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 Planting time is coming up
Warmer days are a reminder that daylight hours are increasing with
each passing rotation of the earth and the vegetable gardening
season will be upon us before we know it. If you plan to start seeds
indoors for many of the warm season vegetables, like tomatoes and
peppers, its time to start getting organized.
For the more cold-hardy cool season vegetables, such as kale, leaf
lettuce, cabbage and spinach, the time to seed outdoors is
approaching quickly. I have typically started these plants from seed
in mid-March. This year, I’m planning an upgrade to our vegetable
gardening area that may help me start crops even sooner with many
benefits that raised beds provide.
Updating an existing garden
Our current vegetable garden was installed over 20 years ago and
nearby trees are now starting to shade the southern portion of our
garden in the early morning and late afternoon. So, we have decided
to shift our garden north and transition to raised beds. Although
labor intensive this year, the new raised beds will reduce the need
for annual soil preparation and help us move toward a more no-till
vegetable gardening system aimed at maximizing the quality of our
garden soil.
Some of our new garden beds will fall on top of old garden space,
some will need to be started from scratch. Soil under the footprint
of each new bed will be dug up and loosened to a depth or 10-12
inches and compost will be added during this process to increase
soil organic matter.
Constructing raised beds
We plant to construct 6-8 inch tall wood sides for each bed and fill
them up with garden soil from the Urbana Landscape Recycling center.
The resulting new beds will have up to 20 inches of loosened,
uncompacted soil with a high organic matter content.
The short sides on our raised beds will be made of untreated cedar
boards. It is important to be sure any materials used in
construction of raised beds is safe for use around food production
areas if you plan to plant vegetables. We choose untreated lumber to
avoid any potential soil contamination from chemicals that may leach
from treated boards. Cedar has natural, rot-resistant
characteristics making it a great choice.
Over the years I have seen quite a few materials used to construct
raised beds. Often, there are cheap or recycled materials that work
great. From old bricks to larger diameter tree limbs or whole
trunks, there is typically a practical option for bed construction
using materials that are readily available.
Benefits of raised beds
Although the new beds aren’t incredibly tall, the simple act of
raising the soil even 6 inches will result in quite a few benefits.
Upper soil layers will dry out and warm up sooner each spring,
allowing for earlier planting.
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The combination of improved soil drainage and better
aeration helps reduce disease issues associated with lingering
surface water and poor air drainage.
An increase of just 6 inches in height improves light
infiltration into the plant canopy, which also evaporates moisture
on leaves more quickly to discourage proliferation of fungal
diseases. In addition, bringing “ground level” of the beds up can
alleviate the strain on your body when planting, weeding and
harvesting.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of a raised bed system lies in the
reduction of soil compaction from foot traffic. In-ground gardens
planted in rows result in foot traffic up and down each row
throughout the growing season that drastically compacts soil. Our
new beds are designed with a width of 4 feet or less allowing all
areas of the bed to be reached without actually stepping inside its
borders, virtually eliminating soil compaction. Without the need for
conventional rows, plants can be installed in beds with uniform
spacing, which has been shown to increase yields per area of garden.
Raised beds are extremely versatile and can be constructed in all
shapes and sizes, making even the smallest area a productive
vegetable garden. If you are interested in seeing raised beds in
action.
Check out raised beds in action
Master Gardeners have a variety of examples installed at community
gardens across central Illinois. These spaces are open to the public
and designed to inspire others to adapt new gardening techniques.
You can check out raised bed gardening in the vegetable gardens at
Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka, the Douglas Discovery Garden
in Danville, the Kennekuk Herb Garden at Kennekuk County Park in
Vermilion County or the Idea Garden in the University of Illinois
Arboretum. More information is available at extension.illinois.edu/cfiv/horticulture.
More information about raised beds and vegetable gardening
For more information on gardening with raised beds, here is a
Raised
Bed Checklist.
Illinois Extension also has an excellent website with much more
information about vegetable gardening available here:
https://web.extension.illinois.edu/vegguide/.
Illinois Extension offers a wonderful guide to growing common
vegetables and herbs in Illinois, titled “Vegetable Gardening in the
Midwest”. This manual may be purchased at the University of Illinois
Extension Office at 801 N. Country Fair Drive in Champaign or online
at: go.illinois.edu/VegetableGardening.
[SOURCE: Ryan Pankau, Illinois
Extension Educator, Horticulture] |
