 Good morning. I'm David Kuhn. I'm a regional extension agent with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System and as part of our grow more give more Series today. We're going to talk about raised bed gardening What is raised bed gardening? Well simply as a form of gardening which the soil is formed in a three to four foot bed Which can vary in length or shape the soil is raised above the surrounding soil Approximately six inches to waist high sometimes enclosed by a frame generally made of wood rock or concrete blocks And we're going to enrich that soil with compost and generally what why we're doing a raised bed So we're trying to change the soil make up So that it drains better and it's a better growing Media for what we're trying to grow or simply use the space we have better Again, it maximizes the available space is convenient option in areas with limited space or Areas with poor rocky soil or sloped range We can take up an area that's a drainage problem and create some raised beds and make it an attractive part of our landscape Being able to use it all while preventing that erosion problem It uses high quality soil mixes with large amounts of organic matter something lacking in our normal soils And may increase yields Some other advantages soil above ground tends to drain better and warms up faster in the spring And it allows for a little faster seed germination and transplant growth Higher soil levels and improve soil quality Equal better access and less maintenance much easier to harvest We can grow a little bit more in it because we can plant it a little little denser And result in a little higher production per square foot We can also have a little better control over weed seed germination It can be entered and maintained soon after a rain Or irrigation without compacting the soil because we're not walking on it. It doesn't have to be all the way drained And once it's rained we can immediately get back out there and work in it because again We're just simply reaching into the bed. We're not walking around in the bed And they can be an attractive addition to your landscape something to be proud of and that Can be a focal point in your Some disadvantages raised beds do tend to dry out a little more quickly in the hot summer months As we talk dimensions If you're growing throughout the summer months, I would make my bed a little deeper than if I'm just growing a spring or a fall garden Frame and soil can be a little expensive and hard hard labor intensive to create limited crop rotation Means we're growing some of the same crops in the same area. So we can't increase Disease pressure at times. So sanitation is important as we go through our raised beds In click and increase plant density also means we're creating a little bit of a smorgasbord sometimes for our insect pressure It's all in one place And and can lead to insects congregating or disease Starting faster And it's not well suited for some of our sprawling larger sprawling vegetables like watermelons and sweet potatoes Dimensions height usually a minimum of 8 to 12 inches is needed for proper root development And again, if we're growing summer vegetables, I would make sure I grow I create my bed a little deeper On the 12 inch side and if we're just doing fall in spring Gardens the six to eight inches is perfectly fine With four feet about ideal what we're trying to do is create something we can reach at least halfway across So we don't have to enter that raised bed to do maintenance planning or or anything else in our garden And length can be as long or as short as you want it four feet to 12 feet. Any anywhere in there works fine So when we're constructing a raised bed We simply need a couple of things a frame to hold the soil and a growing media pretty pretty city is Elaborate as you'd like or simply Without a frame. We're creating a raised area or mounting a bed that we're going to plan in Pressure treated lumber and planks. We always get questions about safety of pressure treated lumber and Today's pressure treated lumber is perfectly fine to grow vegetables in the older Pressure treated lumber from 30 or 40 years ago had arsenic in it So we don't want to use that if you have any old pressure treated wood But today's pressure treated wood new pressure treated wood is fine to use for your raised beds Lots of different options landscape timbers rocks railroad ties stone old tires retaining wall block Any anything that's creative that you want to use is perfectly fine as we get more elaborate the cost increases. So Pressure treated planks. You can get the frame material for about 25 to 38 dollars depending on the size You can go all the way up to 300 dollars if you're using block or stone type walls Growing media topsoil is best Yeah And we need to make sure we amend that topsoil for putting in there try to stay away from using the native soil That's part of the reason we're putting in bed in most times is to change the soil make up to make it better for growing We're going to add some soil conditioner some fine parm pine bark mulch or something to it some compost or humus Mushroom compost works wonderfully Add some peat moss in is fine. Make sure you moisten that peat moss before you Incorporate it into the soil. It has a hard time getting wet if you put it in there extremely dry Composted manures are fine Be be cautious on putting too much in and also be cautious about what you're bringing in with that composted manures You know animals eat seeds and they tend to come out in the waste So if you're concerned about some of your composted manures You can simply put some of those in a planting flat water them set them out in the sun and wait a week or two and see what they germinate Pre-packed mixes are fine and typically are a neutral pH when you get them But they are a little more expensive As we talked about expense soil media expenses, you know simple bulk topsoil runs about 75 cents a Cubic foot all the way up to peat moss at five dollars a bag so Again, you can be as frugal or as elaborate as you want in your growing material But we're just trying to create a good rich growing media when we install that bed Total expenses you can go anywhere from $270 all the way up to $500 just depending on what you choose to add to your bed Installation typically we would like to rough up the ground with a shovel or a tiller up under that bed to ensure proper drainage Don't add plastic or other barriers on the ground to serve as a bottom of the frame a lot of times We create a bathtub effect that holds too much moisture and we have some root rot problems if we do that Place or build the frame on the selected site level the frame Large witch crews are recommended over nails and another trick when you buy if you're using lumber buy your lumber right before you're going to construct your bed if you buy that treated lumber a Month or two ahead and let it sit out in the sun and it dries it becomes much harder and much more difficult to get those screws throw Through so wait till right before you're going to buy that bed It tends to be a little greener a little softer and easier to build You want to add your new growing media to complete the frame mix in additional amendments is needed Again adding native soil is is usually not recommended because it duplicates some of the problems. We're trying to get rid of At that site poor soil drainage or her nematode or soil diseases And it kind of defeats the purpose of building a raised bed When we're adding our soil we want to add in about a half a cup of Dolometric limestone per cubic foot of growing media and what we're trying to do is just raise the pH Generally most of our soils here in the south or or sit it because of the amount of rain we have So adding a half cup per cubic foot helps us Combat that when we're building our beds And it's much easier to change that soil pH as we're adding the soil instead of from the top putting it on after So we're going to add it and mix it in good with the with the soil Planning techniques a lot of different options for those raised beds a typical four by four bed With 12 inch spacings and you plant 16 potatoes or 16 Larger vegetables like squash or tomatoes use a little more space. So you you as you get a larger vegetable you Reduce the number that can be planted in that bed and Conversely when you go smaller you get more in that bed and it doesn't have to be All the so you can change those around so you have two tomatoes a couple of squash And some smaller vegetables in there also Thank you for being with us today. And as always if you have further questions you can call the Horticulture and home grounds master gardener helpline at 877-252-4769 Happy gardening