Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
When spring rolls around and the ground thaws, just use the
digging fork to fluff it up a little; then plant, and you are
done.
For no-dig beds it is particularly important to keep them
planted with cover crops when fallow during the off-season
because you are depending on the action of plant roots to mix
the soil and keep it loose.
Because seeds don't always germinate well in compost, I'd
recommend using the bed for transplanted crops for the first
year, and then a good soil builder like beans the next year. In
all other respects, you can treat this just like a regular raised
bed. If fresh compost is added yearly, after three years the
productivity will be the same as for a double-dug bed.
Trellising for Raised Beds: Flexible Trellising System
Trellises are necessary for certain crops and can be a valuable
adjunct for others. Because raised beds don't provide much
room for sprawling plants such as cucumbers or pole beans,
adding a trellis makes growing these crops more practical and
space efficient.
Many crops are more productive in vining versions than bush
versions. This includes beans, peas, cucumbers, tomatoes, and
more. Pole beans, for example, can yield almost twice as
much product per square foot as bush beans. This means that
a row of pole beans grown on a trellis along the north side of
an 8-foot bed using only 8 square feet of space can produce
nearly as many beans as 16 square feet of bush beans. This
same calculation applies to other vegetables.
