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#1
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raised bed on patio brick
I recently purchased a home with a back yard that is concrete with
patio blocks on top. I am considering trying to make raised beds of various heights for vegetable and flower gardening. Can raised bed be used sitting on this kind of structure, or do I need to tear up the bricks and concrete to get to some soil underneath. It seems to me that raised beds are just an extension of container gardening. Any advice is appreciated. |
#3
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raised bed on patio brick
You container gardening is impressive and I congratulate you.
But you didn't really address the original poster's questions. I saw no raised beds sitting on concrete in your photos. And I read no commentary or caveats regarding the similarities or differences between the two styles of gardening. |
#4
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raised bed on patio brick
Gather some opinions from here, but also do some Google and
library research. There is a lot of free information available on raised bed gardening and on container gardening. You are seeking a system which combines features of both. Bear in mind that typical raised bed gardens are not generally as tall as container gardening. That is mitigated by the fact that the raised beds are setting on dirt/soil/something which is more favorable to drainage and root development than concrete would be. Some suggestions to consider: - Have beds taller than normal. Look at suggestions for pot sizes for potted gardening. Some plants raised in pots have 18" or more of potting soil in which to grow. - Create beds with more designed drainage than with typical raised beds. Obvious. The beds are sitting on concrete. - Slightly elevate the beds for better drainage. - Use superior soil for proper drainage, water retention, and plant development. - Consider artificial soil. Avoid almost any so-called "topsoil" sold in stores. Almost anything can be dried, pulverized and mixed with a bit of organic material to look and smell a bit like good soil. Eg: Clay, river silt, and the black muck from river dredging can all look pretty but are horrible for gardening. In your situation, I'd create my own artificial soil and augment it each year with compost. - Starting compost piles immediately for the future. Ask neighbors for yard waste and create as much free compost as possible. - Try to design beds whose heights can be easily raised in the future if you decide that it is needed. - Design beds which can be fenced easily, for protection from critters. - Create a decent irrigation system. Gardening is more fun when you reduce some of the labor. Besides, those raised beds sitting on concrete will need more frequent watering. Never make the mistake of substituting poor drainage for good irrigation. - Never walk on the beds. Keep them narrow enough that you never need to set foot on the soil. - Consider possible "raised beds within raised beds." The ends of your beds could be taller than the rest. Or you could have open-bottomed, soil-filled containers in the middle of your beds. That way a bed could support both shallow rooted and deeper rooted plants. The movable, open-bottomed containers would give you flexibility to rearrange your garden from season to season. - Depending upon your climate, you may want to consider designing some beds so that they can function as cold frames. - Seek free stuff. Some of my free stuff: Compost materials from neighbors. "Soil" from discarded potted annuals at the end of the season. Discarded plastic containers from large nursery stock (obtained from a landscaper friend who plants shrubs, trees, etc.) - Start small. Experiment. Have fun. - At the end of your first growing season, let us know how it works out for you. We are a curious lot. Good luck, Gideon |
#5
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raised bed on patio brick
I am trying my first "square foot" garden and I have two 4x4 ft squares
sitting up on concrete blocks. The vegetables I have in them appear to be doing well, though it is very early in the process, a slow start here in MA this year. I followed the guides in the book and web site (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) and I can't see any reason this wouldn't work on a patio or anyplace else. I've only got about a 9x11 foot area behind my condo for planting, so I look for ways to facilitate a crop. Jerry wrote in message ... yup. an extension of container gardening. here is my fig grove http://weloveteaching.com/landscape/figs/figgrove.htm here is my orchard http://weloveteaching.com/landscape/...d/orchard.html for less than "trees" use shorter beds. just remember to use drip irrigation in them and put it on an automatic timer. Ingrid wrote: I recently purchased a home with a back yard that is concrete with patio blocks on top. I am considering trying to make raised beds of various heights for vegetable and flower gardening. Can raised bed be used sitting on this kind of structure, or do I need to tear up the bricks and concrete to get to some soil underneath. It seems to me that raised beds are just an extension of container gardening. Any advice is appreciated. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/ sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan |
#6
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raised bed on patio brick
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#7
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raised bed on patio brick
g'day,
raised beds can be done on concrete or brick slabs, all you realy ahve to do is ensure you creat drainage outlets, by not melding the raised beds edge to the cement under, and then i would suggest put a rubble layer down first, cover that with some old fly screen or shade cloth so it doesn't get clogged up, then sart layering your bedding medium. i have some pics on my site 'building a garden', and also in the blog at http://ausgarden.com. i suppose another analogy is that container gardening is an extension of raised bed gardening hey chuckle? snipped With peace and brightest of blessings, len -- "Be Content With What You Have And May You Find Serenity and Tranquillity In A World That You May Not Understand." http://mywebsite.bigpond.com/gardenlen2/ |
#8
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raised bed on patio brick
a container is a raised bed. it doesnt matter if it is square or round. it doesnt
matter if it is 18" or 24" or 36" deep. the only difference is size the depth to the kind of plant, dont put a big tree in an 18" ALL containers need an irrigation system because of course there are holes for drainage and they will dry out faster than regular beds. and that doesnt differ if it is on concrete or not. Ingrid "Gideon" wrote: But you didn't really address the original poster's questions. I saw no raised beds sitting on concrete in your photos. And I read no commentary or caveats regarding the similarities or differences between the two styles of gardening. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/ sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan |
#9
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raised bed on patio brick
I guess I wouldnt have them up on blocks. there is more heating of the soil in the
bed, faster drying out, more stress. why have them "up" on blocks? Ingrid "your1joker" wrote: I am trying my first "square foot" garden and I have two 4x4 ft squares sitting up on concrete blocks. The vegetables I have in them appear to be doing well, though it is very early in the process, a slow start here in MA this year. I followed the guides in the book and web site (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) and I can't see any reason this wouldn't work on a patio or anyplace else. I've only got about a 9x11 foot area behind my condo for planting, so I look for ways to facilitate a crop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/ sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan |
#10
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raised bed on patio brick
height is proportional to WHAT is being planted. a foot of soil is fine for lettuce,
18" for tomatoes. I have NO "extra" drainage in my round containers, but I did drill larger holes in the bottom and if any show a tendency for standing water I drill a hole into the side. loam mixed with manure is the best soil for containers. it retains moisture and doesnt either dry out too fast or become "unwetable" like fake soil. I sure wouldnt "raise" the beds, they are likely to warp as well as overheat too fast. Ingrid "Gideon" wrote: Some suggestions to consider: - Have beds taller than normal. Look at suggestions for pot sizes for potted gardening. Some plants raised in pots have 18" or more of potting soil in which to grow. - Create beds with more designed drainage than with typical raised beds. Obvious. The beds are sitting on concrete. - Slightly elevate the beds for better drainage. - Use superior soil for proper drainage, water retention, and plant development. - Consider artificial soil. Avoid almost any so-called "topsoil" sold in stores. Almost anything can be dried, pulverized and mixed with a bit of organic material to look and smell a bit like good soil. Eg: Clay, river silt, and the black muck from river dredging can all look pretty but are horrible for gardening. In your situation, I'd create my own artificial soil and augment it each year with compost. - Starting compost piles immediately for the future. Ask neighbors for yard waste and create as much free compost as possible. - Try to design beds whose heights can be easily raised in the future if you decide that it is needed. - Design beds which can be fenced easily, for protection from critters. - Create a decent irrigation system. Gardening is more fun when you reduce some of the labor. Besides, those raised beds sitting on concrete will need more frequent watering. Never make the mistake of substituting poor drainage for good irrigation. - Never walk on the beds. Keep them narrow enough that you never need to set foot on the soil. - Consider possible "raised beds within raised beds." The ends of your beds could be taller than the rest. Or you could have open-bottomed, soil-filled containers in the middle of your beds. That way a bed could support both shallow rooted and deeper rooted plants. The movable, open-bottomed containers would give you flexibility to rearrange your garden from season to season. - Depending upon your climate, you may want to consider designing some beds so that they can function as cold frames. - Seek free stuff. Some of my free stuff: Compost materials from neighbors. "Soil" from discarded potted annuals at the end of the season. Discarded plastic containers from large nursery stock (obtained from a landscaper friend who plants shrubs, trees, etc.) - Start small. Experiment. Have fun. - At the end of your first growing season, let us know how it works out for you. We are a curious lot. Good luck, Gideon ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/ sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan |
#11
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raised bed on patio brick
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#12
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raised bed on patio brick
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#13
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raised bed on patio brick
They are up on blocks to see if less bending will equate to more care on my
part I'm not too worried about them drying out, about one third the soil mix is vermiculite and it is a small garden that I get to every day. Though with the rain here in Massachusetts this year I'm more worried about drowning than drying. though there are lots of drainage holes in the beds to prevent that. wrote in message ... I guess I wouldnt have them up on blocks. there is more heating of the soil in the bed, faster drying out, more stress. why have them "up" on blocks? Ingrid "your1joker" wrote: I am trying my first "square foot" garden and I have two 4x4 ft squares sitting up on concrete blocks. The vegetables I have in them appear to be doing well, though it is very early in the process, a slow start here in MA this year. I followed the guides in the book and web site (http://www.squarefootgardening.com/) and I can't see any reason this wouldn't work on a patio or anyplace else. I've only got about a 9x11 foot area behind my condo for planting, so I look for ways to facilitate a crop. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/ sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?...s=Group+lookup www.drsolo.com Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website. I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan |
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