Garden beds raised up off of the ground?

[RichnSteph]

The wife and I would like to build our garden beds up off the ground a little bit. We were thinking that a bed made of 2x12's would have enough soil for good plant growth and if we only have it so that the top is 2' from the ground we'd still be able to reach the plants (without bending over) and there would be room underneath for the chickens to hunt for bugs and hide from air borne predators. I think I can just floor the boxes with plywood and drill holes in it for drainage (yes I know I'll have to replace it every couple of years).

Thoughts? Good idea bad idea?

Thank you for your time.
RichnSteph

 

[clucknbell]

Fresh chicken poop is high in nitrogen and needs to compost for abt 4 to 6 months, preferably with straw ormpine shavingsmto help balance it. Fresh poo will burn crops, with the exception being rabbit poo. That one can be put on immediately and will not burn due to nitrogen content. Be careful to not add too much or you will encourage more leafing than actual veggies. Too much of a good thing isnt always better.

 

[DurhamDuck]

I remember reading about this a while ago. Some searching and I found the article again.

http://www.countrysidemag.com/94-5/gardening_is_easier_with_tables_and_tanks/

 

[lularat]

I have raised beds, but not on stands. I first broke up the soil and chopped it prior to putting my bed on it. Then i filled the beds up with garden soil, some peat moss, added a little chicken compost, then mixed it well. I have 4 beds that are 4' x 4' and approximately 10" high. The 10" is fine since I turned the soil beneath the beds first so they would have more depth. I have some very nice cabbage, onions, tomatoes, and potatoes growing now and plan on some more beds later on.

 

[MEMama3]

Thanks for the shout out @clucknbell! That's one of my more popular posts. I was thrilled to see it made its way to BYC

 

[iwiw60]

Sounds a tad "risky" to me...the sheer weight of all that soil would most probably collapse, and then....

there goes the chickens..eek!!

 

[RichnSteph]

We weren't planning on making anything huge. A couple 2'x2'x12" for squash and zucchini and some 1'x8'x12" longer ones for other tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic, beans, peas, ect.

I'll see if I can find some pictures somewhere of what we have in mind. I'm sure someone has tried it.

 

[JSossong]

Our family garden is 6 raised beds. They were setup just on top of the ground- no space between the actual beds and the dirt beneath it. Each bed we fill with well composted soil, manure of sorts and peat moss. We've had really great success with ours. They don't seem to be as high from the ground as what you're describing though- we still have to bend down to get to them. It also makes things feel more organized in the garden. The entire area is fenced in since our garden is next to a corn field and we tend to get a lot of pests.

 

[RichnSteph]

Having an organized garden is part of the reason we are going with raised beds. *laugh* My grandmother has a huge garden every year but about 4 months into it it's a nightmare to get into to harvest, she believes in the "let it grow wild" theory of gardening. My wife and I on the other hand have got a touch of the OCD and just hate a mess in the produce plot. I did find some pictures online of raised beds built up on 4x4 posts with a 18" of clearance between the bottom and the earth beneath it. They look pretty stable.

 

[JSossong]

I think it's a great idea! Go for it! My only advice would be to make sure the beds are deep enough for whatever you want to grow and their roots, etc. We don't have any problems since the earth is beneath ours. But sometimes our carrots get funny.