Raised Bed Gardening.

[histopicker]

Howdy kids; I am starting my garden for the year and decided to make some videos explaining my methods. Here is the first one of the series. Please forgive me for saying Permiculture instead of Plasticulture in the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFZ8mlrWYIk

[rendezvous]

Very cool! I thought I heard "Plasticulture"...  Sorry, Oatmeal stole the show, looks like he has a friend too! 

[histopicker]

Feb 17, 2015 18:33:34 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Very cool! I thought I heard "Plasticulture"...  Sorry, Oatmeal stole the show, looks like he has a friend too! 

you did hear plasticulture, I accidentally said Permiculture at one point of the video.

[histopicker]

Here is my second video on Plasticulture Gardening.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LviAXd_2_vY&feature=youtu.be

[rendezvous]

Is there any issues with black plastic being too warm in your area? 

[histopicker]

Feb 17, 2015 20:44:45 GMT -5 rendezvous said:

Is there any issues with black plastic being too warm in your area? 

Not at all. I did this in south Texas also. It seems counter intuitive to use black plastic as it will drastically heat the soil underneath. Give thought to the plants giving shade to the plastic thus not allowing the sun to bake the soil underneath. Add to that the cooling moisture trapped under the plastic. I have tested soil temperatures underneath the plastic in my garden and compared it to soil that was uncovered and not under shade. I found a difference of 10-20 degrees cooler under the shaded plastic. In the spring when the soil temps are cooler and the plants are small, the added heat helps speed germination and protect from freezing.

[trapperbud]

Cool video good info there .

[SkFarm25]

Great video, have you ever tried the soaker hose? Been looking at doing something similar

[histopicker]

Feb 20, 2015 22:22:58 GMT -5 SkFarm25 said:

Great video, have you ever tried the soaker hose? Been looking at doing something similar

I have used soaker hose in the past, I did not like them. I found they would deliver more water on the near end than the far end. They are also very expensive. T-tape costs me about 2-3 cents a foot. I normally have very large gardens, 1/4 - 1/2 acre in size. There is no way I could use soaker hose on that large of a scale.

[SkFarm25]

Feb 20, 2015 23:08:54 GMT -5 histopicker said:

Feb 20, 2015 22:22:58 GMT -5 SkFarm25 said:

Great video, have you ever tried the soaker hose? Been looking at doing something similar

I have used soaker hose in the past, I did not like them. I found they would deliver more water on the near end than the far end. They are also very expensive. T-tape costs me about 2-3 cents a foot. I normally have very large gardens, 1/4 - 1/2 acre in size. There is no way I could use soaker hose on that large of a scale.

I like your system better anyway, only waters wheres there's a plant instead of wasting in between. I'll be looking into this for sure. Thanks!

[bk]

Histopicker,

Can you describe your raised beds a bit? 

I've been using boxes made of 2x12's in a 4x8 foot configuration. My back tells me that a bit higher would be better, but that takes a lot of soil to fill. Just wondering what your bed configuration is and what you like and don't like.  After seeing your video, I'm looking at adding the irrigation. Thanks for sharing.

[histopicker]

These beds are 24" high, 3 feet wide and 40 feet long. Yes they take a lot of soil. There is no bottom in them so the worms can come up into them. I did not make these and would rather not grow in boxes if I have a choice. The heat here is excessive so having these high sides allows for greater heating of the soil, not good here.
I like to till my soil each fall to incorporate the summers compost into it. I cannot do this with these beds.
They do help save on the back though. If you noticed in the video there are steel fence posts holding the sides up. I had to cap these with cans to prevent lacerations to my arms when I walk down the isle.
These photos show how I prefer to garden, These are slightly raised beds with no side rails.

picking spinach

Bib Lettuce

[bk]

Thanks for the info, histopicker. I'm liking the idea of your deeper beds. Thinking that will be a spring upgrade.   A good improvement for the garden and my back - a win / win.

 We went to raised beds four years ago and haven't looked back. We plant pretty dense and that has worked out real well for us.  Keep mulch between the beds and that has sure helped to keep weeds and the labor down. 

 Adding drip irrigation like you have would just help our productivity.   I have 2x4 stakes to support the sides of the beds.  Will likely just increase their length to build higher.  I can see how the steel posts would sure reach out and bite from time to time, so I think I'll stay away from them.  As I tell the guys at work, "you can learn from my mistakes, you don't have to make them yourselves."  (I will continue to use the steel posts for my electric bear fence around my bee hives - they have been perfect for that task.)

Appreciate your insights, helpful words and videos.  Thanks for sharing.

Happy gardening.  The bug is starting to bite again with weather forecast to be in the 30's for us next week.

[histopicker]

Mar 5, 2015 22:21:40 GMT -5 bk said:

Thanks for the info, histopicker. I'm liking the idea of your deeper beds. Thinking that will be a spring upgrade.   A good improvement for the garden and my back - a win / win.

 We went to raised beds four years ago and haven't looked back. We plant pretty dense and that has worked out real well for us.  Keep mulch between the beds and that has sure helped to keep weeds and the labor down. 

 Adding drip irrigation like you have would just help our productivity.   I have 2x4 stakes to support the sides of the beds.  Will likely just increase their length to build higher.  I can see how the steel posts would sure reach out and bite from time to time, so I think I'll stay away from them.  As I tell the guys at work, "you can learn from my mistakes, you don't have to make them yourselves."  (I will continue to use the steel posts for my electric bear fence around my bee hives - they have been perfect for that task.)

Appreciate your insights, helpful words and videos.  Thanks for sharing.

Happy gardening.  The bug is starting to bite again with weather forecast to be in the 30's for us next week.

I am glad I don't have bears getting into my Bees. Our main bee predator here is skunk. That problem is easily solved by elevating the hives enough so the skunk has to expose his belly to get at the bees. skunks can't tolerate bee stings on their belly.