Welcome from Portland Oregon

greenportland 3/7/2010, 3:59 am

Hello Friends,
Glad to know about this forum!
I have two raised boxes that I built two years ago... had some nice leeks and tomatoes last year... working to convert them to square foot... any ideas how to get the old soil out and the new soil in?

Lavender Debs 3/7/2010, 8:31 am

Good morning Green! Just how big are these raised gardens? I would think that if they were not too large you could just lift the frame off. Otherwise it is going to be the #2 shovel and the wheelbarrow.

Still eating leeks?

Deborah ....getting dirty in Everett, Washington

boffer 3/7/2010, 10:20 am

Well almost! It was kinda lonely here in the wet side of the PNW until Deb showed up. Glad to have another person who rusts, rather than tans, aboard! Actually, Rick, in Vancouver, WA was starting to post in the old forum, but I haven't seen him since the transition. I answered your question in your other post. Would love to see pictures if you can.
Be sure to holler if you have more questions.

**mckr3441** 3/7/2010, 8:19 pm

Hey there! Welcome aboard. I'm from the tan-when-you-get-out-of-the-long-underwear side of the country! But I still love gardening. Especially SFG, which is now the only way to garden in my mind!

My best thought about emptying those boxes you have would be to start over as Deb suggested. However, if they are deep boxes, you may be able to empty just the top six inches (still a lot of work) then put down cardboard and weedcloth. Add the new soil on top. Had you thought of that?

Keep coming back to the forums. We have a lot of fun here and occasionally we even learn something! Welcome from Portland Oregon Icon_smile

gardening_.oncepts 3/17/2010, 12:24 am

Just a thought..why are you wanting to remove your soil? Compost right in your bed, much less back breaking work! We have been trying to Lasagna Compost(layering your compostable material) in our beds...the plus is that it also warms your bed up more so your seeds respond by popping up their heads quicker Welcome from Portland Oregon Icon_idea

! Its still chilly here on the coast of Oregon...and we were going to try to make a cloche and place our seed trays on our "composted bed" and see how much quicker the seeds pop up, starting some in the unheated greenhouse at the same time..and see who pops up their heads first..will be fun to see what happens. Welcome from Portland Oregon Icon_wink

**WardinWake** 3/17/2010, 6:39 pm

gardening_.oncepts wrote:Just a thought..why are you wanting to remove your soil? Compost right in your bed, much less back breaking work! We have been trying to Lasagna Compost(layering your compostable material) in our beds...the plus is that it also warms your bed up more so your seeds respond by popping up their heads quicker ! Its still chilly here on the coast of Oregon...and we were going to try to make a cloche and place our seed trays on our "composted bed" and see how much quicker the seeds pop up, starting some in the unheated greenhouse at the same time..and see who pops up their heads first..will be fun to see what happens.

Howdy: .oncepts: If I read your post correctly you are putting incomplete compost in your garden in hopes of it providing some heat. Humm... For compost to get hot it must be of sufficient mass. Mel recommends a pile of at least 3'x3'x3' to have a hot compost pile. Also as composting material continues to compost it draws nitrogen from the surrounding soil until it is completely composted and then it will release the nitrogen back into the soil (or mix). I tried it last year in 2 of my boxes with poor results. If you have had a different experience with the method you described please let me and the other forum members know. Always looking to learn.

God Bless, Ward.

gardening_.oncepts 3/17/2010, 10:52 pm

Hi Ward: The box we are trying this in is 1' tall and 4' x 6'...we had some pumpkins come up earlier in the year when the heat in the box got to their 60 degrees they like to germinate..and we have had two frosts since then that also took them out! We are still in process...so it will be fun to see what happens..sunny here for the next four days so there will be gardening done! Always trying something new to mix it up a bit..learning this gardening stuff never quits!
Thanks!
Darlene
Howdy: .oncepts: If I read your post correctly you are putting incomplete compost in your garden in hopes of it providing some heat. Humm... For compost to get hot it must be of sufficient mass. Mel recommends a pile of at least 3'x3'x3' to have a hot compost pile. Also as composting material continues to compost it draws nitrogen from the surrounding soil until it is completely composted and then it will release the nitrogen back into the soil (or mix). I tried it last year in 2 of my boxes with poor results. If you have had a different experience with the method you described please let me and the other forum members know. Always looking to learn.

God Bless, Ward.[/quote]

Sponsored content

Welcome from Portland Oregon

Welcome from Portland Oregon

Re: Welcome from Portland Oregon

Good Morning, neighbor!

Re: Welcome from Portland Oregon

Removing soil from raised bed

gardening_.oncepts

Lasagna Compost in boxes

Re: Welcome from Portland Oregon


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.