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From the website:

A Perspective on Raised Gardens


Raised garden beds serve many purposes, the first of which is to install a
viable garden in an area that would otherwise be unsuitable. Lack of space
might be the primary reason for erecting a raised garden while poor soil
conditions may be another. Raised garden beds often serve as activity
centers for church groups, senior citizen centers, nursing homes and schools
for the handicapped.

Businesses such as landscapers offer raised garden installations as an added
service. Real estate agents might suggest to prospective home sellers that
they add a fully blooming raised flower garden to an otherwise bleak
setting, to enhance the curb appeal of their home.

A rapidly growing concept

Raised gardens are by no means a new idea but the concept is rapidly gaining
adherents. Research centers and agricultural experimental stations are
turning more and more to raised garden beds as a way to achieve their goals.
Public schools often have a garden club where students are able to express
themselves creatively by developing garden spots, then experiencing the
thrill of seeing the first little sprouts
rise through the surface of the soil; then to finally display their efforts
as a harvest of beautiful vegetables.


How does one go about developing a raised garden bed? Quite frankly there
are more methods than is possible to list. Gaining in popularity are gardens
erected using composite lumber or cedar planks. Both of these materials are
suitable because they reject moisture and for their resistance to rotting.
Either of these materials will give long lasting gardens. Those individuals
who are particularly energetic may pursue a construction technique involving
the use of faux stone. These interlocking concrete blocks make very
attractive raised gardens but are considered to be quite permanent.

Gardens constructed of planks on the other hand, offer the option of being
able to dismantle the garden should it become necessary. Once the planks are
removed, the soil can then be raked onto the surrounding area and smoothed
and possibly be replanted as lawn.

Raised gardens have evolved from tediously laid out and laborious projects,
to a simple hinged style that erects by unfolding into a rectangle, the
style featured in this website. The action of folding the garden frame makes
the assembly easy to ship and erection is achieved by merely spreading the
frame open with ones feet. Since all sections of the
frame are joined together assembly is eliminated. Truly, what could be
simpler?

Site selection

Selecting a site is of the utmost importance as you will want your garden to
benefit from the maximum amount of sunlight. With this in mind, aligning the
garden east to west keeping in mind the shading effects of local trees will
allow the sun to shine on the garden for the longest period possible each
day. Ideally you would select a level site, making sure that it has good
drainage. You should avoid locating the garden in a spot that tends to
puddle during downpours. If more than one garden is to be located in the
same area, be sure to leave space for access for wheel chairs or scooters
when such equipment is to be used. If the paths between the garden are to be
grass, access for a mower must be made.

One of the first considerations once the site for the garden has been
selected is to rid the area of potential weeds and grass. This may be
accomplished by placing several layers of newspapers over the affected space
after spraying the area with vinegar.

The height of the sides of the garden should be governed by the type of
plantings that will be taking place as well as accessibility. If wheelchair
access is desired then the taller the better. If the gardener prefers to
limit his bending, then height is also a consideration. If the soil beneath
the garden is suitable then a single level garden might be acceptable as
less soil mixture would be required in the raised portion of the garden.

If the soil is packed clay as it is in many regions, or very rocky, then a
two level garden might be preferred. It all depends on the circumstances.
Each level in most cases is approximately six inches tall so a two level
garden would be nearly eleven inches tall while a custom made triple decker
would be something like seventeen inches tall.

Next comes the question as to what you would like to plant in the garden. If
flowers are your joy, then a shallow garden would be appropriate while the
vegetable garden may
require deeper soil for root types of plants. So according to this, a single
level garden
would do well for the flower gardener and the double level would do for the
vegetable
gardener.

The amount of soil you will be needing depends on the depth of your garden.
Our rule
of thumb for the popular 4 ft x 8ft x 12 inch high garden is that it
requires one cubic
yard of soil. That is approximately equivalent to the capacity of a standard
full size
pickup truck. The medium sized 6 ft x 4 ft x 12 inch kitchen garden takes
about 3/4 of
a yard of soil while the 4 ft x 4 ft x 12 inch herb garden takes half a
yard. Since garden
centers sell soil in 40 pound bags containing one cubic foot of material you
can figure
that the large 4 x 8 foot double decker garden will require about 27 bags of
soil. The
cost for the full cubic yard will be approximately $35.00. So you see, the
cost for soil
needed for your garden is quite reasonable.

Vegetable variations

Be sure to plant variations of vegetables you enjoy the most. You will
immediately be
impressed by the difference in the taste of the vegetables you grow yourself
over what
you experience with store bought food. Too bad you can't grow your own
veggies year
round.

Arranging the types of vegetables, or flowers, to best take advantage of the
sun
should be considered. Taller plants would naturally be toward the back as
would trellised
vines. Selections similar to tomatoes might grace the center rows while
things that
grow close to the ground like lettuce and cabbage would be planted in front.
This
maximizes the sun for each species. Another consideration would be to
stagger the
planting of each kind of vegetable to different times so that they would
bear fruit
throughout the season. Don't forget that you may have several planting
times when
you consider that some plants thrive into the fall.

Watering is a very important consideration, so be sure to locate your garden
near a
source for water. For instance, a tomato plant can absorb at least a quart
of water each
day. One plan is to sink a row of black potted plant containers into the
garden into
which you will plant your tomatoes so that you are able to water directly
into the roots
of the tomato plants while avoiding saturating the rest of the garden.

The idea behind the 4 foot wide gardens is to keep it narrow enough to avoid
having to
step in it. This prevents the soil from being excessively compacted and
allows the roots
to receive a greater amount of oxygen. All weeding is easily carried out
from the
pathway along side the garden.

Organic Gardening

Many people are moving to some form of organic gardening because they feel
that
much of the chemical fertilizer used to raise vegetables commercially enters
the food
chain and is harmful to our bodies. Gaining in popularity is the use of
manure that has
been refined and treated for the organic gardener thus avoiding the use of
chemicals all
together. Of course, the establishment of a compost bin is a wonderful way
to nourish
your garden organically. Grass clippings, leaves, even garbage from the
kitchen can be
added to the compost bin where nature will do her work.

One of the fun things you might experiment with in your raised garden is to
develop
your own source for seeds. As an example, you may buy some corn that is very
much
to your liking. You normally cut off the end of the ear before cooking and
discard the
tip. Instead of throwing away that section of the ear, set it aside and
allow it to
completely dry. The kernels now become seeds you can plant in your garden.
Same
thing can be done with squash and melons.

When planting tomatoes, be sure to plant several varieties so that you can
enjoy full
sized tomatoes as well as smaller salad varieties. Do the same with lettuce.
Select a
potpourri of species for a wonderful variety.

We have skimmed the subject of raised gardening here but will be delving
into many of
the subjects touched upon in future articles, so be sure to bookmark this
location so
you can benefit from the additional material as it is published.

Thanks for visiting,
J. Edwin Williams
www.greatgardens.org
"Dick Adams" wrote in message
...
Jay wrote:

Now that spring is rapidly approaching you may wish to check out this
interesting discussion about raised gardens:
http://greatgardens.org/article1.html

Unfortunately I able unable to read this because of it dark
green background color.

Dick