Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Everyone has an opinion on the proper size of raised beds.
The Grow Biointensive method favors a width of 5 feet and a
length of 20 feet to establish a “microclimate” for intensive
agriculture. Square Foot enthusiasts advocate a maximum
width of 4 feet, because it is easy to reach into a bed that is 4
feet wide from either side and get to whatever is in the
middle. Many experienced organic farmers use even narrower
raised beds.
The five-foot width advocated by Ecology Action requires,
for many people, stepping into the bed onto a board intended
to more widely distribute the weight and minimize damage to
the soil structure. But stepping into the garden bed at all, even
using a board, defeats the purpose of careful management of
the soil structure by compacting the soil. The board would
need to be set up so it can be laid across the sides of the bed
structure and be rigid enough that it won't bend when
someone is standing on it. (This would be impossible using
the complete Grow Biointensive method since, in that
method, the raised beds are only mounded soil without
structural sides. My method uses structural sides instead.)
The 4-foot width is narrow enough that most people can reach
into the garden from both sides since only a 2-foot reach is
needed. This will not work, however, when trellised crops
that grow food on both sides of the trellis are grown against
one of the long sides of the bed. In that case, picking pole
beans, for example, requires a 4-foot reach, which most
people don't have. My wife and I did this with a 4-foot-wide
bed one year, and watching my wife balance on one of the
frame boards while reaching for the beans with one hand and
holding on to me with the other was a sure sign that I would
need to make some changes the following year!
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