Couple Questions about Trellising and Raised Beds

[Seth]

We always plant pickling and a few slicing cucumbers. I'd like to start trellising them up a fence panel so that we don't have to dig them out of the ground. Do you all use a vertical trellis supported by posts or use a triangle or U shaped trellis such as a cattle panel stuck in the ground on each side near the plants?

What type of materials do your build your raised beds out of and what type of layout do you use? I've been doing the traditional tilling and plant method of gardening, but would like to just go with all raised beds and not bother with tilling any more. I'm not really sure what type of layout I should use. I'll post up what we usually plant and maybe you more experienced gardeners can me me some recommendations. We have plenty of space. We currently have a 6x4 and a 10x4 raised bed that we've been using for our peppers and tomatoes. I'd like to do a better job of rotating the crops as well. Some say it doesn't matter for gardening, but I know it definitely wouldn't hurt.

These are the most important to us

8-10 heirloom tomatoes

2 jalapenos peppers

2 sweet bell peppers

10' of cucumbers

2 zucchini

10' of okra

20' of bush beans

Eventually I would like to start doing some broccoli, cauliflower and asparagus but haven't messed with it yet.

Where do you guys get soil for filling the raised beds? I don't have near enough compost for all of the beds at this time. I usually make just enough for the current raised beds and then buy some compost to add to the tilled garden rows.

[Terrierman]

I've made cages out of concrete reinforcing wire. About 3' in diameter and 4' tall. That wire is heavy enough to support the vines just fine and the openings are 6"x6" so easy to see and pick whatever you are growing, be it cucumbers, squash or tomatoes.

[Dutch]

I use livestock panels.

[Terrierman]

I use livestock panels.

I use livestock panels for climbing beans. They work really well too.

[ness]

I'm in the suburbs and have limited space to begin with. Also, I don't have the time or desire to turn the garden into a part-time job. So, I only have 96 square feet of raised bed space, and I use 'Square Foot Gardening' principals which help me get the most out of the small space.

I haven't done cucumbers the last couple years -- there's just other stuff I want more. But when I did, I used a verticle trellis. Here's my setup, and you can see the trellis system at the back of each bed. Sides are all cedar, (2x10) butted together, screwed, and reinforced at each corner with a strap. I've got two 4x4 and two 4x8 beds. It this picture, I was experimenting with growing peas on an angled trellis in front of a verticle trellis of pole beans that would come on later than the peas.

The trellis is just metal electrical conduit, painted to make it look a little better. (It's the 'burbs, you know ). Attached to the sides of the beds with straps so they are easily removable. I string a nylon twine up and over the top bar, then back down through an eye hook at the bottom. I've also used netting, but not the last couple years.

.

I can break these down for storage by removing the sides from the right-angle joint thing.

I've got more straps along the sides so I can add hoops if I need to.

The first year I filled them with 100% dark brown compost that I had trucked in. Since then I've been supplementing it with my own compost and store bought garden soil as needed. That's not the cheapest way to go, but it really pays off for me in a lot of different ways. First, spring prep is a piece of cake. This spring I spent a little time stirring things up with a garden claw -- no clod busting, tilling, etc. Mostly breaking up the crust and working in the compost I added (no new soil this year). After that, I can stick my hand in about 5 inches easily, and dig a little to get to about 10. The plants love it and I can get nice long carrots -- something I'd given up on years ago with heavier-soiled beds or ground. Weeds are easy to pull -- usually two fingers. But the tight spacing and lack of bare rows between plants makes weeds a non-issue for the most part.

Hope this helps.

[Feathers and Fins]

I just got in some of the garden for the year and have more to add later. My cucumbers and Watermelons I have build above ground runs for them

Take a fence post stake and screw a 2x2x8 to each end as the plants grow train them to run the line cucumbers will just hang down but for the Melons you have to put a t-shirt under them and tie them off to the run that is why I use 2x2 to support the weight.

The gardens are all raised and different depths, 10'' for the maters, 16'' for the taters, peppers and watermello/cucumber and 6'' for the rest including herbs.

[jdmidwest]

Mine are pretty simple. I pick up scrap stakes from a local pallet mill and create a wire trellis with some light wire that I found on surplus.

You could do the same with twine or rope. Here is a pic of the trellis with sugar snap peas climbing it. I use the same for pole beans and cucumbers.

[Seth]

Does anybody with raised beds have a plant rotation schedule or just plant in the same area every year? I know with food plotting, it is recommended that crops be rotated to reduce the risk of disease. Is that something that doesn't matter as much in gardening since it's small scale and you usually add fresh compost to the soil every year?

[ness]

I'd say if you've got the room, rotate, but it's not much of an option in my small garden. Soil depletion isn't an issue because it gets amended every year, plus I fertilize. As to disease, well I just don't know. If I keep the plants well-fed and watered, and get right onto problems when they pop up, I have pretty good success. If I get lazy, not so much.

[ness]

Mine are pretty simple. I pick up scrap stakes from a local pallet mill and create a wire trellis with some light wire that I found on surplus.

You could do the same with twine or rope. Here is a pic of the trellis with sugar snap peas climbing it. I use the same for pole beans and cucumbers.

Are those 2015 peas? If so, I'm impressed. If not, well, I'm still pretty impressed