Raised beds - gardens that is

I'm going to have to do raised garden beds next year if I truly want my garden to flourish. The soil in my back yard is that thick, impenetrable, undiggable, clay. I figure I'll have to go at least 8-10 inches above the soil line, maybe more like 12-16.

Does anyone have experience setting up raised beds? My perennial and annual herbs do fine. My tomatoes and peppers struggle to grow. My vegetable garden will consist of a variety of tomatoes, peppers, zucchini,  broccoli, plus some green leafy veggies that I rotate.

bump! 

I want advice for this too.  :)

What zone do you garden in?

Zone 5, northeastern Ohio.

K - I'm in the same zone.  So the site is full sun?  And is it already used as a garden?

Not all of northern Ohio has the thick clay soil. Some of it is sandy loam. I happen to be unfortunate to have landed smack dab in the middle of some very thick clay.

I've gardened in other states and other types of soil. This clay has me befuddled. To make matters worse, if we get a bunch of rain, the back yard stays soggy for days. When it get hot and dry, the back yard is hard as a rock.

Raised beds sound like the solution - but I'd do everything possible to address the drainage and fertility of the existing soil before building it up.  First, I'd collect every single leaf I could get my hands on of this fall.  Mulch them if you can (I use a reversible leaf blower that actually vacuums up the leaves and mulches them) and pile them on top of your proposed garden.  I've had piles three feet deep in the fall that are down to less than a foot by spring.  In the spring, after your clay has dried out a bit, but before it's hard, turn in the leaves with a garden fork.  (I wouldn't use a roto-tiller in clay - it will make it even worse!) 

It is full sun all day.  Right now I have one diagonal corner. Until last year (when I moved in) It had one ornamental tree (it's a weeping cherry I think) that isn't doing well. I removed about 3 bushes that had very shallow roots. I removed lots of black plastic and landscape fabric. The spot also had that awful bright red dyed mulch that is made from ground up crates. The soil was so poor that I barely got any tomatoes or peppers from it. The zucchini did fairly well.

I improved the soil as much as I could last year by aerating. I tilled down to about 8-10 inches. I put organic matter on it too. I even used fertilizer last year, usually I just use compost and manure, but the soil was so pathetic last year I had to fertilize.

I dumped 20 40-lb bags of garden soil on it this year. Just getting the soil turned over and oxygen through it has helped tremendously. The tomatoes have done much better. The peppers really don't seem to like the soil at all. I have to have peppers. They don't grow very tall and they don't produce much fruit.

I'll have my big tiller back this fall. I want to till the corner patch out larger and then do another rectangle strip in the yard near it. Another alternative to the rectangle strip is there are 3 tree stumps left in the yard. I may enclose those 3 circles and do 3 raised circle beds. That may be easier.

Someone here locally suggested I use stone to raise the beds so the soil will warm sooner. We tend to have cold rainy springs here. At least the 2 I've witnessed so far have been cold and rainy.

 

I like the idea of the leaves. Problem is this is a newer subdivision with almost no trees. We have few leaves in the fall.

I think I can till down anywhere from 6-8 inches before hitting solid clay. I think whoever did this subdivision had to put some topsoil down to get the lawns going. Everyone's lawns in this area are thick and lush.

Back by the shed and the opposite corner, you can't dig more than 2-3 inches before hitting solid clay.

I live in northern indiana and used a raised bed this past summer and it was awesome!  my soil is really sandy so i went to the local recycling center to get compost, and supplemented it with topsoil.  I did not try to use the soil underneath.  It worked fine.  Hope you have good luck with it!

How far above the soil were they raised? Did you have any watering problems?

*****

We removed some ugly bushes and pine trees from the front landscaping. It was amazing to see how easily the roots were pulled up out of the soil. It seems all of the trees and bushes have really shallow roots up here. I've been told it's because the water table is so high because we're so close to Lake Erie (less than 2 miles) and because the soil is so clay that the roots can't penetrate very far.

I placed newspaper down first then added the compost and topsoil - probably 4-6 inches deep.  I used a drip hose (since the raised bed is close to my house) to water the plants.   I plan on using leaves over it this fall. 

Yeah, that makes since for the sandy soil. I had a big garden in very sandy loam a few years in southern Michigan. Probably similar soil to what you have now. Everything grew so well there. I had to constantly water though or the plants would die.

I had to take out a few bushes there. Man did those roots go deep. I had to dig down about 4 feet. Very deep tap roots and horizontal roots as well.

Where I live I have that horrible clay also.  Actually, I have to go through a gate at work and I slipped in it but caught myself but my shoes will now be muddy forever!!!!

Anyway, so of course my bed is raised.  Horse poop is the best for compost and real kitchen compost.  What did not compost this summer I will bury this fall in the garden.  My soils is getting so pretty.  Peppers do not like nice soil.  Put them somewhere else in the yucky stuff and miracle grow them just a few times.  Peppers also like sulfur so plant with a few matches.  My peppers have done wonderful.  This year I planted a squash that is trying to eat my house and dogs and did eat the peppers and everything else around it.  I do not know what I did right this year with that monster.  I am really frightened of it

Oh man, I remember planting regular vining cucumbers one year. Same phenomenon. I planted watermelon a different year thinking I could train it to grow mostly on the fence. It swallowed the fence and everything around it too. The watermelons I got from it were wonderful though.

Puppykisses - how tall are your raised beds? What did you use to raise them? Any watering issues or drainage issues? Please I need specifics so I can plan for next year.

I've done raised beds and agree with first attempting to improve the underlying clay first.  Once your sure it will drain well, build up the beds and fill them with soil.  I did several filled with half composted horse manure (I live near horse farms) and half topsoil, in the fall.  The next spring everything grew like mad.  My main problem was keeping the beds watered.  I invested  in drip irrigation hoses and that solved the problem without wasting water.

Have fun with your garden!

I've used a variety of materials including pressure-treated wood and rocks to edge my raised beds, but, truth be known (and it does take a little more space), I've had the best luck with simply mounding the soil up about a foot and a half and mulching the rounded edges with shredded bark.  If you're planning to grow annuals exclusively, upright edges work well in that the soil warms and drains early - but I found that I lost a lot of perennials because the roots weren't sufficiently protected over the winter.

Split

I don't want to use pressure treated wood because I'm doing the raised beds for vegetables that I plan on eating. I don't want the chemicals leaching into the soil.

I thought of just mounding, but was really considering using rocks to help warm the soil in the spring.

Original Post by splitrail:

I've used a variety of materials including pressure-treated wood and rocks to edge my raised beds, but, truth be known (and it does take a little more space), I've had the best luck with simply mounding the soil up about a foot and a half and mulching the rounded edges with shredded bark.  If you're planning to grow annuals exclusively, upright edges work well in that the soil warms and drains early - but I found that I lost a lot of perennials because the roots weren't sufficiently protected over the winter.

Split

OKAY, I live in zone 2. I built my raised beds several years ago. They surround my deck. They are 3 feet wide x 3 feet deep x varied lengths (the corner box is 3 feet squared, two of them are 8 feet long and one is 15 feet long. I used pressure treated wood but I lined all the insides with 1 inch thick styrofoam insulation and black landscaping cloth. I haven't had any problems with roots freezing or plants heaving. I plant tomatoes, herbs, roses and other perennials. I don't use any pesticides or herbicides, only bone meal when I am putting in my plants in the spring. Building this way makes it ergonomic, no long reaches, you can lean on and hold onto the sides, and you don't have to bend over too far. My father told me that more than 50 years ago his father had built raised beds made with cement (instead of gravel he used old telephones). Talk about recycling. He made the walls thick (wide) enough to sit on comfortably.

Thanks buggyhair. I don't need to go 3 feet deep, but I love the idea of not having to reach and making them wide enough to sit on. If I knew for sure I'd be at this house for many many years, I'd invest in it. We might sell in a few years after the market rebounds so I don't want to invest that much time, effort and money.

Please keep suggestions and ideas coming everyone.

The materials I used are: One side is the cement foundation of the garage, the other is the neighbors fence reinforced with 2x4s... last year I let pumpkin vines grow through for their kids. another side is my back fence with some wood reinforcing.  Now the fourth side is what you could use for all of it.  You know those cement retaining wall decorative landscaping bricks that do not need to be cemented together, I used those for the fourth side.  I can take some down to get a wheelbarrow in so if you needed to you can move the bricks.  I used these in the front of my house for raised beds for flowers and  by my backdoor for an herb garden.  I love these bricks because they are so versitile. My vege garden started out 2 bricks high but now it is three.  See how versitile.  Vege roots are not that deep so you can start out short and then as you keep adding compost and the soil gets deeper the just add another layer.  I am not too picky if the brick colors do not match.  With my tomatoes I plant a gallon milk jug next to them with holes punched in the side facing the plant.  I hate watering weeds.  Everything else I hand water with a hose.  I do it this way because it is my time and I just like to hand water.  I have a neighbor that just saves gallon milk containers and fills them everyday after the initial water and has a waterer he screws on the tops then always has water available.   I did not worry about drainage because i do it by hand. 

This year I did not plant my vege garden I just planted peppers and tomatoes in my herb garden and in containers.  Mistake...containers get dry so quickly and I already told you about the monster squash plant.  Pepper plant is lost and the tomato plant in herb garden is being protected by a cage.  My herbs are lost....I cannot even see them!!  Neighbor kids are mad at me for not planting a pumpkin plant but they are enjoying measuring the growth of the squash down the driveway.