Raised Bed Gardening at High Altitude
by Susan Fernalld, Master Gardener
Raised beds make particularly good sense for high altitude gardeners.
They resolve a number of problems that are unique to mountain gardening,
and they make gardening more convenient.
Raised beds may be the only option for those whose soil is too
shallow or too rocky to provide enough soil depth for garden plants.
Instead of getting out the blasting caps, merely put raised beds
on top of the rocky soil. Raised beds are essentially bottomless
and topless boxes filled with dirt for plants. A special lining
keeps out moles, voles, and gophers. Before planting, soils can
be mixed and adjusted in each bed to meet the special requirements
of the vegetable or flowering plants planned. Roots encounter no
rocky obstructions in raised beds. Rain and supplemental water soak
in where needed because water is corralled by the well and sides
of the box.
By raising the soil, and thus the roots, you allow plants to capture
heat from the side of the box. Soil in raised beds warms up sooner
in the spring compared to ground soil by as much as 15 degrees.
Gardeners can plant when the soil reaches 45 degrees F. With the
growing season extended several days at the front end, seeding or
transplanting can begin sooner.
You will have no need to walk on the soil used for growing when
you garden using raised beds, and you never compress the soil. Roots
have free reign. Hoses are easily kept off of plants when watering.
Water and fertilizer is devoted to desired plants, not the weeds.
Construction of raised beds varies often according to the lumber
a gardener has on hand or according to what is on sale at the lumber
yard. A 3 x 3 foot bed is easy to reach across when seeding, weeding,
and harvesting. Depth should be no less than 18 inches to accommodate
most vegetable and perennial roots. To discourage the critters,
line the box with 1/8-inch hardware cloth before filling it with
soil. Some additional thought might be given to attaching trellising,
standards for shade cloth or mesh to keep out birds, and frost covering
if so desired.
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