Filling The Raised Bed Vegetable Garden
Posted by admin on Aug 18, 2008
I still haven’t decided on my timber for the raised bed vegetable garden, am going to look at the recycled timber places, maybe get a rustic look and could possibly find something different that I haven’t even thought of too.
But in the meantime I’ve been looking at the various options to fill my raised bed vegetable gardens.
As these raised beds are also called ‘no-dig’ gardens I found this ‘recipe’ on my favorite site, Gardening Australia.
This is how it goes:-
This will give you the ingredients and there is more advice for how to go about implementing the process on the website. This no-dig garden was not made as a raised bed vegetable garden but as a garden without the sides of a raised bed and just the path surrounding. The principle is the same.
No-Dig Garden or Raised Bed Vegetable Garden Without The Surrounds
A no-dig garden consists of eight 10cm layers - apart from compost and manure which should be 5cm. Remember to water each layer thoroughly as you go.
The layers:
• First layer is woodchips, followed by a dressing of blood and bone.
• Next, a layer of green weeds or grass clippings with no seeds or runners and apply lime.
• Number three is dry deciduous leaves or straw, followed by more blood and bone.
• The fourth layer is sheep manure, but you could use cow. Lay it on 5cm thick followed by some lime.
• Layer five is lucerne and blood and bone.
• Layer six is more manure - laid 5cm thick and lime.
• Layer seven - more lucerne and blood and bone.
• And layer number eight is compost –just like icing on the cake.
The paths:
To make the paths, spread wood chip mulch or sawdust along the keyhole path and the perimeter.
After making these layers the no-dig garden bed should be sitting about 60cm above ground. But it will settle to half this size over a week or two. It’s a good idea to wait for this to happen because the decomposing materials are better to plant into.
But if you’re itching to plant, use potting mix to get seeds and seedlings started. Just create little planting pockets, fill these with potting mix and sprinkle with a little blood and bone and rock minerals, and plant and water immediately.
I have found another ‘recipe’ for filling a raised bed vegetable garden but I’ll leave that for another post, let you digest this one first. I feel the plants will be going “Yum Yum” with this one.
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Crop Rotation For My Raised Bed Vegetable Garden
Posted by admin on Aug 16, 2008
This is from my favorite gardening website, Pete’s Vegie Patch and one of the best examples of raised bed vegetable gardens and crop rotation. I’ve seen a working model of these raised vegetable garden beds and they will definitely fit into a back yard, you could scale them to suit if you feel they would be too big. At the size they are, you will be able to feed a family of four very, very well and even share with your neighbors too.
Pete’s Vegie Patch
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation means never growing the same thing nor its relatives in the same place two seasons in a row, as this can lead to pest and disease build up in the soil. By rotating crops, the pest or disease is deprived of its favourite host and serious infestations are avoided. As well different vegies have different nutrient requirements. Where possible green manure is sown after harvesting the tender vegies (autumn) and dug in winter to replenish nutrients and condition the soil. Sheep manure and compost are added when required.
Vegetable Planting
December Australia = June USA
Bed 1 The Root bed Growing on Carrot ‘Manchester Table’, ‘Majestic Red’ ‘Koroda’ and ‘Berlicum’, Parsnip ‘Yatesnip’, Swede ‘Champion Purple Top‘, Beetroot ‘Golden’ and ‘Bulls Blood’, Turnip ‘Early Purple’ and ‘Hakurei’
Bed 2 The Legume Bed Growing on Climbing Peas ‘Yakumo’ and ‘Roi de Carouby’ and Bush Peas ‘Sugar Snap’ and ‘Kelvedon’. Cabbage ‘Green Gold’ and Kale ‘Red Russian’
Bed 3 The Onion Bed LGrowing Garlic, Potato Onions and Shallots, Onion ‘Red Odourless’, ‘Cream Gold’ and ‘Brown’ and Leek ‘Blue’ and ‘Musselborough’
Bed 4 The Tomato Capsicum Bed Growing on Tomato ‘Tigeralla’, ‘1st Prize’, ‘Patio Prize’, ‘Tommy Toe’, ‘Money Maker’, ‘Red Fig’, and ‘Black Russian’. Soon to plant capsicums and eggplants.
Bed 5 the Sweetcorn Bed Growing on Sweetcorn ‘Honeysweet’, Pumpkin ‘Sugar Pie’, ‘Green Hubbard’, ‘Table King Acorn’ and ‘Waltham Butternut’. Zuccini ‘Rondo De Nice’
Bed 6 Potato Bed This year we are growing 3 varieties – Kennebec, Pink Eye and Nicola.
Kennebec are slow to shoot and are just appearing above the soil surface.
March Australia September USA
Bed 1 Root Bed
Growing on Carrot ‘Kuroda’ ‘Manchester Table’ ‘Majestic Red’ ‘Berlicum’, Beetroot ‘Golden’ and ‘Bulls Blood’, Turnip ‘Hakurei’ ‘Early Purple’ and Parsnip ‘Yatesnip’
Bed 2 Legume Bed
Growing on Bean ‘Purple Queen’ ‘Redlands’ ‘Zebra’ ‘Blue Lake’. Preparing bed for sowing spinach.
Bed 3 Onion Bed
Growing on Leek ‘Giant Musselborough’ Just sown Radish and Spring onions
Bed 4 Tomato / Capsicum Bed
Growing on Tomato ‘Money Maker’ ‘Red Fig’ ‘Black Russian’ ‘1st Prize’ ‘Tigerella’ ‘Tommy Toe’, Chilli ‘Super F1’, Capsicum ‘Lipstick’, Eggplant ‘Ping Tung’ and ‘Florida’
Bed 5 Sweetcorn / Pumpkin Bed
Getting ready to harvest pumpkins and remove finished sweetcorn. Then sow green manure.
Bed 6 Potato Bed
Growing crop of lettuces before sowing green manure crop
June Australia December USA
Bed 1 Root Bed
Growing on Carrot ‘Kuroda’ ‘Manchester Table’ ‘Majestic Red’ ‘Berlicum’, Beetroot ‘Golden’ and ‘Bulls Blood’, Turnip ‘Hakurei’ ‘Early Purple’ and Parsnip ‘Yatesnip’
Bed 2 Legume Bed
Growing on Mizuna, Celery ‘Tendercrisp’, Spinach ‘American Curled’ and ‘English Giant’ Kohl Rabi ‘White and Purple Vienna’ and Broccoli ‘Green Dragon’
Bed 3 Onion Bed
Growing on Leek ‘Giant Musselborough’ Broad Beans ‘Aquadulce’ Spring Onions ‘Straightleaf’ and ‘Winter King’ and Asian Flat Chives
Bed 4 Tomato / Capisum Bed
Just planted Garlic, Potato onion, Spring onions, and onions
Bed 5 Sweetcorn / Pumpkin Bed
Green manure dug in and getting ready to plant out lettuce seedlings
Bed 6 Potato Bed
Getting ready to dig in crop of green manure consisting of Wheat, Oats, Sunflower, Mustard and Beans
September Australia March USA
Bed 1 Root Bed
Green manure has now been dug in and we are preparing to sow seed of carrots, parsnips etc.
Bed 2 Legume bed
Growing Broad Bean ‘Early long Pod’. Just sown climbing peas ‘Yakumo’ and ‘Roi de Carouby’ and bush peas ‘Sugar Snap’ and ‘Kelvedon’
Bed 3 Onion Bed
Growing garlic, Potato onions and shallots, just planted onion seedlings of ‘Red Odourless’, ‘Cream Gold’ and ‘Brown’
Bed 4 Tomato / Capsicum Bed
Green manure has been dug in and now is breaking down in readiness for planting of tomatoes and capsicums
Bed 5 Brassica & Leafy Green Bed
Growing Broccoli ‘Green Dragon’ Rainbow Chard, Spinach ‘English’ and ‘Medania’
Bed 6 Potato Bed
This year we are growing 3 varieties – Kennebec, Pink Eye and Nicola
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Why A Raised Bed Vegetable Garden.
Posted by admin on Aug 11, 2008
A raised bed vegetable garden can be built in just a few hours. Yes that’s all it takes, just a few hours, once you have the materials you need you can create the most wonderful raised bed vegetable garden.
Why a raised bed? Lots of reasons..
1) You can make the bed any shape you want.
2) You won’t have to dig your ground and prepare the garden area.
3) The soil content is controlled by you.
4) You can place your raised bed vegetable garden wherever you wish.
To get your raised bed vegetable garden underway you will need to make sure you have all the necessary supplies. Things like tools and materials to build the garden with. Decide what you want the edge to be, timber, bricks, concrete blocks, rocks.
Take care when choosing timber, any timber that has been treated with chemicals cannot be used as the chemical will leech out into the soil and then to your vegetables. So a untreated timber that is resistant to rotting should be choosen.
You will also need things like hammer, nails, corner brackets, tape measure, garden tools and of course, soil…..
And the your seeds and/or seedlings. If you want to really get going with your vegetables then buy seedlings and in no time you will be harvesting your crops.
Today you can get soil especially prepared for vegetables and herbs. This soil has all the nutrients and fertilizers needed plus wetting agents that allow the soil to retain moisture for much longer.
If you have chosen timber for the walls of your raised bed then use the corner brackets to reinforce the bed. If you are positioning your bed on soil, then it is a good idea to loosen up the soil before adding your special vegetable and herb soil.
Don’t use regular soil if you can help it, unless you have prepared it first by digging in compost and fertilizer. It could take several weeks before it is ready, whereas by using the specially prepared soil, your raised vegetable garden will be producing in next to no time.
Drainage is important too, make sure your raised beds will drain well, most plants like to be kept moist but not sitting in soggy soil.
You can make the raised beds what ever size you like, although I like to go by someone I consider an expert. His name is Peter Cundall and until recently was the presenter of a gardening TV show called Gardening Australia.
This is his vegie patch and how it is laid out
“The patch: It’s hard to believe that more than one third of a million people visit the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens to look at our little vegie patch. And when they come they get a bit of a shock because it’s so small. The actual growing area is no more than four metres wide and twelve metres long and it is highly productive. It’s divided into six separate beds to give a six year rotation system that works to perfection. It produces vegetables, including spuds, all year. In fact, although it’s small - small enough to fit into the average backyard – this patch will keep a family of four with all the vegies and spuds they need all year.” You can see more of Pete’s Vegie Patch here
Image via WikipediaSo you see, one or more raised bed vegetable gardens will get you set up for a wonderful bounty of healthy vegetables, herbs and fruits and you can’t get any fresher or healthier than that. ******************************************************* Raised Bed Vegetable Gardens Made Easy For You
