Introduction

Good bed location and preparation lay the foundation for a successful future. They need to be sited such as to maximise the available natural resources:

1. sunlight: this is the most important factor in growing vegetables
2. land aspect: the growing area is best with a slight slope angled towards the sun - this allows water to run off and maximises the available light
3. wind: ideally the are needs to be protected from strong winds. This can be achieved by erecting a suitable wind break from cloth or growing a shelter belt of trees
4. water: vegetables need water to thrive, but unlike sunlight water can be moved to where it is needed
5. soil: needs to be fertile, although there have been many successful operations built on less than optimal soil. It is possible to remediate poor soil with compost so that growing becomes possible.
6. frost-free: if possible, although planting a low belt of trees in a V formation on the upslope side might help.

By reducing the weed pressure as much as possible right from the start more time can be spent on the actual growing.

Bed location

Permaculture design suggests that the garden beds are in Zone 2 i.e. they will receive regular attention and need to be close to the residence. They ideally need to be in an area that receives full sun for as much of the day as possible.

Check out permaculture design principle for more detail of how to select the best area.

How to turn a paddock into a growing area.

There are many ways to do this

• no-dig promoted by Charles Dowding and the regenerative movement
• double digging, considered by many to be the quickest way to increase the depth of topsoil,
• broadforking, another way of loosening the soil without doing too much damage to the soil structure.
• Occultationm where you cover with a light proof silage cover (polyethelene NOT PVC as this leaches nasty gasses and substances) and let the worms do their thing. This can take a couple of months and best to do in autumn in time for spring planting)

If you have time and energy then these methods will work but if you want to get started quickly then there is also the following:

1. Mark out the boundary of the garden with four posts - Y posts are best but untreated 2x4 are also fine, just bash them in one at each corner.
2. Scalp the grass as close as you can using a mower. A flail mower is ideal as it creates a nice mulch as well. Repeat this a few times over a couple of weeks until the grass is looking decidedly ill. By scalping the grass you are killing the roots, meaning there is less to grow back.
3. Use a rotary hoe to lightly till the top few centimetres over the entire garden. The idea is to pluck out as much of the grass as possible and lay it on the surface for the weather to finish killing it. Run the hoe at half speed so as to not to pulverise the soil. This works best in summer
4. Mark out the beds and alleys and rotavate the beds, this time at a deeper depth (just above the clay layer) to bring up more deeply rooted weeds, etc. Again, run at half speed as we want to prevent a hard pan as much as possible and retain as much soil structure as possible.
5. Leave for a few days for the weather to kill the weeds, or rake them off if you are in a hurry.
6. Now shape the beds using either a grape hoe to drag the soil from the alleyways up onto the bed, or use a cultivator such as the lightweight Mantis
7. Once the beds have been defined then you have a number of options depending on your soil type

• Broadforking to loosen the subsoil if you suspect a hardpan or compaction
• Double dig if you feel you need to add amendments deep down, see here for technique
• Do nothing and get growing!
• Finally spread any fertiliser on top and use a rotary harrow to prepare the seedbed for either direct sowing or transplanting. The tynes of the rotary harrow stir the top few centimetres creating the tilth and levelling the bed, and the roller gently compacts the top layer for an ideal seed bed. Alternatively use a rake, a tilther, or other means to create an optimum seedbed.

Types of Beds

In this section we will look at the pros and cons of the different types of beds.

In ground beds

These are beds created at ground level and usually favoured by market gardeners. There are two types:

• Flat, these are at the same level as the surrounding ground.
• Shoulders, these stand proud of the surrounding ground by anything up to 10-15cm

The width if 45cm (30") is the de-facto standard width of many market garden implements.

Above ground beds

Above ground beds, also known as raised beds, have an edge of timber or masonry which is filled with soil. The edge can be any height from just above soil level to waist height for wheelchair gardeners. This type of bed lends itself to home gardeners and is not really feasible for market gardeners.

Prepare a bed for replanting

You will need:

• String for edges
• 4-tined fork
• Rake
• Broadfork
• Buckets
• Mulching mower (can be a hand mower towed backwards)

Process depends on a few factors but is typically

1. Mark out bed using string 75cm wide(30"), 45cm(18") path
2. Stakes in each corner
3. Harvest existing crops if any including seeds
4. Mulch with mower if desired
5. Loosen soil with 4-tined fork
6. Pull out existing crop stalks, weeds, etc. and place in bucket
7. Depending on the next crop it may be okay to leave old crop roots in the soil to rot. In this case cut them at ground level.
8. Dig out dock root and other persistent weeds
9. Broadfork bed
10. Spread compost and amendments on top and fork in
11. Rake and break big clumps, or use a rotary hoe or tilther
12. Shape shoulders and ensure bed is flat and edges straight - stand back and look
13. Flame weed if appropriate but never in times of high fire risk!
14. Plant immediately or cover

Building beds North South vs on contour