September is a great month for building framed beds to grow cool-season vegetables like lettuce and broccoli. Framed, or raised, beds are ideal for vegetables because they allow you to control the soil quality, don’t require much digging and make it easy to care for plants. Here are five tips to get you started.
1. building the frames
Size your beds so that you can reach the center easily without stepping into the bed. A soil depth of 10 to 20 inches will grow most garden plants. And there are plenty of choices in material for framing: cement blocks or stones offer longevity; naturally moisture-resistant wood (sustainably harvested cypress or cedar and plain pine boards) is long lasting.
2. good soil, the secret to success
One of the biggest mistakes people make in the garden is planting in poor soil. Healthy soil equals happy, productive, low-maintenance plants. Fill your bed with a blend of half garden soil, one-quarter well-rotted manure and one-quarter compost or humus.
3.make watering easy
Vegetable gardens need constant moisture to be productive. This task can quickly become a chore if you don’t set up a system that’s easy to manage. There are many DIY drip irrigation options that are super-simple to install. Add a timer to the faucet, and you take all the work out of watering. Remember to mulch, mulch, mulch to conserve moisture once your soil has sufficiently warmed.
4.insects and wildlife love vegetables, too
Simple chicken wire covers over hoops can keep bunnies from nibbling on your lettuce and the neighbor’s cat from using it as a litter box. Add an insect row cover to keep insects and moths from laying eggs that hatch into hornworms, cabbage worms and squash bugs.
5.extend the growing season
Small ‘hoop-houses’ made with concrete reinforcing wire or pvc hoops and covered with a sheet of plastic or a frost blanket will warm beds in early spring, protect plants from late spring frosts, and as the seasons turn toward winter, allow a final late harvest after the first fall frost.
[P. Allen Smith, host of two public television programs, is an award-winning designer and gardening expert. He is the author of several books, including his Seasonal Recipes from the Garden.]
