Auckland Homestead - Refurbishing A Raised Bed.

 

Recently I refurbished a raised vegetable planter in preparation for more spring crops (e.g. coleslaw ingredients) . This post shares some initial thoughts on why raised vegetable planters are relevant to an urban homesteader / prepper, and what I did. 

Some Context

I went from this...                                         to this... 

                         


I'll be outlining the process rather than detailing it - if you want to know more about the 'how', contact me. 

Why A Raised Planter?

The universal soil requirements for any vegetable patch are (in my opinion)  
  • Provides sufficient depth of 'good' soil for vegetables (typically 260 mm), overcoming a clay base.
  • Has sufficient nutrition.
  • Can store water internally in the soil/contents while having height to drain excess.
  • Drainage protects crops from drowning from heavy rainfall / flooding.
  • Protects the soil from rain/flood-related erosion.
The natural soil is clay, which means drainage issues during winter and insufficient topsoil. I had to bring sufficient soil in, and didn't want to waste it or my money. Of the various options available, I chose a raised planter as 
  • In larger sizes, they are cost-effective to build yourself versus buying off-the-shelf.
  • Construction can easily be worked out yourself, though the first time can be an 'educational' experience.
  • It develops a natural soil ecosystem (e.g. worms).
  • You can start small and build up.
  • It could be dug into a slope, providing a simple way to keep the look tidy.

What Was There

The planter concerned is about 10 years old. The two bottom levels are treated fence palings and the uprights are 'slabs' from heat-treated shipping pallets. The bottom layer is lined with food-safe plastic to minimise the leaching of chemicals.  Dimensions are 1.8 metres x 0.9 metres (i.e 1 x 1.8 metre cut in half.)
 
Originally, I topped up the soil with off-the-shelf compost and amendments. About four years ago, I changed my approach to 'topping up' in order reduce the cost and resources required. This involved 
  • Improving water retention and efficiency through hugelkulture.
  • Increasing the use of dead garden clippings and other waste in lieu of bought compost etc.
Over time, the depth of the bed and the quality of the soil has increased, while the cost of 'topping up' each season has been reduced.

Approach For Refurbishing / Topping Up

This time, I'm experimenting with the 'No Dig' method i.e adding new layer directly onto the existing soil with no tilling. I have also limited myself to materials that are free and re-useable. The walls and supporting struts were constructed from recycled shipping pallets. Rather than nails, I used timber screws as these are easier to re-use.

Also I am experimenting with using an irrigation soaker for crops with deep roots. I am curious to see how effective this is, combined with mulch for preventing evaporation.

Materials & Tools Used 

Materials 

  • Free shipping pallets, cut down into 'palings' ( 'heat treated' pallets only).
  • Timber screws rather than nails.
  • 90 litres of cheap compost.
  • Fertlisers / amendments from existing stocks.

Tools 

  • Basic gardeners hand-tools to remove existing growth and plant seedlings.
  • Electric hand-drill #1 with a screw bit(s) for the screws involved (existing and new).
  • Electric hand-drill #2 with suitable drill bit for drilling pilot holes for the screws.
  • Electric hand-saw with a blade suitable for cutting palings and old screws that are stuck in place. 

Steps to Refurbishment

1. Weed the existing soil, removing (old plants, debris etc):  




2. Renovate the side walls to be at consistent level:


 

2. Add the new planting layer (compost and amendments) directly on top:


3.Plant the crop, and intensively water between the plants in order to to carry amendments to the roots and to saturate the planter for future use. I also added the soaker and connected it to the water supply: 


4. Finally, I added mulch to one half of the planter. This is so I can compare 'soaking with mulch' against 'without' later on. 


Location: 5M5Q+VC Auckland, New Zealand

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