Foundations

When I set out to prepare the raised beds this spring I discovered just 'how firm a foundation' we really have around here. Too firm, in the sense of having too many rocks, but also not firm enough. Take away the rocks and you're left with mostly sand, some silt, and very little organic matter. I submit these two pictures to illustrate my previous plight and some solutions I've developed in response.



In the image above you can see the tools and maybe get an idea of the method I use for sifting out rocks. Leaning against the wheelbarrow is a home-built screen of 1/2" hardware cloth fastened to a 2x4 frame. When I was making this screen a few years ago, I was surprised to learn that hardware cloth isn't really fabric, but screen. Well, why don't we call it metal screen? 'Hardware cloth' seems to be one of those terms developed to create a crowd of those in the know and those who've yet to learn. Like dimensional lumber. Whose idea was it to make a 2x4 smaller than 2 inches by 4 inches? Just another method of exclusion and tradecraft skill/knowledge protection, if you ask me.



So I lay the screen on the wheelbarrow, then shovel on some dirt. After shaking vigorously (sliding the screen back and forth) I dump the remaining rocks behind the wheelbarrow over the handles. The sand/silt and pea gravel that remains gets mixed with compost about 50/50 and dumped back into the bed or simply dumped into the bed then later amended with compost. Hard to believe this picture was taken on April 10 of this year (2010).



In this picture above you can see the 'threshold' I made using a few fine specimens of stone I found during the raised bed excavations. This was a fun little project I decided to do one afternoon when the berry beds had been completed.

The compost you see between the beds and the grass is area that used to be weed cloth and pea gravel just like the paths around the raised beds. In fact, if you look into the raised bed just beyond the threshold you can see some weed fabric (it really is fabric, not metal screen) laying in the bed frame. This image was captured on March 20, 2010.

The composted area has since been seeded and has grown in nicely. I need to add more fine compost to raise up the ground level to match the existing ground. The new ground settled more than I thought it would.



In an upcoming post I'll share what I've been reading about (hint: the soil food web) and how hay mulch fits into that picture.

Back Yard Raised Beds

Take a "grand circle tour" around the back yard raised beds. There are four beds; two 3'x5' beds and two 5'x7' beds, arranged in a grid. I built the two 5'x7' beds to match the existing 3'x5' beds left from the previous owner. The newer beds are simply 2"x10" untreated doug fir. Each bed was (mostly) double dug in order to remove as many rocks as possible. The soil was sieved through 1/2" hardware cloth attached to a wood frame before over 2 yards of compost was added.

The whole area around the beds had been covered in weed fabric and pea gravel. The original smaller beds were placed directly on the weed fabric and filled with soil. When we bought the house one bed contained strawberries (quinalts) and the other weeds. I planted a few things last year in those two beds, but harvested little more than lettuce and radishes. When adding the larger beds, I moved the smaller beds in order to create ample access on all sides. Then I cut away the weed fabric and dug out the ground beneath each bed in the same manner as the larger beds.

Let's start with the bed in the northwest corner. Currently there are a few marigolds, a struggling little basil plant, a small zucchini plant, a large area of spinach, an 'early girl' tomato plant and a few tomatillos. The large rock and any stone you can see larger than the pea gravel came from digging out the bed beneath the weed cloth!

Our next stop is the northeast bed. More marigolds, another zucchini, four pepper plants (mixed hot varieties - three under jugs), and a Roma tomato with a couple walla walla onions around it. Between these two beds and the house are three barrels. Eventually they will hold blueberry bushes. Two of the bushes are setting on the barrels and are currently fruiting...but that's another post.

Next is the southeast bed. From N to S are sweet potatoes, broccoli (I think...), salad blend lettuce and potatoes (unknown variety). I've hilled the potatoes twice already now and need to support them before I add a hefty layer of hay.

Our last stop is the southwesterly bed. Here are corn plants, carrots, a broccoli, cucumbers, walla walla onions, three cabbage plants (once more, I'm pretty sure...) another Roma and a Champion tomato. OH, and more marigolds. Once the marigolds are of good size, I may transplant them to other locations in each bed to spread them around.

You'll note the beds are surrounded by pea gravel and other rocks from sieving out the soil. The frames are resting on the level of the weed cloth while the friable soil extends another 8-10 inches below. Digging rocks out of each of these beds was a major pain, but I hope it'll be worth it. The extra depth should allow me to space plants more closely and plant more intensively. It's only 100 square feet total area so I have to make the most of it.

I incorporated into each bed compost from the Corliss quarry next to the landfill on Meridian (for you local readers). They were generous in their lading and each yard was only $20. I had to make two trips but they let me get it in two half-loads. Sure, it's not 'cedar grove' like Ciscoe recommends, but the only place I could get cedar grove compost was farther away, charged by the half yard (almost twice as much), and was stingy in how much they gave me. Guess where I'll go next time I need compost?

So that's the state of the beds as of June 26th when I took these photos. We've been enjoying spinach and recently lettuce. Since these photos were taken I've received 8 additional corn starts, bringing my total up to 11 plants. I seeded over 30, planning to thin by half or so. Only three came up in our unusually wet, cold springtime. Hopefully we'll have an 'indian summer' and I can get some corn off these stalks!

Next time...fruits!

Galen