Raised Bed

[tryno12]

Hope i am alright with the depth of this bed, due to the uneven ground and hard clay here in central Indiana the rear will be 20" deep and the front around 17" will be a raised bed mix of fine mulch, compost, and topsoil..............about 6 yds! hopefully with a few of Gingers seeds all will be good?

[Father'sDaughter]

That's a nice, deep bed! Typically people tend to go with 10-12" from what I've seen.

[tryno12]

Thanks, i hope not too deep, maybe leave a couple/3 inches not filled? My thoughts was 11" not enough and the 10' 10 X 10's were a bit too heavy for me to work with so........... in my confusion :dizzy with what dimensional lumber to use it got about 4" higher than i really wanted so...... I hope not too deep? can always chainsaw off the top 2 X 6 but as i get older bending and reaching, might like it (67 now)..........

[Father'sDaughter]

I would leave it as is. It'll give the roots that much more good soil mix before they hit the clay. And even if you filled it to the rim now, there will be some settling as time goes on and you'll find yourself having to top it up with more compost as the years go by. So go ahead and fill it as high as you have mix for.

[Worth1]

If soil is no issue the deeper the better.

[tryno12]

Thanks all, was gonna be less than 5 yds, now a tad over 6 yds don't want to part with the dough but for tomatoes ..........

[oakley]

Impressive!. Good job.

If you had asked ahead of your efforts i would have suggested 3 beds 4 ft apart using
the same lumber, same soil amount. 2 1/2 - 3 ft wide. Half the height. Tomatoes in the
deeper end and herbs/salad and other crops that don't need deep soil planted at the
less deep forward area.

My raised beds are narrow to allow easy access and never do i need to step into the
beds, (compacts the soil)...i do keep mine covered all winter months and double dig, no
till, early spring, working front to back...where i step is ahead of me. Working back.

I divide my beds with same boards into half or thirds. One early crop comes out and
replaced with another summer heat loving crop, without disturbing the neighboring
crop.
I have heavy clay soil so dense i could make and turn pots and bowls and drinking cups.

[whistech]

Your raised bed looks good. How long X wide is your bed? In my opinion, you will need to put a couple of braces toward the center of you bed to keep the soil from pushing out the sides of the bed over time. It's much easier to do that now than come back later and rework your bed.

[tryno12]

Yeah I have the same clay and debated to split the bed up into 2 or 3 separate beds. It is now 20' X 5.5' Debated narrower also but know/think i can work the bed from the sides especially if I used a small bench if needed. So I have what I have and will experiment with different crops at different depths. I do have a couple of cross braces - "V" channel galvanized to span for later bowing, might add a couple 2 X 4 also if it should be done??? maybe better do it every 5' at each 4 X 4 ?/?

[tryno12]

Do you think I can get 20 "Dwarf / Tree" type plants in that 20 X 5.5' bed?

[whistech]

I think 2x4s at each 4x4 would be a good idea. I don't know about the dwarf trees since I only grow vegetables in my raised beds.

[tryno12]

yes thanks, a couple aluminum across the center 2 4 X 4's and a couple more across the 5.5' spans about 3/4 the way up from ground, not sure if you were pulling my leg: yes all dwarf's but they call some of them "tree" because of there thick stalk and continual production of fruit and being determinant yo, all tomatoes for sure!!

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by tryno12

Do you think I can get 20 "Dwarf / Tree" type plants in that 20 X 5.5' bed?

If you're talking about dwarf tomato varieties, then I'd say you would have plenty of space for 20. If it were me and that was all I was growing, I would be putting in 30 dwarfs--3 rows of ten.

[tryno12]

Thanks for the imput! I have never grown the Dwarf/Tree type but Ginger(a very nice and dedicated contributor/individual!) sent me a bunch to try. If I was to try 30 as you say is possible( just got back from S. California by El Centro (Salton Sea-weird!) - and looked at their farms - tomato's about 1' apart on raised row/mounds 6" high now and i believe drip watered under the black plastic , peppers touching each other and well fruited already) so I see your perspective. Maybe i'll give it a try and put Ginger's Indeterminate s "in the back 40" to grow 7' no disrespect for sure on the inderminates!

[Rockporter]

Originally Posted by tryno12

Thanks for the imput! I have never grown the Dwarf/Tree type but Ginger(a very nice and dedicated contributor/individual!) sent me a bunch to try. If I was to try 30 as you say is possible( just got back from S. California by El Centro (Salton Sea-weird!) - and looked at their farms - tomato's about 1' apart on raised row/mounds 6" high now and i believe drip watered under the black plastic , peppers touching each other and well fruited already) so I see your perspective. Maybe i'll give it a try and put Ginger's Indeterminate s "in the back 40" to grow 7' no disrespect for sure on the inderminates!

I'm from California (San Diego's East County), and those plants can be so close together because they are dry out there, it is the desert in Salton Sea. So, the plants provide each other shade, and they don't have water sitting on them from mildew or watering. If your area has humidity then it is best to give your plants plenty of air flow.


History on the Salton Sea, it's in real trouble out there.

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