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steve-in-kville wrote:Our water table is really high and we do not own a tiller. I'm told that 'loupes in our area are near impossible to raise.

Sounds like you picked a good method then. Some people act like lasagna gardening/ raised beds are the end-all, perfect gardening method. I did raised beds last year and really was not a fan, but I've got good native soil (still needs work, though) so I've got options.

KingdomBuilder wrote:

steve-in-kville wrote:Our water table is really high and we do not own a tiller. I'm told that 'loupes in our area are near impossible to raise.

Sounds like you picked a good method then. Some people act like lasagna gardening/ raised beds are the end-all, perfect gardening method. I did raised beds last year and really was not a fan, but I've got good native soil (still needs work, though) so I've got options.

Raised beds are easier on the backs of us seniors and container gardening makes weeding much easier and less time consuming. Our yields were not the best last year in our containers, but I think a lot of that had to do with the large amount of rain we go throughout the Summer and most of it coming in downpours. We shall see what this next summer produces.

gcdonner wrote:Raised beds are easier on the backs of us seniors and container gardening makes weeding much easier and less time consuming. Our yields were not the best last year in our containers, but I think a lot of that had to do with the large amount of rain we go throughout the Summer and most of it coming in downpours. We shall see what this next summer produces.

I've seen some raised beds where I can see the back-saving qualities. Like the ones that are a few cinder blocks high. Mine were just 6" up, which can easily be accomplished without designated "raised beds" (in the recent sense, that is) by simply hilling up the soil in an in-ground garden.
Weeding is a chore, but I think people make it more a chore by not mulching heavily. I barely have a weed one whenever I mulch with leaves. Of course you can't mulch too early.

KingdomBuilder wrote:

gcdonner wrote:Raised beds are easier on the backs of us seniors and container gardening makes weeding much easier and less time consuming. Our yields were not the best last year in our containers, but I think a lot of that had to do with the large amount of rain we go throughout the Summer and most of it coming in downpours. We shall see what this next summer produces.

I've seen some raised beds where I can see the back-saving qualities. Like the ones that are a few cinder blocks high. Mine were just 6" up, which can easily be accomplished without designated "raised beds" (in the recent sense, that is) by simply hilling up the soil in an in-ground garden.
Weeding is a chore, but I think people make it more a chore by not mulching heavily. I barely have a weed one whenever I mulch with leaves. Of course you can't mulch too early.

Our biggest "weed" problem is of our own doing. We feed the birds and they graciously "plant" sunflower seeds all over our yard...

he heat destroyed about half of what we put out. We garden on raised beds, or whats been called "lasagna gardens." Tomatoes and peppers did well, bush beans did well. Watermelon was a bust. Cantaloupe died on us. Sunflowers did okay after I planted 'em the third time. Gourds and pumpkins never produced due to the heat.

Already got a game plan for next year, though!

I would wonder if you used woodchips, did you compost them first?
its possible you didn't have enough Nitrogen available from depletion.
Another option particularly if you are hot with a high water table is plant corn on your edge, the shade will help cool the plants.
Watermelon does really well with heat so makes me think you have nutrient issues too or not long enough growing days.

What state are you in?

My garden did really well, I can't seem to grow good corn to save my life, I pick it too late, or I plant it too late...
Lots of cauliflower, broccoli, more spaghetti squash than my wife could eat in a year (200+) some pumpkins.
I'm convinced my watermelon doesn't have enough growing days where I'm at, I might need a specialty version or start inside. I had tomato's coming out my ears and my peppers didn't get enough heat to thrive. My millet did really well too, but I need to work on planting technique next time and figure out how to thresh it better.

Soloist wrote:I would wonder if you used woodchips, did you compost them first?
its possible you didn't have enough Nitrogen available from depletion.

I don't know of any "lasagna gardeners" who use wood chips. Seems they focus on more readily decaying organic matter- leaves, straw, papers, etc. If his tomatoes did well, I don't imagine a big nitrogen concern either.
Perhaps the lasagna garden made a media that just wasn't what the melons like. We've got some very famous "watermelon towns" around here and we've got fine sandy loam. I imagine that a lasagna garden atop a high water table just may be the opposite of that.

i don't own a tiller, tractor, bobcat, mower, but there are men nearby who have these things and provide services (reasonably.) it's less costly for me to hire these things rather than to buy, maintain, store any or all of this equipment. if i had a business, at some point, that curve would change.

i much prefer raised gardens for my home use.
we started with them about 30 years ago.

deep mulching is a great thing, too.
wood chips mostly for non-vegetables, shrubs, keeping beds tidy.
pine bark mulch for blueberries for acidity. i think.

we have to be careful about Emerald Ash Borers in mulch.
lots of beautiful trees dead in the area in recent years.

http://www.backtoedenfilm.com/faqs.html

I assumed he was using something like this, its very popular and there are some serious mistakes you can make doing it.
Also I don't know where the beans were in relation to the tomato's. Not enough info to make a good case necessarily.
I've known people who have done this, I prefer using sheep manure myself but I have transport issues getting it to my garden. I also got very attached to a method I saw in New York but I've yet to try it myself.
The method involved a compaction zone for tillers with a soft fluffy area to plant in in between, the compaction was offset by normal grass. Looked quite clever for lots of water and clayey soil.

I'm still making headway towards to new garden location for spring of 2017. In fall, I added some shredded leaves to the soil and tilled them in.
I'm wondering now if it's too late to add some more shredded leaves and till them in? Perhaps I could just add them in places that won't be planted for the longest (i.e. Where squash, cowpeas, peppers, eggplants, etc will be)?

What do y'all think? I'm in zone 7b, if that's of any help.

KingdomBuilder wrote:I'm still making headway towards to new garden location for spring of 2017. In fall, I added some shredded leaves to the soil and tilled them in.
I'm wondering now if it's too late to add some more shredded leaves and till them in? Perhaps I could just add them in places that won't be planted for the longest (i.e. Where squash, cowpeas, peppers, eggplants, etc will be)?

What do y'all think? I'm in zone 7b, if that's of any help.

If you can still till the ground, it's not too late. You can even use leaves as compost/mulch on top of the soil after you have planted if you want to.