Raised bed filler

[chic rustler]

@murphysranch
1/4"wire mesh cloth on the bottoms of the beds will stop them from digging underneath. a good fence all the way round helps too...

no gophers here just rabbits and voles but the black snakes keep them under control ..
my beds are 12"

@chic rustler have a 35x55 main garden as well....

Wow that's alot of gardening! Do you sell produce? This will be our second year. Just trying to offset our grocery bill and eat less processed foods. With a wife and 4 kids the groceries can get a little high $$$$

 

[chic rustler]

We learned the hard way last summer how important trellised are. I'm going to run some cattle panels and plant all the tomatoes on them this year. As well as trellis the cucumbers. We can vet alot more produce if we manage space a little better.

 

[majorcatfish]

we can, dry, freeze a ton. of course we eat quite a bit of it as well, what we dont eat will take down to work and give it away...
this year going to be different did not have a garden last year so will be focusing on restocking the pantry....

heres another one of the areas mainly for peas and melons

the cinder block garden mainly field peas...

the main garden

 

[Beekissed]

there has to be a good nursery out your way that offers "garden soil" ....yes would add a couple bags of black kow sure there is a hippie garden store/ feed store around. get a bag of greensand to add as well. here just use a good 13-13-13 or 17-17-17

i love raised bed gardening

spring 2016

winter 2016
View attachment 23905
View attachment 23906
happy gardening.....

Major, you have the prettiest gardens I've ever seen...just consistently neat, verdant and lovely! Oh, that life below the.... what is it now?

I'm tasked with the filling of two raised beds with material this year, though I have to fill deeper beds...mine are comprised of hay bale sides. Three bales long, one bale wide, one bale thickness tall. I don't intend to spend much money on soil or such, though I may put a final layer of soil on in which to plant seeds.

Right now one bed is already started, with a wood chip over soil base, followed by a layer of hay, some bark, then heavy cardboard, then leaves, then more hay.

I hope to fill in with more hay, leaves, chips, horse manure and, hopefully, a source of rabbit manure...I'm going to advertise for wanting some and see what pops up.

One raised bed will be spuds, so that one's not a problem, as I can add more material as they grow, sort of treating them like spuds being grown in a tire tower. I'll add lawn clippings, composted coop cleanings, more hay, etc. as those grow. Taters grown in hay have pretty much been done and successfully for a long time, so I don't worry too much about those.

The other bed needs topped off prior to planting, as I won't be adding much to it after the carrots, beets, squash, onions, etc. have been planted there.

 

[majorcatfish]

@Beekissed ...
Life is grand below the 35th parallel line

 

[majorcatfish]

@chic rustler you mentioned pole beans to shade the rabbits. blue lake pole beans will grow 11'+ high put a couple more supports near the rabbits and run twine between them, you would have a great pickible arbor...... blue lake is a great canning bean

 

[chic rustler]

@chic rustler you mentioned pole beans to shade the rabbits. blue lake pole beans will grow 11'+ high put a couple more supports near the rabbits and run twine between them, you would have a great pickible arbor...... blue lake is a great canning bean

I got blue lake pole bean seeds. I was thinking of doing the pole beans on my fence line and the cucumbers along a trellis in front of the rabbits. I'm gonna make a 20 foot bed and use cattle panels

 

[majorcatfish]

I got blue lake pole bean seeds. I was thinking of doing the pole beans on my fence line and the cucumbers along a trellis in front of the rabbits. I'm gonna make a 20 foot bed and use cattle panels

i hope that 20' trellis is not all cucumbers....that would be a awful lot of cucumbers any way you slice it ....

 

[chic rustler]

i hope that 20' trellis is not all cucumbers....that would be a awful lot of cucumbers any way you slice it ....

Yep. We make ALOT of pickels

 

[majorcatfish]

you have a good crisp sweet pickle recipe?