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The Perennial Buzz by Shelley Pederson

 

“The year was ‘44,

Victory gardens were the thing.

Mama plantes scores and more, 

Lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes,

Onions, radishes, carrots, scallions too.

Rhubarb, melons, and a lot of corn. 

Mama with her generous nature,

Fed not only our family well, but

Neighbors, friends and kin as well.”

— “Victory Garden” by Carol A. LaCroix

 

The second kind of gardening is raised bed gardening. I have been gardening in raised beds for over 35 years. The advantages are that there is way less weeding. It takes up less space and more can be grown in that small space. There is no hoeing, no rototilling and less bending. As I age, the beds become taller. I don’t seem to have a problem with rabbits and slugs in my raised beds. Disadvantages is that there is an initial cost to building the beds and sometimes they need to be watered a bit more frequently. But remember, with in-ground gardening you are wasting water in between the rows, and you have to use a rototiller. 

The same thing as my in the ground column applies. Choose a spot that is well drained and receives full sun. Keep the beds away from tree roots and walnut trees (walnut trees give off a chemical called juglone, that inhibits growth of many plants). Raised beds can be built with non-formaldehyde treated lumber, cedar, composite decking wood (look for the solid, not the indented backside for strength), steel siding and stock tanks. Whatever material you use, it should be sturdy and chemical-free. Beds should be built in no more than 4-foot widths. This allows you to reach in from either side without stepping in the bed. Walking in beds compacts the soil and makes it harder to weed and work the soil. 

For length, I’d recommend starting with 8 feet or 12 feet. Go no longer than 16 feet, so that you are not tempted to step in the bed rather than go around. Keep enough space in between the beds to mow or walk between. Some people put weed barriers down and mulch between the beds. Run the beds north and south. Put trellis — I use cattle panels cut in half as they are already 4-feet-wide — on the north end of each bed. I put a T-post on each side and wire the trellis to it. There are many other ways of building trellis with PVC pipe and string. Google it for ideas. 

I started using stock tanks a couple years ago that are 3-feet-by-8-feet-long. I took the plug out for drainage and I love the height. Along the side, Neal built 1-foot-by-8-foot beds out of old decking we tore out, and they are great for peppers, as they like the heat radiated off the metal. Put the beds close to a water source. You can google online and see all kinds of creative structures. Some people put chicken wire or hardware cloth on the bottoms to keep voles and gophers out, and some people line the bottoms with weed barrier cloth, as I do. The weed barrier helps hold moisture in and helps keep weeds from sprouting underneath. 

The minimum depth is only 4 inches. I started with 6 inches deep, moved up to 1-foot deep and have three 4-foot-by-12-foot beds this size for tomatoes, potatoes and onions. I can rotate my tomatoes this way each year in a different bed. If you are starting with deep beds, like a stock tank, fill the bottom with sticks, leaves, grass clippings, hay or straw. Many people who have horses may have a moldy bale of hay or two that they’d be happy to get off their hands. Wear a bandana or mask to keep from inhaling the mold. This keeps the costs down and eventually it will compost and turn to soil. You may have to add to deep beds, as the bottom matter composts and shrinks up. I had to add to the stock tanks for three years. Even a 1-foot deep bed would benefit by having a layer of hay on the bottom to save money. 

I use a soilless mixture. If you have access to good soil, go ahead and use it, but I suggest adding peat moss or other organic matter to keep it from compacting. Remember soil from fields or fill soil may have weed seeds in it. If you buy bagged soil, stay away from the really cheap stuff. It is filled with sand. Simply pinch the bag and feel the soil particles. If it feels rough-textured like sand, that is what you are buying. Same goes with cheap manures. You do get what you pay for. You only have to buy the mix once, so invest in good quality products. The soilless mix I make is the square bales of peat moss three parts with one part vermiculite and three parts of three kinds of compost. I also add a mixture of five parts bone meal and one part blood meal and apply a pound or so to a 4-foot-by-4-foot bed. Grab a big tarp and mix the ingredients well. Have a 4-inch or more layer of this mix on the top for planting. 

Then you need a foot-long ruler, and a pencil for poking holes and a trowel. That is it! Use the ruler to indent the soil in 1-foot increments. Plan your garden. Let’s say you start with just a 4-foot-by-4-foot bed. You divy up the squares and you have 16 squares. On the trellis end you plant two slicing tomatoes and grow them as a vine. Plant one cherry tomato for the kids and on the last square plant two cucumbers for salad. Or, you could use one of the squares to plant eight pole beans to climb the trellis. The next row, you can plant bell pepper plants one per square. Plant the next row of squares in snow peas nine per square, and when they are done, plant bush beans four per square in the same spot. The front four squares can be lettuce in one with four plants, carrots in one with 16 plants, maybe onions nine per square, beets nine per square, and you have a fun and healthy garden. Obviously, the larger the beds and the more the beds, the more you can plant. I have grown with success everything but sweet corn. Sweet corn tends to tip over, and I easily can get it locally. 

The key to planting in raised beds is to grow anything vining up the trellis, even watermelon. The stems will thicken to hold its weight. Most slicer type tomatoes can be grown as a vine up a trellis. Simply pinch the side shoots and keep only the main vine. Same goes for the cucumbers, pinch the side shoots off. This forces the plant to put its energy into more and larger fruit, rather than more vine. I promise you will have a generous harvest. 

Now, the tricky part. 

Some tomatoes are called determinant. This means they grow as a bush and bear fruit all at once. Do not prune the side shoots and use a sturdy tomato cage to keep them off the ground. I like Amish paste tomatoes and they reach well over 6 feet tall, so when I say a good quality tomato cage, I do mean tall and sturdy. Most paste types are determinant. Check the tags or google the variety to know for sure. Also be aware, since determinant tomatoes are grown for canning or freezing, they bear all at once and then they die back. Your “indeterminate” tomatoes are usually slicers and they bear fruit all season and I grow them as a vine. 

Now for planting guidelines per square. Pole beans or peas by seed eight per square in two small rows of four within the square, nine bush beans or peas, two cucumbers by seed or plant, one tomato by plant, one pepper by plant, one eggplant by plant, 16 carrot seeds four by four in a square, nine beets by seed, 16 radishes — which I usually plant with my carrots as they are done and gone by the time the carrots get growing, one potato per square, two sweet potatoes, four corn by seed, four lettuce by seed, nine spinach by seed, four swiss chard by seed, one cabbage/broccoli/cauliflower by plant per square, four kale, four of most herbs by plant, nine onions by sets or plants, and four marigolds by seed or plant. Marigolds help draw pollinators to the garden. Do they repel bugs or rabbits — not really. 

Specialty plants: Zucchini or summer squash by seed or plant one per two squares; pumpkins, melons and winter squash that vine, one per two squares and up a trellis; Amish paste tomatoes get very large. I have done nine total in a 4-foot-by-4-foot bed, but have now reduced them to six plants per 4-foot-by-4-foot bed — two rows of three and a total of 18, which makes a lot of pasta sauce and salsa. They seem to do best this way. The smaller paste tomatoes can be one per square or one per one and half squares. 

If you are wanting to can or freeze, plant one full 4-foot-by-4-foot area with a single variety, or if vining peas or beans, one full 4-foot row on the trellis. You can also plant some things every two weeks to have a continual harvest, like lettuce, beets and carrots. 

I know this is lengthy, and I normally teach this program in a two-hour class. Once again, this column is with gratitude to the Albert Lea Tribune, and please share. If you are wanting more information, feel free to contact me. 

Oops, I almost forgot the trowel. This fall, when the beds are done, you add a little compost and work it into the soil. Then next spring, that is what you use to work your beds, and it literally takes minutes and they are ready to go. Be well and be safe.

 

Shelley Pederson is a perennially busy master gardener, lover of nature and student of life.