Vegetable Gardening and Me (#2)

As I mentioned in my first post on gardening, I want to make this a weekly post. I am not an expert gardener, and I have made plenty of mistakes, but my adventures may help others have more fun and success. 

Today I discuss my setup: last year I switched from a raised bed to a no-till system.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional. All my posts are for informational and entertainment purposes only. I reserve the right to change, edit, or correct any of the content found on the blog at any time without notification. Use at your own risk. 

Building a Bed(s) for the Vegetables

I am fortunate that my property is large, with a backyard that is south facing, with all the garden space receiving direct, uninterrupted sunlight all day long. Unfortunately, the soil is less than ideal. A lot of clay, very little organic matter. The developers, decades ago, grabbed the nutrient rich topsoil. And the owners poisoned the lawn every season with fertilizer.

So, for first four years of gardening, I built and maintained three raised beds. Two were 4'x8', and one was 2'x8'. They were made of 3/4" cedar planks from Lowe's. They lasted four years. Unfortunately, I never bothered to reinforce the longer pieces properly, and the beds bowed. The screws gave way in places, causing the corners to separate. I should have used thicker pieces, but cedar is expensive. If I ever decide to do raised beds again, I will use 2x8 lumber (1.5" thick) to stop the bowing, and apply an organic sealer on them. In addition, I will use joinery for the corners (large dovetails) reinforced with outdoor glue.

(If I do add a raised bed this year, I will post pictures and instructions.)

In the end, building raised beds is expensive, time consuming, and causes the dirt inside to dry faster, requiring frequent watering. Plus, you have to fill it with a lot of quality dirt. Finally, I wanted to harvest more vegetables, and a greater variety. Although the raised beds were productive, I was limited to how many I could create and maintain (one of the three was dedicated to strawberries).

So, as I was approaching the beginning of the 2019 growing season, I decided to create long rows straight into the ground. Like all major projects, I did a lot of research. That's when I discovered "no-till" gardening. The traditional method of adding a new garden, is to stake out an area. Then turn the soil over to a depth of about 12 or more inches. Next, incorporate composted material into that broken layer. Finally, plant your crops.

Unfortunately, tilling does several undesirable things. It disturbs a very complex arrangement of beneficial microorganisms that have been hard at work in the top layers of the soil. In addition, it allows dormant seeds of unwanted plants (i.e., weeds) to come to the surface. Tilling also adds unnecessary labor that needs to be done on a regular basis. Finally, it does not address moisture retention.

Instead, I decided to turn to a no-till approach. Here are the steps I followed:

1. I mowed the area I wanted to convert to garden space with the lowest setting on my mower;
2. I repeated the mowing seven days later;
3. These two mowing, timed in this way, would help stunt the growth of grass;
4. Immediately after the second mowing, I put down a thick layer of biodegradable material (in this case, brown crafting paper);
5. This layer of material would further stunt the growth of grass and weeds;
6. On top of the layer of brown crafting paper, I added 8 inches of soil mixed with composted material;
7. Finally, I topped everything off with 6 inch layer of straw (mulch would also work;
8. The top layer would help keep down weeds, and retain moisture in the dirt. 

Spring of 2019, land just ready to by cultivated.

Spring 2019, the space is staked out, and the first mowing has
been done.

Spring or 2019, the second mowing has been completed,
and a layer of brown craft paper has been laid down,
along with a layer of dirt.

Spring of 2019, one row is half-way done, while a second
row receives the several layers of brown craft paper.

Spring of 2019, All three rows have received about 8 inches
of dirt, and for that year, I had decided to put in a drip system
between the straw and the dirt (this year, I am placing
the drip system right on top of the straw).

Spring of 2019, just finished adding the straw layer only have
a strong wind blow it away (I had ground up the straw into
smaller pieces, which I will not do this year).

Spring of 2020, the result of not doing anything to these rows
the previous season (I did not plant, weed, or add mulch).

Spring of 2020, the first row (far left) has been redone, the
middle row has been mowed down considerably (and hit with
a weed-whacker), while the right most row has been raked,
mowed, and will be hit with a weed-whacker tomorrow.

I was all set in the spring of 2019. Except, the local rabbit population, which had never been a problem before, struck, and I became despondent. They killed off my early plantings, in one night. So, instead of using the four rows I had worked so hard to create, I focused on one, and surrounded it with a makeshift fence made from chicken wire.

I did have a good, albeit small, harvest with that row: made pickles for the first time, which inspired me to work harder this year to get all four rows under cultivation.

And that is exactly what I have been doing these past two weeks (I would have started earlier, if not for the quarantine messing my plans up).

Over the next few day, I am going to finish up rebuilding the rows I started last year, add a fifth row, and possibly add a raised bed next to my shed. I will also be designing and creating a temporary fencing system for my early plantings. I do not want to add a permanent fence, yet.

For now, I need some sleep. Goodnight, and may your gardens never feel the thump of a rabbit's foot.

(to be continued...)