A Raised Bed - Kind of Funny

AlittleSalt · August 25, 2014

We have 4 actual raised beds. Two that are 3' wide and 12' long, one that is 4' wide and 10' long. Those are typical raised gardens you might find just about anywhere. The forth one is an Indian Prayer Circle about 14' around.

A friend was visiting and noticed the beds and asked what is the largest raised bed I have ever seen? I took them over to our actual garden and pointed at the 5 inch tall rocks surrounding the garden. We added 5 inches of soil to the 45' x 45' garden. That is the largest raised bed I have ever seen.

In a way, it is kind of funny. Our actual garden is raised 5 inches above the normal ground level around it. I don't think of it as a raised bed, but I guess it really is?

habitat_gardener · August 26, 2014

That's a lot of soil! Where did it come from, and how long did it take to build it?

I transported lots of garden soil and homemade compost to one of my community garden plots to raise the level of the soil about 6 inches. (Mostly I wanted to improve its quality; the existing soil, though it had been used for gardening, was not great and still needs a lot of work.) I hauled quite a bit of it on my bicycle!

AlittleSalt · August 26, 2014

Wow by bicycle. That is impressive.

My adult children used my Case/International 284 tractor to move the dirt from shaded areas near our garden. It was a hill that needed leveled some anyway. Some of the dirt was hauled in using a contractors wheelbarrow from areas where the tractor couldn't get into. The last 8' x 45' was just added a couple weeks ago and is still a little bit low because it's just too hot to get out there and move dirt. Our compost pile is 5' x 10' right behind the garden has provided soil as well. And last but not least, 4 years of adding oak leaves....lots of oak leaves.

Tracydr · August 26, 2014

I had 3, 8x16 beds in AZ.
I was just considering making a pyramid or circular raised bed for the strawberries that I'm ordering. The rest of my garden is going in the ground. I have very quickly draining sand and loam so I don't see a reason for raised beds here. In AZ, I didn't even have soil. Or, maybe I had some rock hard caliche but most of it was so hard and buried under 18" of river rocks, that somebody thought was a nice alternative to lawn. Even though we got flood irrigation for $65 a year and lawns just made sense.

dustdevil · August 26, 2014

Quote:

Originally Posted by habitat_gardener

I hauled quite a bit of it on my bicycle

..."Where there's a will, there's a way." Kudos on your determination!

August 25, 2014	#1
AlittleSalt BANNED FOR LIFE Join Date: May 2014 Posts: 13,333	A Raised Bed - Kind of Funny We have 4 actual raised beds. Two that are 3' wide and 12' long, one that is 4' wide and 10' long. Those are typical raised gardens you might find just about anywhere. The forth one is an Indian Prayer Circle about 14' around. A friend was visiting and noticed the beds and asked what is the largest raised bed I have ever seen? I took them over to our actual garden and pointed at the 5 inch tall rocks surrounding the garden. We added 5 inches of soil to the 45' x 45' garden. That is the largest raised bed I have ever seen. In a way, it is kind of funny. Our actual garden is raised 5 inches above the normal ground level around it. I don't think of it as a raised bed, but I guess it really is?

August 26, 2014	#2
habitat_gardener Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: California Central Valley Posts: 2,540	That's a lot of soil! Where did it come from, and how long did it take to build it? I transported lots of garden soil and homemade compost to one of my community garden plots to raise the level of the soil about 6 inches. (Mostly I wanted to improve its quality; the existing soil, though it had been used for gardening, was not great and still needs a lot of work.) I hauled quite a bit of it on my bicycle!

August 26, 2014	#4
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	I had 3, 8x16 beds in AZ. I was just considering making a pyramid or circular raised bed for the strawberries that I'm ordering. The rest of my garden is going in the ground. I have very quickly draining sand and loam so I don't see a reason for raised beds here. In AZ, I didn't even have soil. Or, maybe I had some rock hard caliche but most of it was so hard and buried under 18" of river rocks, that somebody thought was a nice alternative to lawn. Even though we got flood irrigation for $65 a year and lawns just made sense.