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Post by daylilydude on Jan 17, 2014 12:05:23 GMT -5
Which do you prefer and why?
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Post by paulf on Jan 17, 2014 17:00:31 GMT -5
For the vegetables I have in ground as preference, but we also have three raised beds for herbs and some flowers. Most of the flowers are also in-ground. It's what we have for space. I would love to have a half acre of raised beds but don't have the money, time or inclination.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on Jan 17, 2014 19:10:21 GMT -5
I guess I am a combination gardener!
For tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants, I love my Earthboxes and homemade self-watering containers, so I picked "other." The steady moisture and freedom from nematodes makes a tremendous difference in my production.
I use raised beds for carrots, radishes, greens, okra, green beans, etc. I'll be growing sweet potatoes, artichokes, corn, and cowpeas in the ground. So I use a little bit of everything except hydroponics.
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Post by ladymarmalade on Jan 17, 2014 21:45:42 GMT -5
Raised beds. It's easier to keep critters out for a big reason. The second biggest reason for me is because I live in the frozen tundra. To plant in-ground, we sometimes have to wait until well into May before we really can work the earth. With raised beds, I can get in that soil as early as March if the weather cooperates. But mostly, raised beds just make me happy.
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swamper
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Posts: 208
Joined: March 2011
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Post by swamper on Jan 18, 2014 8:42:25 GMT -5
i grow mostly in 4 foot wide beds with 2 foot wide paths and shovel some soil from the paths annually to create "marked" depressed paths, the layout doesn't change from year to year so the beds never get walked on and there is no soil compaction. 24 feet is the typical bed length. i have excellent drainage, so early spring planting is not an issue. there is a little slope, so the beds are aligned parallel to contours and i mulch garlic well, and avoid tilling other areas in fall. there is lots of rotation and succession planting, but not much space for cover crops or fallow.
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Post by daylilydude on Jan 19, 2014 16:28:58 GMT -5
I have both inground and raised beds at the moment and both work for me, but I love the raised beds more for the ease of pulling weeds, it's never walked in so the soil is really loose and ya don't have to hook up a winch to get the weed and all its roots out...
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materman
Pro Member
Posts: 216
Zone:: 6b
Joined: April 2013
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Post by materman on Jan 20, 2014 23:36:34 GMT -5
the beds I have made before were double dug beds that acted as raised beds, for when the soil is loosened a full two feet deep, you have enough left over to mound up and plant on it. As well a rounded bed actually gives you more surface area to plant. Here is a couple pics to look at, but have more showing the whole process if needed.
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billh
Pro Member
Posts: 231
Zone:: 6a
Joined: December 2011
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Post by billh on Jan 21, 2014 19:30:28 GMT -5
I don't know if you would call mine raised beds or not, the one I'm building using the rocks is maybe 1ft. higher then the ground, the other 1 I have is only 6" higher. It makes weeding a lot easier because I'm not walking on them like you said DLD but it also kinda makes everything look a little neater. As I go along I'll be making new beds as I can using probably landscape timbers or maybe more rocks. I like the rocks but my rows are 80ft. long and 4ft. wide which means I have to psych myself into wanting to move all those rocks
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Post by horsea on Apr 7, 2014 18:59:56 GMT -5
Raised Beds. Because for most of my garden it is a necessity (poor drainage) + all the other reasons listed here. But even if we didn't have a high water table, I'd still raise things up by at least 8". Neater and you don't step on the roots. Better crops all 'round.
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Post by izitmidnight on Apr 7, 2014 19:31:32 GMT -5
I use a combination of both!
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whistech
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Posts: 300
Joined: April 2013
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Post by whistech on Apr 8, 2014 15:59:32 GMT -5
I have 4 each 4 feet by 24 feet long raised beds. They are framed with 2 by 12's and I use the raised beds because we have gumbo clay soil and it doesn't drain well. My garden is in my back yard so I want it to look nice.
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Post by carolyn on Aug 10, 2015 9:45:08 GMT -5
I do in ground because I garden on 2 acres. I can't even begin to think "raised bed" until I quite gardening for farmers markets.
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Aug 10, 2015 9:53:18 GMT -5
There was an existing inground bed when we moved here, and a smaller sorta raised bed (built into a slight incline). Then we added another raised bed against the existing garden and two smaller raised beds off the end. The original beds require further amendment, especially after we did some digging for new fence posts.
Raised are recommended in this area because of soil contamination due to heavy industry. They just completed a study based on soil samples distributed amongst gardeners such as myself. Frightening but doesn't mean I will stop gardening. I'll just follow their recommendations and go from there.
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Post by bestofour on May 18, 2016 8:53:07 GMT -5
I grow in ground, in straw bales, and in raised beds. The raised beds are easier to handle weed and water wise. A few years back in ground gardens were practically totally washed out due to soooo much rain and I had tomatoes from the raised beds and plenty of squash from the straw.
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Post by Gianna on May 18, 2016 14:48:19 GMT -5
I use a bit of everything. Most I would consider raised, but without sides. I have used sides in the past, but they just didn't work as well for me. Bugs and snails hid alongside the sides. It was more difficult to weed along the sides, and if there as a gopher - it was very difficult to find runs without really messing things up. So no more sides. I'll also sometimes change bed alignment and sides made that impossible. It's hard to not have beds that get raised when using lots of mulch and compost. Like rust, you can't stop it.
In our drought, I set up some depressed beds to collect excess rainwater from the downspouts. But with soil fluffing, adding compost, and mulching, they are now back to close to level. The drainage is good however, so I think even just level, or with slightly raised edges, these beds will continue to work well.
I also garden in pots, have played with 'passive hydroponics' (letting saucers stay full with water), and indoor gardening. Not everything works, but it's fun to try.
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Post by brownrexx on May 31, 2016 8:26:02 GMT -5
I like the looks of raised beds but I have a relatively large garden and do not see the need for buying boards and adding soil when I have perfectly good soil already. I can see the usefulness of raised beds if there is poor drainage, contaminated native soil or some other issue. Raised beds also keep the gardener from walking on the soil which keeps it fluffy and eliminates the need to till. My soil does become compacted in walkways so I am a "limited till" gardener which means that I till once a year in the Fall and then I usually rotate my crops for the next year. I like starting with a blank slate each year and tilling also brings insect larvae or pupa to the surface for birds to eat. There is lots of pros and cons about tilling but it works for me when used in a limited manner. Here is a pic of one of my gardens (I have 2) at the beginning of the season last year. I am an organic gardener and spend a lot of time on soil improvement and I use a layer of straw mulch at all times. We are almost totally self sufficient with vegetables. Except for a few things, I grow and preserve all of the vegetables that we eat throughout the year. I like the fact that we can eat organic vegetables picked at just the right time and with all of the flavor and nutrients that vegetables should have and none of the pesticide residue that store vegetables have.
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