Just wondering what experiences everyone has had with growing their peppers in raised beds. I have been throwing the idea around in my head today. I have plenty of building materials from an old barn on our property that collapsed. I am thinking it would be good after the wet growing season we had last year. My okra was in standing water from time to time.. The pepper garden is going to be separate from the other garden but in the same general area. So any thoughts on the subject of raised bed gardening for peppers would be greatly appreciated!
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raised-bed Opinions and experiences with raised beds
- Thread starter Pepperjack91
- Start date
Don't even think about it, simply do it! I have had amazing results in raised beds for many reasons. Very easy to have perfect soil and keep from worrying about drainage issues. I have a few I use, 2 squarefoot gardens, one is 4 x 4, one is 8 x 4 and another raised bed is 20 x 3.
Mine is gonna be pretty big if I do it. I haven't decided on dimensions yet but I'm gonna have like 50 plants probably.. It will be a good day or two's work for sure
Overall though, it worked well, and it was easier to control weeds and such.I live on the best piece of hunting land in our county. Deer everywhere. Believe it or not, they don't usually touch our garden. Idk why. Maybe we have been lucky thus far.
Turkey as well
Turkey as well
Looks like I am going to Tennessee next season! They make great natural repellent for deer but if needs my Thompson Center can fix the issue.Pepperjack91 said:
Come on down!
Yeah I may very well kill one out of season if I catch it in the peppers. I'd be PISSED.
Yeah I may very well kill one out of season if I catch it in the peppers. I'd be PISSED.
I would take precautions for sure, they can mow down all the tops in minutes.Pepperjack91 said:
Your beds look great, Penny! They are tall. I think mine may only be about half that heightPenny said:LOVE my raised beds, go and have a peek in my glog.
Good luck
Your yard is nice in general. I appreciate good landscaping
For my area: pots > raised beds > in ground for peppers
Raised beds are mandatory here, but pots are the best. Every year, my peppers in the beds don't get as big as the same species in pots. I think temperature is a huge factor. Peppers love warm roots and we typically don't get very hot summers. Interestingly, the results are completely opposite for most of my other vegetables (eg, tomatoes do way better in the beds than pots). I think it's because they prefer slightly cooler soil.
Raised beds are mandatory here, but pots are the best. Every year, my peppers in the beds don't get as big as the same species in pots. I think temperature is a huge factor. Peppers love warm roots and we typically don't get very hot summers. Interestingly, the results are completely opposite for most of my other vegetables (eg, tomatoes do way better in the beds than pots). I think it's because they prefer slightly cooler soil.
Soil where I'm at is pretty heavy clay - hold water, etc - similar to what you spoke of. I put in raised beds and that isn't a problem any longer.
Tips: Keep your width manageable. Anything more than about 6 feet wide will be tough to reach interior plants. I have four 4 x 10 beds and four 6 x 6 beds that I put in one year after the original 4 x 10s. In hindsight I should've made them all 4 x 10 (or 20 or 30 you get my drift). The beds are made of 2" x 12" cedar planks (untreated) and don't use any pressure treated or water resistant lumber - else the plants you're growing will take up some of that chemical funk that's in the wood. You said you've got old barnwood which should be perfect unless it was previously sprayed with oil or whatever.
Make sure the dirt you're adding to the beds once built is a good mix of earth/sand/compost. Most nurseries will have this for you. Took me about 2-3 yards of dirt to fill the original four 4 x 10 beds.
Raised beds heat up faster than normal ground in the spring, and you can use mulch to speed the process and keep weeds down.
You've got the wood and you have problems with drainage. Raised beds makes perfect sense and will significantly improve your garden next year. Best of luck!
Tips: Keep your width manageable. Anything more than about 6 feet wide will be tough to reach interior plants. I have four 4 x 10 beds and four 6 x 6 beds that I put in one year after the original 4 x 10s. In hindsight I should've made them all 4 x 10 (or 20 or 30 you get my drift). The beds are made of 2" x 12" cedar planks (untreated) and don't use any pressure treated or water resistant lumber - else the plants you're growing will take up some of that chemical funk that's in the wood. You said you've got old barnwood which should be perfect unless it was previously sprayed with oil or whatever.
Make sure the dirt you're adding to the beds once built is a good mix of earth/sand/compost. Most nurseries will have this for you. Took me about 2-3 yards of dirt to fill the original four 4 x 10 beds.
Raised beds heat up faster than normal ground in the spring, and you can use mulch to speed the process and keep weeds down.
You've got the wood and you have problems with drainage. Raised beds makes perfect sense and will significantly improve your garden next year. Best of luck!
SmokenFire, I do have barnwood and I also have these cedar posts. Those are what I was thinking about using. And that is a good point about them not being wide. I was thinking of just a rectangle shape but you have given me a better idea. I'm gonna draw something up and see what yall think
This is the kinda shape i am thinking of now. Very quickly drawn obviously. lol I could walk into it and all around it. maybe 2 plants wide??
This is the kinda shape i am thinking of now. Very quickly drawn obviously. lol I could walk into it and all around it. maybe 2 plants wide??
I'm going to try raised beds this year as well. My primary concern is to make sure the soil stays warm, since I'm up in Seattle and the temps at night can get in the 50's.
My plan is to use thinner wood than normal for raised beds, probably 1" planks. It should allow for faster heat to transfer into the soil than thicker 2" or 4" walls. I also am going to wrap the outside of the bed in black plastic to (hopefully) increase heat radiation to the soil. The last thing I'm planning on trying to help with heat retention in the soil is 2 liter bottles of water buried 2/3 in the soil. I've read the water in the bottles warm up during the day, and at night will radiate the retained heat back into the soil as the atmosphere temperature drops.
My plan is to use thinner wood than normal for raised beds, probably 1" planks. It should allow for faster heat to transfer into the soil than thicker 2" or 4" walls. I also am going to wrap the outside of the bed in black plastic to (hopefully) increase heat radiation to the soil. The last thing I'm planning on trying to help with heat retention in the soil is 2 liter bottles of water buried 2/3 in the soil. I've read the water in the bottles warm up during the day, and at night will radiate the retained heat back into the soil as the atmosphere temperature drops.
Last season I did all my peppers in 3 and 5 gallon container. Everything else I grew was in 2 6x4 and 1 5x1 raised beds. I like the beds although I need to move them around a bit to suit my garden area. I am still up in the air what to do with my peppers this year. My beds are only 10" deep. I am thinking about making them deeper by another 4 - 6 inches. I also plan to build another bed or two out of locust wood and go up to 20" on those.
How deep are everyone your beds?
How deep are everyone your beds?
My beds do not have bottoms and sit on soil so the roots can do as they wish. As for the border wall, sqftg = 10 and 20 x 3 = 18 inches to 2 feet tallHusker21 said:
JoynersHotPeppers said:
+1 everything Chris said.
If you've got a couple minutes to watch, the first 3 or 4 minutes of this video show some nice 7 Pot Yellow and NagaBrain plants growing in my 4-year old raised beds. The results speak for themselves:
That's an interesting concept...turbo said:
The water bottles that is
The plants do look good.windchicken said: