Although Magicland Farms has been around for a bit, we are always learning new ways to do things around here. Every year we seem to try something new, maybe a couple of things, and keep those things that work well and discard ideas that didn’t work quite so well.

This year we are really getting into using raised beds. Raised beds are basically strips of soil formed into 3-4 feet wide strips raised above the surrounding soil, usually about 6 inches. A frame around the bed is optional. There are many advantages to raised bed gardening:

1. Eventually soil compaction is a problem with farm ground.  The weight of heavy equipment compresses the soil, making it more difficult for plants to grow because the compacted soil is difficult to penetrate. Raised beds great reduce soil compaction since nothing is able to compact the soil. As a result, the roots develop with greater vigor – growing in a raised bed is like adding tons of compost to the soil.
2. Plants can be placed closer together in raised beds thereby increasing  productivity per square foot of bed as well as reducing weeding when the plants begin to mature. Since the plants are closer together, the canopy formed by the plants inhibits weed growth.
3. It is easier to control soil conditions on smaller raised beds than throughout an entire tract of land.
4. Raised beds tend to drain away excess moisture better than ordinary garden beds. After a day of heavy rain, we cannot often get into the fields because of drainage issues. Imagine how the plants feel! With a raised bed, the plant bed has better drainage allowing the plant to grow in a healthier environment.

Matthew used a few different items in his construction arsenal and came up with an automatic bedmaker. It has been a great help in creating the raised beds.

The vegetables that we are going to grow using the raised beds are: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, melons, sweet potatoes and giant pumpkins. It will be interesting to see how this helps, both in the growing stage and the harvesting stage.

I’ll keep you posted.