Wednesday, April 19, 2023

The gardening itch

Despite persistently chilly temperatures, spring is upon us. No denying it. The trees are starting to bud, the grass is greening up, and the gardening itch is biting hard.

Here in our new (to us) home, we have the same issue of heavy clay soil we had in our old place. In fact, sad/funny true story: We have some lovely neighbors who moved in early last year. They're urban transplants and are eager to embrace a homesteading lifestyle. Last spring, they put up a four-foot fence (not understanding how high deer jump) around a garden area, tilled up the soil, and planted their garden. They were gratified by how many seedlings popped up (though less gratified when the deer started grazing them down; they've since doubled the height of their garden fence). However when we visited with them mid-summer and the subject of gardens came up, they were dismayed and discouraged that their vegetables had been baked into hard clay, and no amount of watering seemed to help. We sympathized and told them about the Wonders of Raised Bed Gardening.

Anyway, that's a long-winded way of explaining why we're never going to even bother planting any vegetables in the soil. It's raised beds all the way for us, baby.

For some time now, Don's been constructing beds. This year we anticipate we'll get 30 beds built, filled, and planted (we'll expand next year). Here are the first six:

In March, we marked off the dimensions of the garden. It will be long and fairly narrow. (That's Don down there at the far end.)

In the absence of billboard tarps (which we used for weed control in our last garden), we purchased some industrial-strength weed cloth. We're waiting for the pasture to dry enough that Don can plow the garden space under with the tractor. Then we'll lay down the weed cloth and anchor it with gravel before putting the beds in place.

However potatoes need to be planted right away. In the absence of beds, I'll use grow bags. This week I bought my seed potatoes.

Yes, that gardening itch is biting hard. It feels good to move, however modestly, toward our homesteading goals.

20 comments:

  1. Thought I would let you know that depending on the thickness of the week cloth you can have issues later on in the garden. The thicker the plastic cover for your base the better it will be in the garden.

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  2. When you get a chance, please comment on how Don has built the raised beds. I've seen lots of different options, some obviously more expensive than others, and am curious as to how your raised bed frames are being built. Thank you!

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    1. I second the request for additional details in the raised beds. They look very nice. I have a dozen raised beds made from pt lumber (lined with plastic to prevent leaching of preservative from the lumber into the soil) which only have a couple of years of useful life left, so beginning to think about what I will replace them with. Thanks very much for any details!

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  3. I too have hard clay. The stuff willing to grow in that can just about grow through concrete. I've put down weed cloth and it has never deterred the weeds for very long. Clay is very rich soil. I think lime has helped a lot of farmers harness it into a productive place for plants, but it takes a lot of work. It also doesn't drain well since it's so dense.
    Anyway, I wish you luck with the weed cloth. Maybe multiple layers would be good.
    What are the sides of those beds made of? They look perfect.

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  4. Fully agree about raised beds are the way to go for our soil type in N.Idaho. We've had to put hardware wire on the bottoms of our raised beds to help keep out the pocket gophers, destructive little buggers. Neighbor and I have a contest each year to see who can trap the most. Last year I caught 86 and he usually gets over a 100. Nothing so sad to watch your healthy looking plants die because their roots have been eaten.

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  5. We use weed cloth also, but we put it down double layer where we are not removing it like under the fence line. We take up what is in the rows at the end of the season, let the sun dry it off and then roll it up and put it away for the following spring. We also plant by the moon. Root crops do best when planted the day after the full moon which is May 6 this year. We usually plant in April but because of the snow that was still in the garden then we decided May full moon will be better for us. We also are replacing the fencing around the largest garden. For a family of 2 we grow a lot, but then we also grow for friends who can't do it or who can't grow what we can. Tomatoes though are something we have a hard time getting red on the vine. Usually it is pick them at the end of the season green and let them ripen in the house. Still make great sauce though.

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  6. I am looking forward to your new gardening efforts. I was amazed at your older efforts and the inventive ways you solved all the issues that you encountered.

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  7. I've got the itch too. I bought some of the Fort Laramie super-strawberries you wrote about last year. I have all 20 of the plants started in pots. So far I've brought them back in twice because of frost, and it is supposed to frost again here this Sunday! That's OK, like you I just want to see things growing.

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  8. Curious why you didn’t use old banners and tires like you did before

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    1. It's a matter of using what's available at hand. The previous owners of our home left behind a huge pile of sheet metal. We're putting it to good use! We'll also be using tires when we run out of the sheet metal.

      - Patrice

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  9. The beds look fantastic! What is the gray material for the sides? I have raised beds made from wood planks and the planks start rotting after a few years. Right there is a fantastic side hustle for Don if he wants it. He could make them in the winter and then head to a farmers market in the spring and watch those babies sell like hotcakes!

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    1. The gray material is sheet metal left behind by the previous owners.

      - Patrice

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  10. If you were to try to grow 100% of your families food would 30 4'x8' raised beds be sufficient? I don't know so I am genuinely asking to better understand what is needed. I realize that you typically have fruit trees too and some plants not in raised beds but I'm wondering if it could be done with just 30 raised beds?

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    1. No, 30 beds isn't nearly enough. It's just what we anticipate getting in this year.

      - Patrice

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    2. If I could just impose on your goodwill and knowledge for one more hypothetical question: First I assume that a raised bed offers advantages which translate into more produce per sq/ft (earlier planting, closer planting, etc.). So is there some answer to the question(s) of what should be planted in raised beds and what (carrots, tomatoes, etc.) should be planted on prepared ground (squashes, potatoes) and what rough amount of garden space and raised beds would be right for a family of four. I'm not looking for an in depth answer but perhaps some reasonable number that most people might agree would satisfy this goal.

      I won't ask the second more difficult question which is how many and of which plants would be recommended but I will leave that as an open question that others might answer from experience.

      I have read the books on this subject, seen the videos, subscribed to Mother Earth News but it seems the more you look into it the more confusing it becomes.

      Thank you for wat ever opinion and experience you choose to share on this subject.

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  11. To turn clay soil into good soil, add pelleted gypsum (not lime) and as much organic material as you can. The pelleted gypsum can be bought at any farm supply store or even menards. It comes in 40 lb bags, which will cover two 4'x25' beds. It takes a year or two to get good, but can be done. Even a single gypsum application with 1-2" of composted manure and 1-2" of chopped leaves or compost will prevent clay cracking and give you decent crops. I do it all the time here...can't seem to stop planting fruit trees and berries and expanding the original garden and flower farm and adding a new 210'x54' garden and a vineyard.


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  12. Thought I would let you & Don know that the weight of the dirt pushing on the outer walls will require an inner attachment to keep this from occurring. When you put them in place he may wish to add a 2x4 piece of timber to the middle of each box to prevent this from happening.

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    1. A family member made raised flower bed with railroad ties. Over time the soil was pushing the ties outward especially with heavy rains and plant roots. He staked the outsides with heavy stakes and they held in place better.
      I think you're right though about reinforcing the tin from the inside. All these heavy rains do need consideration.
      I have a lot of large pots of various types that pine straw covered the tops of over the winter. I removed all the straw to plant the pots, and it may have been a mistake. Even though the soil is several inches down from the tops, rain splashed a lot of my good dirt out and all over the sides and all over the deck. That didn't happen with the straw. Rain has frequently come down harder and faster than the pots can drain.
      I invested in a bunch of those grow boxes that hold 4 gal of water in the bottom which wicks up. They had to be filled with soil all the way to the top, but they each had a special cover over the top that was like burlap on top and something like plastic on the underside. They worked great for keeping all sorts of problems like the one just mentioned at bay, but they only work 1 season and are pretty expensive to replace. On the very plus side, veggies did love them.
      I'm trying to figure out a less expensive way to cover the other pots up and it may turn out to be fresh pinestraw again. Or maybe weed cloth on top and tucked in down the insides of the pots.
      I want raised beds too, but feel the pot gardening has to be figured out better first. They're full of good dirt and worms. At least that is done.
      So many spring chores to do !

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  13. Anonymous:
    It sounds like you have made a great start on learning what you need to know - excellent. Some books you need to own are Barbara Damrosh's "A Garden Primer" for excellent info on basic garden practices and on each crop you are likely to grow. Along with her husband Eliot Coleman's "The New Organic Grower" - and all his other books! Plus Carol Deppe's "The Resiliant Gardener: Food Production and Self Reliance in Uncertain Times, including the five crops you need to survive and thrive - potatoes, corn, beans, squash and eggs." And find yourself a local old successful gardener to "adopt" you (we do that all the time) - that will be your best bet to learn for your location.
    There is no "magic formula" for how much space you need and how much of each crop to grow, there are just too many variables. Your growing zone, local climate, amount of land with full day sun, soil type and fertility, water availability and quality, the time you can devote to the project, your levels of gumption, mobility and health and what tools you have available. And be aware - every growing season is different, what worked last year might not this year...you just gotta roll with the changes and adapt as you go.
    My best tip for success is to start small and expand as you learn. That is the least painful and most economical way.
    Second best tip...make friends with your local farmers! You are going to need a source of manure, hopefully already composted...a LOT of manure. You would go broke buying little bags of it at a store! And while you can turn a 210'x55' fallow field into a garden with a big rototiller, your friendly neighbor with a tractor and 7' rototiller can do it a lot faster with less wear and tear on you!
    And remember, before 1900, pretty much every family grew almost all their own food - and so can you!

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