Spring equals raised beds, part 1

Spring is upon us and many of us have been planning our spring gardens. Each year, we hope for the best, healthiest and most prolific plants we have ever had. It is that hope that, coupled with past experiences, good and bad, motivates us to strive for gardening perfection. I think farmers must feel the same way each time they begin a new crop — maybe this will be the year I do everything just right and the growing conditions will finally cooperate, they must say.

Well, there are some definite things that we gardeners, just like the farmers, can do to help our own cause here. One is to ensure that we have the best possible soil layout in which to grow our crops. One way to accomplish this is by the use of raised beds.

Gardening in raised beds is not new. This was a common practice in colonial times and has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity among home gardeners for the past several years. A raised bed is a planting area in which the soil level in the bed is higher than the surrounding soil. Generally, such a bed should be no wider than 4 feet so that the gardener is able to reach across it, while the length depends on the needs of the gardener. Beds can be framed or enclosed or left open.

There are several reasons for the use of raised beds, but perhaps the most significant is the potential increase in production per square foot of garden space. In a typical home garden, good management may yield about .6 pounds of vegetables per square foot, while records more than a three-year period at one raised bed experimental site in Ohio indicated an average of 1.24 pounds per square foot, more than double the conventional yield.

Raised beds do not require the usual space between rows because no walking is done in the bed to cultivate or harvest. Thus, more plants can be planted per square foot in a raised bed — ideally spaced just far enough apart to avoid crowding but close enough to shade out weeds.

Another reason for the increase in production in raised beds is greater soil permeability (lack of compaction). Compaction can reduce crop yields up to 50 percent. Water, air and root expansion all are discouraged by tractors, tillers and human feet.

Raised beds also help in other ways. Low spots that are unsuitable for conventional gardens due to excessive moisture or erosion can become productive with the use of raised beds. With frames as a foundation, raised beds can easily rise above these.

There are many other advantages of raised beds. We will consider those next week.

Tim Lewis is a Georgia Green Industry Association certified plant professional, gardening writer, former Perry High School horticulture instructor and former horticulturalist at Henderson Village and Houston Springs. He and his wife, Susan, own and operate Lewis Farms Nursery located on Highway 26, two miles east of Elko, where he was born and raised. He can be reached at (478) 954-1507 or timlewis1@windstream.net.

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