Roots and Onions

Bud Alexis Sat Jan 12, 2013 9:41 pm

I emptied out one of my raised beds and, WOW, I couldn't believe all the roots that have poked up thru the bottom shield layer. What to do.
On another matter, I have a lot of multiplying onions, so I want to replant them in another bed. They are clustered, so I want to divide them into singles. They still have mostly green tops in spite of the freezes we have had and will be getting some more of next week. Is this a bad time to replant?

Pollinator Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:01 pm

I have the same problem with one of my raised beds, which have no bottom. My neighbor has a huge pine tree about 20 feet from the bed, and it is putting up roots into the bed. Last year I wondered why stuff did a lot poorer in this bed, then this year I put in sweet potatoes in the same bed.

Now I don't normally till my beds, but you pretty much have to do it to harvest your sweet 'taters. And I encountered almost impenetrable mats of wood roots.

I can't complain, because the 'taters did fairly well. But I was much more attentive about giving them chicken manure. It's just a shame that so much much of that fertilizer went to the pine tree thief, instead of my crop.

I have just about decided to close out that bed. I'm going to do one new one somewhere this year that will compensate, and I plan to do the SFG method on the new one, to see if it will help with tomato disease.

littlejo Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:09 pm

Hi Bud, I'd try some cardboard and some newspaper. The newspaper will supposedly help keep bugs away, and they both will help with worms.

As far as the onions, different rules apply in the south. If they are still green, then replant now. Even my Egyptian walking onions are still green, all the tops are gone but the stems are still green.
I don't have any multiplier onions, but plan on getting some this yr.
Jo

littlejo Sat Jan 12, 2013 11:14 pm

Bud Alexis wrote:I emptied out one of my raised beds and, WOW, I couldn't believe all the roots that have poked up thru the bottom shield layer. What to do.
On another matter, I have a lot of multiplying onions, so I want to replant them in another bed. They are clustered, so I want to divide them into singles. They still have mostly green tops in spite of the freezes we have had and will be getting some more of next week. Is this a bad time to replant?

Pollinater, The sw. potatoes love the pine roots, for they love the acid, and they are thankful that the tree roots took up the manure, for they do not like being fertilized. Smile

Jo

**camprn** Sun Jan 13, 2013 8:29 am

Pollinator wrote:I have the same problem with one of my raised beds, which have no bottom. My neighbor has a huge pine tree about 20 feet from the bed, and it is putting up roots into the bed. Last year I wondered why stuff did a lot poorer in this bed, then this year I put in sweet potatoes in the same bed.

Now I don't normally till my beds, but you pretty much have to do it to harvest your sweet 'taters. And I encountered almost impenetrable mats of wood roots.

I can't complain, because the 'taters did fairly well. But I was much more attentive about giving them chicken manure. It's just a shame that so much much of that fertilizer went to the pine tree thief, instead of my crop.

I have had some serious problems with tree root hairs infiltrating a few of my beds the past few years, to the point of choking the roots of the vegetables. After digging out the beds of the noxious roots the past two years I have decided I must raise the beds off the native soil. So I plan to dig out the invading roots again, build new boxes with solid or wire mesh bottoms and raise the up about an inch or two. A big project, but I am not going to keep digging out roots every year.

Pollinator wrote:I have just about decided to close out that bed. I'm going to do one new one somewhere this year that will compensate, and I plan to do the SFG method on the new one, to see if it will help with tomato disease.

Do you know which tomato disease you are battling?

bnoles Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:14 am

One problem I see with raising the bed only a few inches off the ground is what you are inviting to live under it in that small space. Around here snakes would love to find such a valuable hiding place as well as rats, etc. I think if I were going to raise the bed off the ground I would go ahead and raise it to table top high and get the benefit of not having to get down on hands and knees or bending and stretching to work your garden.

**camprn** Sun Jan 13, 2013 9:35 am

bnoles wrote:One problem I see with raising the bed only a few inches off the ground is what you are inviting to live under it in that small space. Around here snakes would love to find such a valuable hiding place as well as rats, etc. I think if I were going to raise the bed off the ground I would go ahead and raise it to table top high and get the benefit of not having to get down on hands and knees or bending and stretching to work your garden.

I was addressing the question at hand, about infiltrating roots. Of course the gardener must take into account the conditions in the yard. I just want to separate the growing bed from the root systems found in the native soil underneath. For me, I am challenged by the fact that I have limited carpentry skills, level ground and money, so I will raise the beds only a few inches. I am always glad to have garter snakes in my garden as they hunt up undesirable critters.

CindiLou Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:10 am

camprn wrote:I am always glad to have garter snakes in my garden as they hunt up undesirable critters.

Yup, I can handle the garter snakes. NOT the rats! I think if it was a low height the worse you would get is snakes, they would not let anything else near! Humm, but maybe skunks, you might get them! GGGrrrr on second thought, yup, I would raise it up or put it on the ground! Just my 2 cents worth rofl

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