9213 Raised Row Gardening

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CONTENTS

Introduction

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Chapter 1

The Garden That Started a Raised Row Craze

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Chapter 2

Creating Your Very First Raised Row Garden

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Chapter 3

The Importance of Planning Before Planting

37

Chapter 4

Planting Your First Raised Row Garden in Spring

47

Chapter 5

Mulching in the Garden

71

Chapter 6

Maintaining the Raised Row Garden in Summer

85

Chapter 7

Compost and Composting: Creating Black

Gold to Power the Raised Row Garden 115

Chapter 8

The Raised Row Garden in Fall

131

Chapter 9

Putting the Raised Row Garden

to Bed in Winter

145

Chapter 10

Raised Row Gardening Year Two

and Beyond Acknowledgments About the Authors Index

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The action of tilling a garden causes much more harm than good. Tilling replants dormant weed seeds from the top layer of soil, and can destroy soil structure over time.

Why Tilling Is Not the Answer Over time, a garden’s soil structure and fertility can be damaged and depleted by the constant act of plowing, tilling and digging. Soil, in its natural, undisturbed state, contains a vital network of organic and life-giving materials and organisms. This includes everything from layers of humus, to beneficial compounds and minerals, worms, insects and microorganisms. The soil’s structure also contains naturally occurring air pockets that stand ready to deliver needed oxygen below to a plant’s root system.

Every time soil is tilled, this entire network is compromised. As the beneficial compounds and microorganisms are brought to the surface, they dry out and die from the exposure. Air pockets are eliminated, replaced and filled in by the crushed grains of the tilled soil. Tilling simply destroys the natural harmony of soil, all the while contributing to an explosion of weeds, one of the biggest problems all gardeners face.

The Garden That Started a Raised Row Craze

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Chapter 2

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Creating Your

Very First Raised

Row Garden

At its very core, a Raised Row Garden is pure simplicity. The Raised Row Gardening method uses organic and sustainable practices to power a highly productive, low maintenance garden. As you will see in the coming chapters, it is not only simple to create, it’s also simple to plant, and even easier to maintain.

More than anything else, the Raised Row method allows you to maximize yields while minimizing resources needed to grow your own food and the daily, weekly and annual maintenance chores. It also makes for an extremely neat and tidy garden space that is sure to be the envy of your friends, neighbors and fellow gardeners.

As with all gardens, the ďŹ rst year of setting up your Raised Row Garden will certainly be the most labor-intensive. However, the effort involved still pales in comparison to the workload, cost and potential downfalls of setting up the initial year using other popular gardening methods. In fact, once the ďŹ rst year is completed, the Raised Row Garden becomes increasingly easier to maintain with each successive season.

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You can create a single raised row that is 18 inches (46 cm) wide at any length without any walking row space needed. A great example of this would be in a city or urban setting against a fence, or down the center of a yard. If you do create multiple rows, however, you will need to leave at least 24 to 30 inches (61 to 76 cm) between rows to allow for plant growth, and for space to water, maintain and harvest.

Will You Be Fencing Your Garden?

One final consideration before building your Raised Row Garden is fencing. If you live in an area that is prone to visits from rabbits, deer, raccoons or other invading vermin, a fence can be a great way to eliminate or reduce them. We will cover this in more depth in Chapter 6, but be aware that if you plan to utilize any type of fencing, you will need to accommodate for that space.

Creating a Raised Row Garden Once you have chosen the ideal location and size of your Raised Row Garden, it’s time to start building!

Your Raised Row Garden will consist of three main areas: walking zones, growing row zones and planting zones.

A cut-away showing the structure of a first year growing row in a Raised Row Garden. A base layer of organic materials such as straw, leaves or compost is covered with a slightly tapered mound of soil. A heavy layer of mulch is used on either side of the growing rows to eliminate weeding, while providing easy access for maintenance.

Creating Your Very First Raised Row Garden

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Planting Zone

walking Zone

growing row Zone

growing row Zone

walking Zone

The three zones that comprise a Raised Row Garden: the planting zone, where vegetables are planted and grown; the growing row zone, consisting of the entire area where plants and their roots expand and mature; and the walking zone, the heavily mulched area in between all of the growing zones that allows for easy maintenance without the need for weeding.

Over 80 percent of your overall garden space is dedicated to providing walking areas between and around each growing row. It is crucial not to spend valuable time and resources maintaining areas of the garden that will never be used as part of the growing process.

Because this space will never be used to grow vegetables, it is best to use mulch that is readily and inexpensively available in your area, and one that decomposes slowly. This mulch will never be used to enhance the soil below, and will not affect the soil fertility of your growing rows.

In areas where trees and sawmills dot the landscape, finding by-products, such as shredded bark or wood chips, can be an excellent, cost-saving choice. If you live in area where pine trees are in abundance, use pine needles. Remember that this space will never be used for growing, and the mulch in the zone will never be incorporated into the growing rows.

Mulch levels in this area should be applied to a thickness of 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) for total weed suppression.

Mulching in the Garden

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CHOP-CHOP

The smaller the material going in to the pile, the quicker it will decompose.

If you have large quantities of leaves, shred them up with the lawnmower before adding. The same goes for kitchen scraps. A few more chops with your knife before throwing them in helps them break down more quickly and will speed up the decomposition process. A quick pulse or two in the food processor or blender can be helpful for this, too.

The more surface areas exposed to heat and microorganisms of the pile, the more quickly a pile begins to break down. Chopping and cutting ingredients prior to placing in the pile is a must for fast composting.

TURN BABY TURN

Much like we need oxygen to survive, the organisms that help to break down your compost pile need air to thrive. By turning your pile with a spade or pitchfork, you keep the pile alive and well and your pile cooking.

The compost on the outer edges of the pile will be the coolest and driest. Use your pitchfork or shovel to turn this material over and place it in the middle of your pile. This allows air into the center of the pile, and lets the materials that were on the outer edges have a chance to break down faster while being moved to the hot center.

Turning your compost pile frequently keeps vital oxygen supplied to the inner core of the pile. Without it, compost piles cannot heat to the temperatures required for efficient decomposition.

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Raised Row Gardening