Replace a raised bed garden with a traditional garden in hopes of increasing the crop

Replace a raised bed garden with a traditional garden in hopes of increasing the crop
                        
Over the weekend, I removed raised beds that have served me well for more than seven years, four years longer than I thought the untreated wood frames would last. While they looked quaint, they left so much space in the garden unused. The paths between the beds quickly filled with weeds and it was a time consuming process to keep the unwanted plants under control. I tried every mulch from straw to cedar to landscaping weed barrier but it was still too much work, the kind of work that should be dedicated to growing food and flowers, not maintaining paths that are rarely used by anyone but me. Raised beds do offer an advantage and for some, they are perfect. Poor soil is easily corrected in a raised bed because you can add exactly what you need. You can fill raised beds with a variety of mixtures but like most things in the gardening, I find less is more. A good mixture to use is 50 percent-screened topsoil and 50 percent compost. Screened topsoil is best because it contains fewer rocks. Compost is simply amazing stuff. Getting it from multiple sources will provide your garden with a variety of nutrients. Sourcing compost from one place might limit the nutrients available if the compost processor uses materials from limited sources. I use two local reputable compost manufacturers, both of whom are able to tell you what goes into their product. I make compost of my own as well, from kitchen scraps and yard waste, but it is a small amount. I used to add peat to my raised bed mixture until I found out how unsustainable and unfriendly peat mining is to the planet. It would be comparable to harvesting 500-year-old growth forests with the idea that they would eventually grow back. They would, in 500 years. For peat, it is even longer. Peat is essentially decomposed plants that left to their own devices, will eventually turn into coal. In the meantime, peat stores more carbon than all the trees on the planet combined. When that system is disrupted, huge amounts of carbon are released into the atmosphere where it contributes negatively to our ever-changing climate. With the beds gone, I worked the soil contained in them into the garden. It looks huge without the beds and rather intimidating. I always say grow what you love and not so much that you cannot maintain it. New garden rule this year, if you want to eat from the garden, you have to work in the garden. That work will be dependent on one’s ability, of course. I never rush to plant the garden. Ohio’s unpredictable cold temperatures and frosts leave too much at risk. While cool season crops do just fine, losing warm season seedlings and starts can be costly and rather devastating. After the danger of frost has passed which is around mid May in our region, plant rows of your favorite herbs, vegetables and flowers in rows that go from north to south. I find planting rows from east to west prevents the sun from reaching the inner rows. Tall plants like peas, beans and others that might be trellised should be planted on the north end of the garden where they are less likely to shade shorter plants. Leave the center of the garden for rows of tomatoes, peppers, broccoli and cabbages. Low growers like greens, radishes, carrots and many herbs do well on the southern end of the garden.


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