Janet D. Stemwedel (whose nom de blog is Dr. Free-Ride) is an assistant professor of philosophy at San Jose State University. Before becoming a philosopher, she earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry. Email her at dr.freeride@gmail.com.
... sometimes require hard work, at least when the experimental digs are raised garden beds. Seriously, when was the last time you moved 14.5 cubic yards of topsoil and compost? (Not that I did it all myself, of course. My better half did quite a bit of it, and the Free-Ride offspring even pitched in.)
Pictures of the end result of 4 days of dirt-moving labor:
23 inch deep beds are nice for root development. But that's a lot of dirt.
It's a lot of dirt especially when there are five beds to fill. (Plus, mixing the topsoil and the compost in the beds is strenuous exercise.)
That piece of slate propped up on a hunk of wood at the base of the bed in the foreground is actually a ramp that my better half MacGuyvered to make it easier to pour the dirt out of the wheelbarrow and into the beds.
My arms feel a little less like limp spaghetti than they did on Saturday (when we completed the dirt-hauling). This left me able to apply fertilizer and sow seeds in the beds today.
If they don't grow, I'm going to feel extremely foolish.
Comments
Well-constructed raised beds! Awesome! All them PhDs *do* come in handy, eh?
Posted by: Abel Pharmboy | July 20, 2008 10:46 PM
So, what is the treatment and what is the control experiment and what will be your measures?
Posted by: Coturnix | July 20, 2008 10:49 PM
Very impressive, what do you plan to grow?
Posted by: Jono | July 21, 2008 2:45 AM
Holy crap! That's a lotta fucking dirt!
Posted by: PhysioProf | July 21, 2008 3:02 AM
What are you planting from seed at this time of year?
Posted by: Dan | July 21, 2008 3:47 AM
Clearly the best example yet of framing here on ScienceBlogs.
Are these for growing yummy things, pretty things, or both?
Posted by: PuckishOne | July 21, 2008 8:38 AM
Plants don't need holy crap to grow on, only crap!
Posted by: S. Rivlin | July 21, 2008 10:22 AM
The beds are designated for food crops (although I don't rule out pretty flowers that deter pests in future plantings). This late in the season, I planted mostly for fall/winter harvest: cole crops, lettuces, root vegetables. I also planted some beans, on the theory that we have enough warm days left to get a good bean harvest.
I was terribly sad that there were no tomato or zucchini starts at the nursery ... was hoping to get the last gasp of summer before it was too late.
RE: crap, the fertilizer yesterday included bat crap and chicken crap, but the box doesn't indicate whether it's holy or not.
Posted by: Janet D. Stemwedel | July 21, 2008 11:04 AM
There is a much greener means to raised beds. It is not as pretty but uses much less (=0) redwood, which I would like to leave standing in the few forests left. This gardening technique goes by various names, "dig-free" and "no-dig" are common names for it, both give rich Google results. The LA Times still has a spectacular post on a particular approach to dig-free.
http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/home/la-hm-nodig12-2008jun12,0,3508054.story
In brief, one makes a layer cake of rich mulch on top of alfalfa hay, which is placed on top of a thin straw layer, on top of newspaper (which thwarts weeds) on the soil surface.
We started a bed like the one in the Times article a few weeks ago in our Davis, CA garden, and have had spectacular seedling germination and early growth (keep it wet in the hot summer sun!).
Posted by: Don | July 21, 2008 11:46 AM
Drool! I'm so jealous of your raised beds. They are beautiful and they will produce beautiful veggies. They make me miss our micro-farm in Oakland. Congrats on all your hard work!
Posted by: RMD | July 21, 2008 1:52 PM
Looks like you've got some type of watering system in there as well. Very nice! Watch out for critters eating your veggies (we have moose, grr).
Posted by: OmegaMom | July 21, 2008 6:03 PM
Copper tape tacked around the edges can keep the slugs/snails out (some sort galvanic potential thing). You're on your own regarding moose!
Posted by: Marlowe | July 21, 2008 7:22 PM
These look LOVELY.
Posted by: Alice | July 31, 2008 2:25 PM