Return of the Son of Grow Your Own
by John Weckerle
Given the interest everyone has shown in the concept of sustainable gardening, we think it appropriate to give another progress report on the raised-bed project. Our last update was June 1, and we’re pleased to provide a “then and now” photo comparison of one of the beds.
June 1 |
Today |
It is important to note here that none of these plants has yet been in the ground three weeks. They all appear to growing extraordinarily well, and have recovered from the minor frost damage that hit them a couple of weeks ago. There has generally been noticeable growth between morning and evening every day. The cauliflower, broccoli, and brussels sprouts (second row from the left and top of the third row) were relatively tiny “six-pack” plants when they went in. One of the squash plants already has its first blossom. In the other bed, the lettuce is already capable of providing at least sandwich quantities (and maybe even a small salad) without overly damaging the plants, and the green pepper plant has a fruit on it that is nearly as long as my thumb.
And “thumbs up” it is to this inexpensive, space-saving gardening technique, at least thus far. We’ll keep you posted! (pun intended)
2 Responses “Return of the Son of Grow Your Own”
John:
Are you using a certain blend of soil for this and can this be done on a much larger scale?
It’s a combination of sand turned with manure and decomposed straw (about 1/4 to 1/3), one bale of peat moss split between the two beds, my home/garden compost, a bag in each bed of composted cotton burr, and a bag of “other” compost in each bed. I don’t see any reason why it couldn’t be done on a larger scale – it’s really just a raised bed with a sensible soil mix. The book I got the idea from – Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew – suggests that this is applicable to corn and other crops that would be suited to larger applications. Again, I think a 1 foot depth is better for our geographic situation than Mel’s proposed 6 inches – especially for larger beds. Also, “Mel’s Mix” (his soil mix) requires 1/3 of the volume to be vermiculite, and that’s not something that’s readily (and cost-effectively) available in quantity in our area. The sand seems to give weight and structure to the mix; I owe thanks to Roger Alink of Wildlife West for working with me on that part of the equation.