Raised Bed Help Nedded

[Indyanna]

I have decided to put in a raised bed for tomato plants this year, but I am totally clueless about several things.

1) Money is tight - are they hard or expensive to build when you know less about carpentry than you know about raised beds.

2) I was thinking of starting with a 4' x 8' size. Does that sound right?

3) How deep should it be for tomatoes? How many tomato plants should be planted in a 4' x 8'?

4) Which works best - bush variety or vine variety?


Any help you have the time to provide will be MUCH appreciated.

 

[lesa]

The fad of raised makes me laugh... if you have the time and money to "build" a raised bed- go for it... but it is not necessary. You can simply mound up your soil and plant in it. Not quite as neat as having defined edges, but it works just fine. Other options include using logs (that maybe you have or could get for free) cinder blocks, etc. How many tomatoes are you planning on planting? I would say no more than 6 in that size garden. Depending on the soil underneath the raised bed- I would say 4-6 inches of soil. Good luck!

 

[The Mama Chicken]

I also just mound the dirt up and plant. I eventually want borders, but couldn't afford it right now so we tilled up the whole garden and shoveled dirt from the paths and into the beds. It's not as pretty as some but it's working great so far. I agee with lesa, probably 6 plants in a bed. My beds are mounded up several inches, probably 6". As for the type of tomatoes, I have 1 determinate variety and 4 indeterminate, it just depends what you want them for. I believe that most determinate tomatoes mature earlier, which might be good in your zone.

 

[897tgigvib]

I do raised beds. The ole fashioned way is good too. The back part of 4 rows in my garden are still not sided, but just mounded. I do prefer the raised beds though. I find that with my space at the premium, and each ray of light at a premium here in the forest, raising the beds is important. I can make the walkways real skinny. Also, I do not need to rototill. Being all hand chosen compost and mixed ash, with a bit of soil added, I can control my soil more.

I can run my hand down to the bottom any time of the year in any of my beds. My raised beds are made of "pecker pole" logs, 3 to 6 in wide mostly Fir from trees that needed thinning.

To make a simple 4 by 8 bed for a first time non carpenter:

Go to your local lumber yard that caters to small purchasers. Purchase an 8 foot length of 2X12, and a 16 foot length of 2X12, and ask nicely if they will cut them each in half for you. You will then have 2 four foot lengths of 2X12, and 2 eight foot lengths of 2X12. Ask that they be "fairly exact" when cutting. Don't worry if it is off by less than an inch. They should be able to get it close. Also be sure to purchase a small box of
16d 3 and a quarter inch galvanized nails. 3 and a half inch is good too.
Make sure you have a hammer. A decent tape measure will be helpful.

Drive them home in a pick up truck.

Where your bed will be should be dug first at least 6 inches. Mix in plenty of compost and your favorite additives such as bone meal.

Mark your corners, first pushing in your soil out of the way of the edges.

Straddle one of the longer boards while the shorter board is laying set where it'll go. Have the hammer and nails at the ready. Holding that longer board up in it's final position between your feet, while bending over, lift the other smaller piece of wood so it is on the far side of the end of your straddled piece. Kind of line things neatly. Get the hammer, set the nail, and tap it to get it started, choke up on the hammer, and give a few whacks, first ensuring you hit no fingers. When the nail makes its entrance on the other side, reset the boards, lined up as neat as possible, and kind of press it to the nail point to help hold it. Now sink that puppy.

Use 3 nails at each corner like that. Your bed is made. Now get your tape measure, and measure the inside diagonals. They should be the same, but chances are they aren't. Give a few little whacks or kicks to adjust, and remeasure. If worse, push the opposite side the same way, or the same side the opposite way. When it is close enough, dump some wheelbarrow loads of compost in it. Voyla!

a 2x12 10 foot board costs me 13 clams here. I had to get some for a wall.

 

[897tgigvib]

You may be able to get used wood free somewhere. Let me know if you get logs. I'll tell you about uprights and horizontals and toe in nailing.

You can plant vining or bush plants in a 4 by 8 bed

 

[897tgigvib]

In a 4 by 8 bed 6 full sized tomato plants would be over maximum, but doable. 4 would be better, less a jungle, plus you have room for a few garlics and Marigolds.

 

[NwMtGardener]

Geez Marshall, i should have invited you back up to MT last weekend when we rebuilt the greenhouse!! Sounds like you would have had some really good tips and pointers for us. As it was, we just "winged it" and made it work. It's still standing a week later, at least!!

Anyway, getting off topic here, as i'm really prone to doing! I agree with what everyone has said so far, if you're worried about investing the money, or dont want to mess with the wood bed borders right now, dont worry about it. It might help NOT to make permanent wood edged beds right now too, while you're just getting started, because you might decide that its not the right spot for your tomatoes, or whatever. Would be much easier to move things around if you change your mind about location!

Just grow some tomatoes, and other stuff this year, in a simple dirt mound, and when you're more sure about what you want, then get into building more permanent things.

And welcome

 

[Indyanna]

Marshal - You Rock!!!! Thank you so much for all the great information and advice. I bow to your awesomeness

 

[Indyanna]

Thanks all! I think I'm going to love it here

 

[897tgigvib]

I forgot to say,
Whatever you do, Do NOT get pressure treated wood to use in your garden. Green pressure treated wood has too much copper in it, plus it costs an arm and a couple toes. It's bad for you.

I am not sure yet about the new brown pressure treated wood. I understand it is less toxic and uses zincsomelongscientificname, but until someone says for sure one way or the other, don't use it either.

Just get the cheapest wood available. Ask the person at the lumber yard if it is a kind of wood called Larch Fir. If it is, it'll outlast redwood, but as far as nailing in it, find a real carpenter friend, or at least someone who knows how to nail. That Larch is hard to nail through for a beginner. It's a deciduous conifer.

When I make a raised bed I prefer to put the "fluff" compost on the very bottom first, the denser stuff over that, then top it with good compost. Then I kind of mix it. If the compost is not fully composted, add a dose of Bone meal to it, and maybe some dolomite lime.

Ps, I'm not really a carpenter! I've assisted quite a lot over the years with some really awesome carpenters though.