Permanent no till raised beds.

bryanccfshr · August 23, 2007

In an effort to expand my planting areas I have added more raised beds with permanent pathways so that the growing soil never gets walked on.

In all I added 2 4x14 beds, 2 4x5 beds and a 2x8 bed for an interesting new growing area.

The area was hardpacked area that was hardly supporting Bermuda..mostly weeds and bermuda.

A month before beggining the projject after carefull consideration and refering to some organic and holisitic Gurus I decided that Roundup carefully applied would be the most sure way to supress the Bermuda. (Sorry, although I love the natural way, some things like Bermuda and Johnson grass, once established will laugh at vineger and attempts to smother) I used personal precautions and sprayed on a calm day. After having done the "dirty work" it was time to styart laying out the beds.

I used white pine lumber to set up my perimeters and simply used l brackets to secure them together.
LAying out the beds no wider than 4' allows me to reach anything on the beds without stepping into them.
Once layed out and squared up My wife and I decided it was best to purchase bulk soil. I used a 3n1 mix of compost, Red sand and sandy loam and this went directly over the dead bermuda growing in hardpacked alkaline caliche clay. 5.5" thick. all the way to the top of the 2x6's. It will shrink and settle some.

I mixed in Coffed grounds and some of my own Compost as we added some herbs, Tomatoes , squach and peppers to one bed to get a fall crop going. In the other 4x14 I applied an inoculated legume mix of Mung beans, pinto beans and some peas aling with some spilled brassica seed that was a mix of brocolli and radishes. Just to get some roots in the soil. This will all be green manured for my late fall cooler weather crops.

After all the rain this year the I have 2 Brandywines still healthy and producing ! These plants were put into raised beds. All the plants in the ground. have already been pulled and replaced do to "issues with insects and blight)

Back to my new beds, Once all in place I then covered the p3"wide paths between them with landscap fabric and then applied 4" thick of Pea gravel. This will help maintain deep soil moisture, supress weeds and extend my growing season (More radiant heat in earlier spring and late fall)

With several growing areas that I can rotate among and improve with I can now add some more heirlooms to the mix.
Next year I will be growing Brandywines from saved seed from this years good plants, as well as Cherokee purple, A Gold heirloom and many Cherriy varieties.

This fall I have 2 brandywines still going, 2 black Cherries thanks to Worth, and a few Romas' at my wifes request.

I also have tons of Squash and Zuchini, Cauliflower, and soon Broccolli, and cabbage and spinnach, and winter peas.

I also plan on putting in Daikon radish into the rotation for the deep soil conditioning to break up the heavy sub soil.

I will get some daylight Photos of the progress this weekend. The overall goal is to have healthy biologically active soil that will need little supplementation other than cover cropping and the addition of Fertilizer and minerals that are harvested in the Veggie crops.

I apologize for the poor image quality. I will add my daylight pics soon.

August 23, 2007	#1
bryanccfshr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Farmington, Nm Posts: 450	Permanent no till raised beds. In an effort to expand my planting areas I have added more raised beds with permanent pathways so that the growing soil never gets walked on. In all I added 2 4x14 beds, 2 4x5 beds and a 2x8 bed for an interesting new growing area. The area was hardpacked area that was hardly supporting Bermuda..mostly weeds and bermuda. A month before beggining the projject after carefull consideration and refering to some organic and holisitic Gurus I decided that Roundup carefully applied would be the most sure way to supress the Bermuda. (Sorry, although I love the natural way, some things like Bermuda and Johnson grass, once established will laugh at vineger and attempts to smother) I used personal precautions and sprayed on a calm day. After having done the "dirty work" it was time to styart laying out the beds. I used white pine lumber to set up my perimeters and simply used l brackets to secure them together. LAying out the beds no wider than 4' allows me to reach anything on the beds without stepping into them. Once layed out and squared up My wife and I decided it was best to purchase bulk soil. I used a 3n1 mix of compost, Red sand and sandy loam and this went directly over the dead bermuda growing in hardpacked alkaline caliche clay. 5.5" thick. all the way to the top of the 2x6's. It will shrink and settle some. I mixed in Coffed grounds and some of my own Compost as we added some herbs, Tomatoes , squach and peppers to one bed to get a fall crop going. In the other 4x14 I applied an inoculated legume mix of Mung beans, pinto beans and some peas aling with some spilled brassica seed that was a mix of brocolli and radishes. Just to get some roots in the soil. This will all be green manured for my late fall cooler weather crops. After all the rain this year the I have 2 Brandywines still healthy and producing ! These plants were put into raised beds. All the plants in the ground. have already been pulled and replaced do to "issues with insects and blight) Back to my new beds, Once all in place I then covered the p3"wide paths between them with landscap fabric and then applied 4" thick of Pea gravel. This will help maintain deep soil moisture, supress weeds and extend my growing season (More radiant heat in earlier spring and late fall) With several growing areas that I can rotate among and improve with I can now add some more heirlooms to the mix. Next year I will be growing Brandywines from saved seed from this years good plants, as well as Cherokee purple, A Gold heirloom and many Cherriy varieties. This fall I have 2 brandywines still going, 2 black Cherries thanks to Worth, and a few Romas' at my wifes request. I also have tons of Squash and Zuchini, Cauliflower, and soon Broccolli, and cabbage and spinnach, and winter peas. I also plan on putting in Daikon radish into the rotation for the deep soil conditioning to break up the heavy sub soil. I will get some daylight Photos of the progress this weekend. The overall goal is to have healthy biologically active soil that will need little supplementation other than cover cropping and the addition of Fertilizer and minerals that are harvested in the Veggie crops. I apologize for the poor image quality. I will add my daylight pics soon.