Garden Plan - 2014: Diversity Garden. How to Plan an Organic Raised Bed Garden - Daily Pea. Planning an organic raised bed garden takes a bit of research and time, so with winter coming, it’s the perfect time to sit back and draw up plans for next year. We just moved and one of the first things I wanted to accomplish after we got settled in South Carolina was to build the garden that I’ve been daydreaming about for a long time.
It’s been 2 months since we moved in and my beds are built! In fact, my 3 year old daughter and I have already planted a few things. Our gardens will be a big part of our lives, and I believe that gardening is a great step for anyone striving to live a healthier lifestyle. When we were looking for our new house, the most important requirement was that it had to have plenty of space for us to begin our own little backyard homestead. Why Raised Beds? Okay, focusing on the raised beds…why choose raised beds? Plan Your Space Choose the Right Building Materials For a chemical-free organic garden, you’ll want to choose the purest materials possible.
Five Little Homesteaders: Thirty Minute Thirty Dollar Raised Bed. Our generous nurseryman Tim (my step-father and the kids’ go-to ‘Papa’) had on his own initiative cultivated a bunch of herb plants and flowers – fifteen to be exact – in backyard pots. One day he told us they were ready for planting, so I had to build something fast. Despite its relative impermanence in the world I decided to go with an 8’x4’ raised bed made simply out of 2×10’s and screws and laid flat on the ground, no stakes or setting needed.
I bought three untreated 2x10s, 8’ long ($27), cut one in half, pre-drilled four holes at each corner and assembled with 4” exterior screws (a few bucks, but I already had them). I used my corded drill since my cordless lacked the power I needed – that, and I love an excuse to use yellow tools. I still had trouble sinking them so I stood the whole box up on end and used a step ladder to get on top of it. I took a few minutes to locate the new bed so it worked with our future deck and landscaping plan. Year Round Growing in Underground Greenhouses. There is a growing need for safe, healthy, and natural food items, and what seems like a decreasing amount of space to grow healthy organic food in nutrient-rich soil.
Growers are always looking for methods which will save energy, reduce pollution, grow more and higher quality crops, and they want something that is affordable. Underground greenhouses are a preferred method for the environmentally conscious grower. Underground greenhouses can be constructed within a wide variety of geographic and climatic conditions, and because the ground is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer, you are creating a far more stable micro-climate than growing outside. Typically, the design is built three to five feet underground, and the setup allows for the collection and storage of daytime solar radiation. Growing can be done all year long regardless of the weather conditions, which is why the underground greenhouses are referred to as the Walipini, meaning the “place of warmth”.
Hugelkultur - Hill Culture. Hugelkultur, pronounced Hoo-gul-culture, means hill culture or hill mound. Instead of putting branches, leaves and grass clippings in bags by the curbside for the bin men... build a hugel bed. Simply mound logs, branches, leaves, grass clippings, straw, cardboard, petroleum-free newspaper, manure, compost or whatever other biomass you have available, top with soil and plant your veggies. The advantages of a hugel bed are many, including: The gradual decay of wood is a consistent source of long-term nutrients for the plants. A large bed might give out a constant supply of nutrients for 20 years (or even longer if you use only hardwoods). The composting wood also generates heat which should extend the growing season. Soil aeration increases as those branches and logs break down... meaning the bed will be no till, long term. The logs and branches act like a sponge. Sequester carbon into the soil. Sepp Holzer recommends steep hugel beds to avoid compaction from increased pressure over time.