down between them and mulch.... that's probably the best solution. Stuff will sometimes still grow on top of the mulch but it's more minimal. I could leave it alone completely and just keep it mowed. I could sow grass between them. I've even thought about gravel. I'm thinking landscaping cloth/weed block and mulch is going to be my best option. Some people use cardboard covered with mulch. I did find a website where you can request free mulch drops from landscaping/tree companies.

The more I think about it, I think spacing the beds so I can mow between them and just growing grass is probably the cleanest solution. We don't have a huge yard so mowing isn't that big a deal. Since I have tried a lot of things in years past and the weeds always seem to find a way anyway, maybe just going with the green solution and stop fighting nature is the best solution?
Click to expand...
Something to consider with free mulch from tree and landscape companies. Mulch from the store is dry wood mulch. You'll be getting green mulch. Stuff straight from the wood chipper. A friend had a shop where the building owner would get about 4 yards of mulch every year to cover most of the yard free from forestry services. The mulch flies, and other insects it had associated with it were pretty bad for a couple of weeks. You also don't know what parasites, or diseases that may be in the mulch. I like pea gravel being it won't wash away in heavy storms. I don't use weed block fabric, I use black construction plastic. It doesn't allow as much water through to the soil under the rocks, and not easy to for stuff to penetrate.
 
Now you just need some 16 ft fence panels to make arches between them
 
I'm actually thinking about doing arches at some point once I get all of the beds placed and filled...
 
Spinach. Nutrient-rich, non-GMO, organic, home-grown, cut fresh right off the vine, raw/uncooked, and straight into my dinner.
It don't get any healthier than this

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pwyl said:
Now you just need some 16 ft fence panels to make arches between them
Click to expand...

Hey pwyl - just wanted to thank you for this idea. I had thought about doing arches down the center row but was looking at commercially made arches which would've been pretty pricey. I hadn't stumbled on to the cattle panel idea. I'm going to do an arch on all 5 rows of beds (why not maximize the ability to grow 'up'?) and it will be relatively inexpensive and simple with the cattle panels, T stakes, and some zip ties all that is required. Really appreciate the idea :cheers:
 
I have grass around my bed, but if I were to redo I would use smallest gravel available. Good pollinators like the gravel. Bad insects like wood mulch. Picked the last of my lettuce today and the first green beans.
 
If you're going gravel for between look for crusher run, pour it 4 inches deep , and hit it with a compactor. It'll resist plant growth pretty well.
 
Im an avid gardener who can't stand vegetables, go figure.

If you told my parents that id spend my adult summers tending to two huge gardens they'd roll over in their graves laughing.
 
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