First time SFGardener - questioning the questioners

We built 12" deep beds because it's hot and dry where we live and we figured they'd retain moisture better. The actual soil in them is probably 10" deep.

They're 4x4, but I think we'll expand them to 4x8s by adding 3 more sections of wood to each end (U shape); however I don't think we'll go 12" for those. Probably 8". Anything that needs to get planted deep can go in the deeper, upper part of the bed.

I should add I am also growing a pumpkin, a zucchini, and strawberries in 6" deep plastic cement mixing tubs and they seem to be doing okay!

GWN wrote:I have a question about the settling effect.
Mine started at a good 6 inches and settled to about 4 inches after a month or so.
What I have done with all the beds is to cover dress them with compost and now everything is doing well.
I gather I should have used more mels mix, but I have about a hundred SF of mels mix now and no where to get more vermiculite (have bought up all the locals)

I just add homemade compost to the top and that will be incorporated into the mix at the end of the season. There is no reason to use more MM to top off.

That is good to know. My beds are settling even though I planned for some sttling and did the watering as I went thing. I do have compost to add in - which I will do if it gets any lower.

GWN wrote:I have a question about the settling effect.
Mine started at a good 6 inches and settled to about 4 inches after a month or so.
What I have done with all the beds is to cover dress them with compost and now everything is doing well.
I gather I should have used more mels mix, but I have about a hundred SF of mels mix now and no where to get more vermiculite (have bought up all the locals)

Do you recall in the 2005 ANSFG book that Mel suggested to use neat compost if vermiculite and peat were unobtainable ?



What you have done should be 101 % OK as it will still be very fiberous , absorb water and have air ways ..it might end up a miniscule denser / heavier to work with but I doubt you'll notice it so long as your compost does not contain any mother earth soil , clay or sands etc..

IE .

Your compost is made up from just carbons and nitrogenous materials that have at some time been alive and growing .

ramarks wrote:That is good to know. My beds are settling even though I planned for some sttling and did the watering as I went thing. I do have compost to add in - which I will do if it gets any lower.

Re your earlier posts if the MM was too deep you would not be able to turn it over to aireate it and it would over the years tend to from a slab of much denser material , roots would tend to dislike to try and penetrate it so you'd have stunted crops if it mattered about having tap roots either for water , nutrition or anchors .

My veg beds are recently converted to MM & I have a good 10 inches of MM in them , Some are 18 inches deep and I can push my hand & arm in so it goes down to almost my elbow in these beds .

Yet ... so far I've found it is only the carrots and parsnips that have decided to go down that far. Most other things are just a mass if fine capillary root balls without any hint of tap root as they can get all the nolurishment and water they need without going deeper.

My biggest surprise a few days ago was when taking out June 2011 planted broccoli by hand & gently pulling on them , was finding a massive ball of fine capillairy roots some ten inches across on each plant and it all coming clean when knocked gently with a trowel . Had they been in my old soil based gardens I'd have struggled to lift the plants without the use of a strong spade or fork . The same applied to the other brassicas I have also taken out .

My problem with my ANSFG book is that I bought in Kindle version and find it hard to figure out how to look things up, I am new to kindle
So far I have only read novels and books that you like to go back and refer to things is harder, or at least I have not figured out how to do i t.

I'm not a kindle wiz, but I believe you can set bookmarks in your books. That may help...

GWN wrote:My problem with my ANSFG book is that I bought in Kindle version and find it hard to figure out how to look things up, I am new to kindle
So far I have only read novels and books that you like to go back and refer to things is harder, or at least I have not figured out how to do i t.

This works for most of the books I have on Kindle

rh click to get to list of books etc

click on big centre btton to select a book , double click the big button and it gets you to the index on some books look carefully here and there is often a reference search /display . select it and walk through to your word /area contents selction

Right side lower button ..page advance button take you through alphabetically listed contents .





" Kindle skills from the desk of candy O'Neal " by Candy O'Neal was a freebie Kindle ebook several months ago . I down loaded it to my Kindle ...it helped me no end .