How do I construct soil beds?
- How do I prepare my garden?
- What about the soil?
- How do I construct soil beds?
- How do I level soil-beds?
- How do I get soil-beds ready for planting?
Step 1: Refer to Your Plan Refer to your Garden Plot Plan to determine where to place your soil-beds.
Step 2: Stake Out Beds Plot out each soil-bed by placing stakes at each of the four corners (18" by 30’). Tie and stretch string to the stakes to show the placement of the two 30-foot ridges of the soil-bed.
Tips
After tying one end of the line to a stake, do not tie the other end of the line to the stake on the opposite end. Instead, wrap the loose end around the stake one complete time only and pull the line tight. Keep the line tight and lift it over the loose end at the corner of the stake. To loosen the line or to remove it, all that is needed is a quick, sharp pull upward on the loose line! This procedure eliminates tying knots at the stake to keep the lines tight and speeds up work.
Step 3: Raise the Beds With a garden rake, pull a little soil from the aisles into the staked-out area. (This will make the soil-beds slightly higher than the aisles.
Garden Genius
In addition to a long-handled shovel and a garden rake, the following materials are needed to construct soil-beds. Which do you need to get?
- 1"x 2" stakes (wooden or metal) 18 inches long, with one end pointed (4 stakes per soil-bed)
- Nylon or plastic string or chalk line
- One 2-pound hammer
- Pick-ax for hard soil
Fill out the list on the Tools and Materials List in the Garden Genius. Make sure to print it out before exiting this site.
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Tip of the Day
It's Spring Planting Time! For those of you in the Northern hemisphere who have winters, March and early April are the time you need to be preparing your soil and planting the hardy vegetable crops such as radishes, peas, cabbage and broccoli.
The freeze/thaw cycles of winter have broken up and loosened most soils, so as soon as it's not muddy, go in and give everything a good weeding with the 2-way hoe (see Tools). Weeding thoroughly this early gives you the upper hand, and is very important.
If you grew a Mittleider garden last year, your beds will be easy to re-make. Just apply Pre-Plant and Weekly Feed to the bed area, then till them in, place strings on your stakes, and re-make the beds.
Be sure to re-check the level of each bed accurately, since they may have changed a little. Do not be satisfied with anything more than 1" fall in a 30'-long soil-bed. Good Gardening!
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