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raised-bed Raised Bed-New Concept

AjarnV

AjarnV

Okay; here it is;

IndividualRaisedBed.jpg


Building a raised bed is quite a project (depending on size) and uses up, potentially, a lot of space. I bought some large plastic pots today and the bottom is full of many holes; center hole is 4.5cm in dia. and 8 holes around the edge (bottom) are 16mm in dia. each.
It occured to me that roots would have no trouble growing out the bottom; thus my idea of using individual pots as a raised bed.
What do you think? Good; tell me why: bad; tell me why. Cheers. ;)
 
Novacastrian said:
Will you be amending the soil that the pots go into?
Click to expand...

Good question. In a word, no; but I might change my mind on that. I had thought of that but we have a decent top soil, although it's not very deep, maybe 16cm. I need to consider that some more. Thanks.
 
I've done similar setups a ton of time when I was in the tree/landscape business. Basically I would layout my plants on the ground and pack wood chips around them. Then when we would sell plants all you have to do is pop them out of the chips and replace them with a new one. The wood chips will compost and keep the containers cooler in the hot summer. Works great and the chips are free if you have a tree service near by

I thought about taking an auger and drilling holes in the dirt for buckets to sit in, but we have clay here so the plants would be sitting in a bowl of water after every rain
 
I grow most of my tomatoes in bottomless 6+ gallon pots (also known as ring culture). It makes for easier watering, weeding, mulching, and staking. Even my biggest peppers sometimes get their own raised bed

Ring culture naga
 
interesting, was thinking of using grow bags and then just cutting off the bottoms of the bags and stick them in the ground as is. guess someone else already thought of it. lol.
 
The way I see it they will get water directed onto the top of their roots and that will continue on down. I think its a win win even if you dont amend the soil beneath.
 
POTAWIE said:
I grow most of my tomatoes in bottomless 6+ gallon pots (also known as ring culture). It makes for easier watering, weeding, mulching, and staking. Even my biggest peppers sometimes get their own raised bed

Ring culture naga
Click to expand...

Interesting; I didn't know that. Thanks.
I think I'm going to give it a try.
As per Novacastrian I think I'll also put some good soil under the pots since I'll be growing all year round. Cheers.
 
isn't a small container a raised bed of sorts?...same basic characteristics of a closed environment but less unused soil IMO
 
AlabamaJack said:
isn't a small container a raised bed of sorts?...same basic characteristics of a closed environment but less unused soil IMO
Click to expand...

Hmm, yes and no. I never thought of a raised bed as a closed system because there is no "bottom", so the roots weren't restricted.
Wouldn't that mean one wouldn't be dealing with root-bound plants? Y'all grow by seasons for the most part; here I grow 24/7/365 which is the only reason I'm looking at this as a viable way to get the best of "pot/container" growing without the limitations. I did also look at this as a way to minimize the amount of purchased soil I'd have to use.
What do you think?
 
all the raised beds I have made have had a barrier between the bottom and the ground...eliminating weeds and helping hold moisture...my beds are minimum 24" deep...some 30-36"...maybe I have been doing it wrong...

the ring culture that P is talking about is a good way to go if you have good soil below the container I suppose...

my plants right now are getting root bound and sending roots out of the bottom of the container into the soil...at the end of the season, some will be almost impossible to move...
 
AlabamaJack said:
all the raised beds I have made have had a barrier between the bottom and the ground...eliminating weeds and helping hold moisture...my beds are minimum 24" deep...some 30-36"...maybe I have been doing it wrong...

the ring culture that P is talking about is a good way to go if you have good soil below the container I suppose...

my plants right now are getting root bound and sending roots out of the bottom of the container into the soil...at the end of the season, some will be almost impossible to move...
Click to expand...

You raise some interesting points; I need to think this through some more. I'll get back to this tomorrow. Check in and see what you think. Cheers.
 
I'm thinking this ring culture idea is a great one. With my soil I'll have to amend what's under the pots. Would it be smart to put down a weed barrier first? Cut a hole out for the pot so the roots can continue on down. Oh I see a big change coming in how my home is landscaped.

Thanks for the ideas gang.
 
You can lay down a thick layer of newspaper or carboard over the turf which will smother any weeds/grass out and your peppers' roots can still grow down through it. Maybe throw some straw down too...I'm a big fan of straw for moisture retention/weed suppresion.
 
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