Raised beds for Ohio?

[MamaHawk]

I just posted this in the old forum because I forgot I had both open. Anyway!

My husband has taken an interest in raised beds, and we're thinking of using them as a sort of fence to hedge off our corner lot from the sidewalk. The beds would be in almost total sun, safely from 10-6 at least, and on a hill, meaning (theoretically) they'd not retain water (good and bad). My question is, A: would it be better to do in-ground beds and just fence them off there? B: if we do raised beds, what kind of material (wood, metal, plastic) would you recommend for that kind of exposure?

Thanks!
Hawk

 

[Tetters]

Hello, good to hear from you again . This is an interesting question, and there seem to be lots of things to consider.
The first thing that came to my mind was that if it is on your sidewalk, it would be a temptation to passers by to use raised beds as rubbish bins. It would also be somewhere that passing dogs might well leave a nice pee scent for all the other dogs to copy. Thirdly it would be harder to water, as you have already pointed out - unless you have a good continuous piped system when things dry out. It might also limit what you can successfully grow, as the frosts can penetrate the sides of a raised bed - which, in effect would just be like a big pot.
Oh dear, as I ramble on, it seems that I'm thinking of more minus than plus things so far.
Do you have an idea yet of just what you would like to grow in this space - and would it be possible to post a photo of the area, to make more comments easier?

 

[Anniekay]

I wouldn't want plants so close to a sidewalk and in raised beds, as Tetters said, they'd be susceptible to more frosts and as you said, would dry out quickly. I would plant in ground and go with a fence that lets a bit of air flow through but solid enough that nobody can get to your plants.

 

[Tetters]

At one time, I would have dismissed raised beds altogether, but have since thought more about it. There are situations when they are proven to be a helpful necessity. I learned for example, that in Anniekay's garden, where she lives, the ground is so sandy that it is difficult to grow anything because the nutrients disappear so quickly, and there is no substance in that soil. This is a good point to consider in any piece of ground obviously then. What is your soil like @MamaHawk ?
I like the idea of the trellis fence. That would support a few colourful vines, and maybe a rambling rose.

 

[Meadowlark]

@MamaHawk , maybe the way I do it would interest you. I believe it combines the best of both gardening worlds in the raised bed and ground approaches. I call it raised rows. I also have several Hugenkultur containers (20+) which I use mainly for leafy veggies as they seem to do well in those containers.

My rows are about 2 ft wide +- and raised about 18 inches above level ground. I put them in place with middle busters and an 80 ft raised row takes about 1 minute to build...less if I hurry but why hurry. Many plants, onions for example, I plant as double rows in that raised row space. Others, such as potatoes, go in single and are easily hilled up during the growing season which helps production and quality of the new potato.

Unless you needed a raised bed to avoid bending over, in ground grown is far superior in most veggies. For avoiding bending over, the large HK containers I mentioned are superior to raised beds even IMO. No requirement for any materials in the raised row approach and all the benefits that raised beds provide in drainage.

Typical rows ready for planting:

 

[Tetters]

@MamaHawk , maybe the way I do it would interest you. I believe it combines the best of both gardening worlds in the raised bed and ground approaches. I call it raised rows. I also have several Hugenkultur containers (20+) which I use mainly for leafy veggies as they seem to do well in those containers.

My rows are about 2 ft wide +- and raised about 18 inches above level ground. I put them in place with middle busters and an 80 ft raised row takes about 1 minute to build...less if I hurry but why hurry. Many plants, onions for example, I plant as double rows in that raised row space. Others, such as potatoes, go in single and are easily hilled up during the growing season which helps production and quality of the new potato.

Unless you needed a raised bed to avoid bending over, in ground grown is far superior in most veggies. For avoiding bending over, the large HK containers I mentioned are superior to raised beds even IMO. No requirement for any materials in the raised row approach and all the benefits that raised beds provide in drainage.

Typical rows ready for planting:

View attachment 1703

Don't you think @Meadowlark that you might be missing the point a bit? @MamaHawk is talking about using these beds as a boundary (fence) between her front garden and sidewalk, not especially for the vegetable patch. Growing onions and such would be like an invitation for passers by to help themselves, and wouldn't look particularly ornamental.

 

[Meadowlark]

If the point is ornamental, then yes I missed it and have no interest in it.

If the point is what is the best way (would it be better to do in-ground beds and just fence them off there?) then I answered it to the best of my ability and experience.

Everything grows better in ground, with few exceptions, and raised ground offers many benefits.

 

[MamaHawk]

I call it raised rows.

I actually used this technique when I planted my squash this year! None of my flowers made it, I forgot to water them I think, but the squash did okay even through the issues that arose after.

Thank you all for chiming in! I'll post a picture if I can think to; tomorrow is going to be ridiculous busy....anyway, our corner lot extends out towards the sidewalk, yes, but about two feet from the sidewalk is the slope, leading down from our property to said sidewalk. So, theoretically, no matter which type of bed we pursue, it'll be at the top of the slope, making a bit of a jog upwards for any passerby to get at the beds.

I agree that it's looking like in-ground gardening will be better, though using raised rows and a fence would help as well. The next problem is, in fact, what Tetters was saying, in terms of knowing what to plant. My daughter has a penchant (at least right now) for fresh green beans, so that'll be on the menu next year. Maybe one tomato, because my grandpa grows literal tons of them, maaaayyybe onions, but more likely broccoli and cauliflower, lettuce and spinach, squash again (if they survive), carrots, and ideally melons. Maybe potatoes too, actually, but that's all I can think of for now.

 

[Tetters]

I actually used this technique when I planted my squash this year! None of my flowers made it, I forgot to water them I think, but the squash did okay even through the issues that arose after.

Thank you all for chiming in! I'll post a picture if I can think to; tomorrow is going to be ridiculous busy....anyway, our corner lot extends out towards the sidewalk, yes, but about two feet from the sidewalk is the slope, leading down from our property to said sidewalk. So, theoretically, no matter which type of bed we pursue, it'll be at the top of the slope, making a bit of a jog upwards for any passerby to get at the beds.

I agree that it's looking like in-ground gardening will be better, though using raised rows and a fence would help as well. The next problem is, in fact, what Tetters was saying, in terms of knowing what to plant. My daughter has a penchant (at least right now) for fresh green beans, so that'll be on the menu next year. Maybe one tomato, because my grandpa grows literal tons of them, maaaayyybe onions, but more likely broccoli and cauliflower, lettuce and spinach, squash again (if they survive), carrots, and ideally melons. Maybe potatoes too, actually, but that's all I can think of for now.

Well that bit of information makes @Meadowlark 's comments very valid after all .... and if it's going to be mainly vegetables, it's a whole different story. This is the bit where my knowledge comes to an abrupt halt Whatever is grown there though will need some kind of water supply, unless rainfall is fairly often through the year.

@Meadowlark how do you manage to water in a drought? Is your veggie area self supporting water-wise.

As an aside, in England most of our small front gardens in built up areas are for ornamental purposes, while the veggies are destined for the back garden. Many towns and cities have terraced houses which don't offer very much space at all. Like this !

 

[Meadowlark]

@Meadowlark how do you manage to water in a drought? Is your veggie area self supporting water-wise.

In my climate @Tetters too much water is generally the norm rather than not enough. Raised rows are a necessity here because of that.

This fall has been unusually dry, extreme with no precipitation since late August. I do have a sprinkler system for those times and have relied on it this fall. As mentioned before, I do capture several hundred gallons of rain water but that completely ran out this time. I really prefer rain water for the gardens, but sometimes that just isn't available.

By the way...raining today and I'm most grateful!!