Raised gardens

[kimmisgreen]

I have 6 raised garden beds. They didn't do very well this year, I bought the best soil for them, quite expensive but important. All my seedlings started sprouting and every thing looked great but then the rain started and my drainage was not great, I had put paper in the bottom then gardening fabric, I soon found out that was too much. When the rains let up, mid summer and everything that survived looked great but it was hot and some rain so being an amateur I figured a little water everyday was enough, was I wrong, basically lost everything except the marigolds!

 

[JBtheExplorer]

I bought the best soil for them, quite expensive but important.

Is expensive soil the best soil? I don't know much about raised gardens so I'm not too sure how different they work and am sort of curious about it. I'm sure they have extra needs compared to a normal garden.

 

[Chuck]

I have 6 raised garden beds. They didn't do very well this year, I bought the best soil for them, quite expensive but important. All my seedlings started sprouting and every thing looked great but then the rain started and my drainage was not great, I had put paper in the bottom then gardening fabric, I soon found out that was too much. When the rains let up, mid summer and everything that survived looked great but it was hot and some rain so being an amateur I figured a little water everyday was enough, was I wrong, basically lost everything except the marigolds!

No, you don't have to remove the fabric unless you want to. The cloth doesn't have much to do with drainage if anything and the paper is probably already composted. Over watering is the most common reason for plants dying. You cannot over water a plant but you can kill it by watering too often. Only water your plants when they are a little wilted or droopy in the mornings and when you water soak them. Wilting in the afternoons is normal. When Mother Nature waters everyday your plants suffer as you found out. The same thing will happen if you water every day too.

 

[Corzhens]

I am alien to that fabric in the raised bed. Maybe I don't understand the term. But during summer when the heat is on, we water the plants frequently particularly the ones on the raised beds because they easily dry up. By the way, when you put fertilizer, even compost or any organic element, the plants would need more water. There are times we water the plants 3x a day - morning, mid-afternoon, late afternoon.