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Raised Bed Garden Layout

R

rjacobs

Just bought this house and trying to come up with a plan to build some raised beds for next season.  I only have about 8-10 inches of soil before bed rock so raised bed is really the only way for me to go.  Plus the soil here in Texas is shit IMO.
 
Here is a view of where I am planning to build these raised beds along that back fence line.  Looking basically due south(east on left, west on right).

 
Here is a quick sketch I made today of my plan

 
 
Planning on 4x6 beds 18" deep.  24" from fence line and in between beds is so I can get my 22" lawnmower through as well as having room to work.  Each bed I have calculated out to be 1.33 cu. yd. of soil.
 
I have planned a long bed along the length of the wall of my house(master bedroom) for flowers, but might not do flowers there, not sure.  15.5'x2'x18" which gives me about 1.67 cu. yd. of soil.
 
My thoughts on the flower bed was to attract bees into my back yard for pollination.  My buddy says he intersperses the flowers into his raised beds with the food plants.
 
Not 100% sure what I will be planting.  Definitely some super hots, I have 4x Reaper's I am going to attempt to keep alive this winter and I want to get a few more varieties of supers as well as regular hab's and jalapeno's.  Tomato's of some variety, cucumber, and not really sure what else.  Might dedicate one bed, or the front of each bed, to herbs.
 
So any thoughts on my bed size or my layout?
 
oldsalty said:
How many plants and what are you spacing them at. That's what will really determine bed size. :)
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I guess I am actually working backwards then.  Im fitting my beds into the area available and will plant what I can with what I have.
 
rjacobs said:
I guess I am actually working backwards then.  Im fitting my beds into the area available and will plant what I can with what I have.
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Oh beautiful yard by the way great space for your garden. I did 2 8x10 beds and had more than I could plant had to add one more bed. Was a little over zealous hahaha but you should get a nice grow with those beds.
 
my buddy from St. Louis is going to come down and help me build and set things up and plan the plants out.
 
I have a lot of research and learning to do.
 
Might do some green beans or something in one bed with a trellis on the back.
 
Was really wanting to do some rose's in the flower bed, but dont know if they would survive full sun and heat.
 
I have to figure out what will survive in our hot climate(90-100 temps for weeks on end) and basically full sun for 12+ hours a day.
 
I am working with another buddy on setting up a watering system using PVC and a "zone" for each bed with timers and what not.
 
     I wouldn't worry about mowing between beds. With only 24" between them, your plants (peppers at least) will probably grow completely over that space. 
     After I put my beds in I was concerned because the space I left between them ended up about 2" to narrow for my mower (I didn't measure  :clap: ). So I just mulched the area with some shredded cyrpess. It didn't matter though, because my plants grow over the sides of my beds so much I can't even walk between them. 
 
Hybrid Mode 01 said:
     I wouldn't worry about mowing between beds. With only 24" between them, your plants (peppers at least) will probably grow completely over that space. 
     After I put my beds in I was concerned because the space I left between them ended up about 2" to narrow for my mower (I didn't measure  :clap: ). So I just mulched the area with some shredded cyrpess. It didn't matter though, because my plants grow over the sides of my beds so much I can't even walk between them. 
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If thats the case so be it, but I would at least like to have a fighting chance.  If I put them at 18", no way I would have a chance as my mower is at least 21 if not 22" at its widest.
 
Unless you want the separtion between the beds for esthetic reasons it is really wasted space.  
 
Did you consider just making one 2' x 30' bed?  It would occupy the same area of your yard but give you 60 sq feet instead of 48.  That's like getting a fifth bed in the same space.
 
If you are like most of us, you'll be champing at the bit for more space to plant before your first grow is done!
 
cone9 said:
Unless you want the separtion between the beds for esthetic reasons it is really wasted space.  
 
Did you consider just making one 2' x 30' bed?  It would occupy the same area of your yard but give you 60 sq feet instead of 48.  That's like getting a fifth bed in the same space.
 
If you are like most of us, you'll be champing at the bit for more space to plant before your first grow is done!
Click to expand...
 
yes partially for aesthetic reasons.  The other is the longest boards I can get are 16', and honestly I dont want to work with 16' lengths.  12' lengths allows me to handle them a little easier and cut them down into the sizes I have sketched out above.  I had toyed with the idea of doing a 32x4 bed, but I was going to use 6x6 for the walls instead of 2x6 and the price got real crazy real quick(like 90 bucks for a single 16 foot 6x6 or almost 1000 in lumber) and 6x6 is real hard to work with, you need rods to hold everything together, etc...  What I have sketched out above is basically 300 bucks in lumber for all 5 beds.  Then probably under 100 in soil to fill them.  My buddy is estimating ~100 in PVC stuff for the entire irrigation setup and I already own a timer.
 
IF I need more beds I have a ton more space to put them in.  If I get real crazy I could put in 4 more rows(5 rows total or 20 beds).  I also have space that goes up the side of the house, again, if things got real crazy.
Hawaiianero said:
Might want to consider some type of frame to hold up shade cloth in the summer time.
Click to expand...
 
Definitely something I have thought about with our hot texas sun.  Wouldnt be to hard to whip something up though.
 
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