So I've been studying and planning for my garden this coming spring and looking into raised bed gardening. It seems the gardening world is very very enthusiastic about it. But I have some doubts about it that I can't seem to find anyone addressing so I thought I'd ask here. My concerns are:
1. People have labeled the bed area in the bed-and-walking row system as the "growing area" and people keep talking about it as if the plants are only going to grow in the bed, and only to the depth of the soil mound you've created. Obviously the roots of the plants that go in these rows will go down a lot more than that and out, too... so why does the soil below or beside the mound never seem to matter?
2. The most frequent method I see being used is cardboard at the bottom of the bed and/or wood chips in the walking rows. Both these materials are super high in carbon. Both will probably take awhile to decompose, but they both seem like serious Nitrogen sinks that will end up demanding a lot of extra fertilizing.
3. One of the most frequently-touted advantages to this system is the lack of work. You never have to dig. But won't the sides of the hill erode pretty quickly? I have a fairly sandy soil in a decently rainy climate and I can't see those mounds holding their shape for very long at all, even with lots of amendments.
4. Some people say to use your own garden soil as a base (digging the soil out of the walking rows and onto the mounds) then adding compost. But I've been warned that this will result in flooding because the walking rows will end up sitting lower than the surrounding land. Others say to use completely new material, layering compost, straw and fresh imported soil. But doesn't that sort of defeat the financial benefits it has over raised bed gardening?
5. The approach also says you should never have to dig, that all your organic matter is added through mulching (just putting compost and other organic materials on top and letting the nutrients slowly seep in). But everyone else seems to say that for you to get the most out of your compost, you really need to work it in with a shovel, especially if you want improved soil structure. Not sure what the right answer is here.
6. And finally... One of the major benefits listed is that the mound will warm up faster in the spring. Won't this also mean it will be the first thing to freeze in the winter? Does it really extend the growing season at all?
All in all, I don't understand why you don't just apply all these methods (walking rows and growing rows, mulching the walking paths, mulching with organic matter on the growing rows, etc.) to a flat garden.
Even if you can only answer to one of these "complaints", I'd really appreciate it! I just want to understand what all the fuss is about.
Thanks!
1. People have labeled the bed area in the bed-and-walking row system as the "growing area" and people keep talking about it as if the plants are only going to grow in the bed, and only to the depth of the soil mound you've created. Obviously the roots of the plants that go in these rows will go down a lot more than that and out, too... so why does the soil below or beside the mound never seem to matter?
2. The most frequent method I see being used is cardboard at the bottom of the bed and/or wood chips in the walking rows. Both these materials are super high in carbon. Both will probably take awhile to decompose, but they both seem like serious Nitrogen sinks that will end up demanding a lot of extra fertilizing.
3. One of the most frequently-touted advantages to this system is the lack of work. You never have to dig. But won't the sides of the hill erode pretty quickly? I have a fairly sandy soil in a decently rainy climate and I can't see those mounds holding their shape for very long at all, even with lots of amendments.
4. Some people say to use your own garden soil as a base (digging the soil out of the walking rows and onto the mounds) then adding compost. But I've been warned that this will result in flooding because the walking rows will end up sitting lower than the surrounding land. Others say to use completely new material, layering compost, straw and fresh imported soil. But doesn't that sort of defeat the financial benefits it has over raised bed gardening?
5. The approach also says you should never have to dig, that all your organic matter is added through mulching (just putting compost and other organic materials on top and letting the nutrients slowly seep in). But everyone else seems to say that for you to get the most out of your compost, you really need to work it in with a shovel, especially if you want improved soil structure. Not sure what the right answer is here.
6. And finally... One of the major benefits listed is that the mound will warm up faster in the spring. Won't this also mean it will be the first thing to freeze in the winter? Does it really extend the growing season at all?
All in all, I don't understand why you don't just apply all these methods (walking rows and growing rows, mulching the walking paths, mulching with organic matter on the growing rows, etc.) to a flat garden.
Even if you can only answer to one of these "complaints", I'd really appreciate it! I just want to understand what all the fuss is about.
Thanks!
