My wife and I were on a trip to Washington state last fall when we came across these raised beds in front of a restaurant. The restaurant used the herbs and vegetables in the cooking when they were in season.
The design efficiently used the water because of the drip irrigation system. I am thinking of converting part of the grass in my back yard to a raised bed garden for a number of reasons;
- I believe it will conserve more water than the grass there
- There would be less grass for me to mow 🙂
- I want to experience the sweet taste of what remember tomatoes used to taste like
Raised bed attributes I saw:
- Constructed from what looked like 3 layers of non-treated 1 x 8 lumber
- 4 x 4 posts supported the structure every 4 feet
- Stainless steel lag bolts and washers held the boards into the 4 x 4 posts
- They had drip irrigation going to each plant
One thing i noticed is the 8 foot and 4 foot sections were all cut the same length and used overlapping joints for assembly.
The irrigation used feeder lines off black irrigation tube. I’m assuming they used this form of tubing to connect the beds instead of PVC in the ground. It is more economical and easier to lay. If you’re looking for some information on how to install a drip irrigation, the SNWA site has some detailed information and a video to watch.
I like the way they used a more economical plastic containers instead of earthen ones. They probably drilled holes in the bottom of the pots to run the irrigation, and kept the original hole for proper drainage.
Update:
We’ve started gardening since this post. The gardening page has more posts on how I built our beds and what type of soil mix was used.
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any advice/blogs on thinning carrots and beets, when do I do it…the seedlings are about 1″ high now..
From what I’ve read and watched online you’ll want to thin them so there is a 3 inch spacing.
Thinning is the hardest thing for me to do by the way. I hate killing off plants on purpose, and then there is the question, “Did I kill the right one?” Your best guess and leaving the biggest looking one if possible is all you can do.
http://www.almanac.com/plant/carrots
Getting some ideas for the back yard garden, we’ll see!