Back to Gardening Chapter 4, Design - Part B: Paths and Beds (cont'd)

In this section of Chapter 4 I review some options for garden bed design.

Back to Gardening Chapter 4, Design - Part B: Paths & Beds

In the previous installment of this part of Chapter 4 I discussed the usefulness of defined paths and a garden, and some options for materials that can be used to make them. Now it’s time to cover the spaces in between the paths where all the action happens - otherwise called beds!

Defined Beds

As mention earlier, the most basic garden of all has rows of vegetables, and paths in between that need to be constantly hoed to control weeds. By contrast, using a network of paths and beds, where the paths are covered with something that suppresses weeds, and the beds are clearly defined with borders, can do a great deal to decrease the work involved in maintaining a garden. Using defined beds also helps to decrease soil compaction, because by defining the beds as separate from the paths, one is inclined to only stand/crouch/kneel in the paths, so the soil in the beds tends to get left alone. Using defined beds can also increase productivity by increasing the ratio of bed space to path space, such that more of the garden space is devoted to growing than walking. For instance, in my garden, I like to have 2’ wide paths (in general); and beds that are either 4’x8’, or 4’x10’, or 8’x8’. As a general rule, the larger and more square the bed, the better it is in terms of how many square feet are made available for gardening. At the same time, the dimensions affect ease of access, because it is easy to reach the middle of a 3’ or 4’ bed while kneeling in the pathway; whereas this is impossible with a 8’x8’ bed. As a result - I only plant low-maintenance vegetables (e.g. potatoes, squash) in the 8’x8’ beds; whereas the high maintenance plants that need regular harvesting, pruning, training, weeding and pest control go in the narrow beds.

Raised vs Grade

A quick internet search will yield up an long list of reasons for why raised beds are better than beds at grade. Suffice it to say, the list is too long to address here in this chapter, so instead, I’ll keep it simple. The great thing about raised beds is that they solve drainage issues, they can be used to solve access issues for those with mobility problems, and they look nice. The catch with raised beds is that due to gravity and physics, the higher they are built, the less able they are at hanging on to water, so they need to be watered more often. They also cost more money to make the higher they are built, and additional soil needs to be brought in to fill them, which can further increase costs (unless using the hügelkultur method discussed below).

This sort of bed - while ideal for someone with mobility issues - will need constant watering to maintain ideal moisture levels in the soil.

By contrast, growing at grade tends to require less watering, uses the existing soil, and almost any material can be used to define them, making them cheaper to make - but of course, for areas (like mine) with a lot of rain, the soil can get a bit too wet sometimes when growing at grade, and this might compromise the health of some plants.

For me, the happy medium is slightly raised beds, where the soil is about 3” or 4” above grade. The simplest example of this would be a 4’x8’ bed made from 2”x6” lumber. These are cheaper to build than higher beds, require less soil to fill, and they solve the drainage problem without causing a watering problem. The only drawback is that