"pgh" wrote in message
...
I went back to the book to see if I got the facts right.
It acknowledges that use of the technique, referred to as
"double digging", amounts to a formidable job. It states
that it "is the classic technique for creating raised beds".
It has been in use for 5,000 years. The book is not dogmatic
about this, and it approves of other soil preparation
techniques (but it still leaves you with a feeling that
double-digging is the "right" way).



If I were you I'd read more than one book on raised beds. One of the very
first garden books I read, and this was when he published his first book,
was 'Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew' ( no jokes about it being
chiseled on a stone tablet, folks). The wonderful part of his method was
that it didn't overwhelm the new and naive gardener. I would highly
recommend you take a look at this book as well as his website if you are
serious about raised beds as your first project.

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

Like I said, this was one of the first books I read to get started. Over the
years I have tweaked many popular methods to suit me personally but it was a
great foundation.

There are as many ways to raise a garden as raise children. They all don't
work for everyone, the best you can do is get as much info as possible and
then do what you feel is right in your heart, soul, or wherever your spirit
resides. The majority of gardening is NOT rocket science, there really isn't
great tragedy if something fails, you learn "well, that didn't work" and go
on. Seldom are your failures branded on your forehead by rioting crowds. The
most fun is when you actually have something grow that is dicey in your area
and you have made a great success. Take a walk through your neighborhood
and look for that little old gentleman in the baggy pants and tie tucked
into his vest tending his garden and strike up a conversation. Ask questions
of the little lady tending her salad greens and the young child growing his
first pumpkin plants. I made so many garden friends just walking through
neighborhoods or stopping the car as I drove by a wonderful garden with
somebody working in it and accumulated many life times of knowledge. I was
always amazed that the simple question of "What is this plant?" to a total
stranger in their garden would lead to a font of information and many hours
of friendly conversation. To say nothing of the "here, let me give you a
little slip of this to try." Gardeners on a whole are very generous people.

Gardening is more than just digging in the dirt. It is a connection you will
make with people, and yourself, that can be made in no other way,it seems to
have no class, economic, gender, race or any other boundaries for that
matter. Gardeners are gardeners, unto themselves, and you will be short
changing yourself if you stop with the first book or person you talk to.
This group is a prime example of what I'm trying to explain to you. We seem
to be one mixed bag to say the least, but we do have a common interest that
we love to share, not always agreeing but sharing none the less. Through
trial and error, monetary or time constraints, physical limitations,
education, and just pure human laziness we've found what works best for us,
and perhaps it will work best for you or be a stepping stone onto greater
ideas. You should keep an open mind on all techniques and remember that if
there are more than three syllables in an ingredient on a bag of material
the majority of us will be on your ass like stink on manure! :-)

Welcome to rec.gardens and gardening, nice to have you aboard.

Val
"Use what talent you possess:
the woods would be
very silent if no birds sang
except those that sang best."
- Henry Van Dyke