Topic: Open Ground in Rows verus a Bed System

[Garden Manager]

Let me first explain the title of this topic. By 'Open Ground in Rows' I mean a plot not divided into beds, but cultivated in the 'old fashioned' way with crops in long rows which you have to walk between to tend the crop. By 'Bed System' i mean a plot divided into regular or irregular fixed beds divided by permanet paths. The beds are either flat or raised up.

I have used the bed system sucessfully for many years on my home veg plot.  In contrast i have recently been doing work for a client who has a veg plot laid out in the 'Open Ground' system and it reminded me just what growing veg in that way was like. I have come to the conclusion that the 'Open Ground' system involves far more work in terms of soil preparation and maintainance, for not much if any gain in yeild. You still need to leave ground uncultivated for access to crops, which added up is probably more space than fixed paths would take up under the 'Bed System'! By not having to leave space between every crop for access you can plant much closer together and fit more crops into the space.

I am not trying to preach here, and i would not try to force anyone to grow in a certain way, but i am struggling to understand why so many veg growers continue to use the open ground system (other than its the traditional way). What are the advantages to growing in this way?

[Bill Door]

Sticking my head out ( no don't chop it off yet) I think it is probably a combination of things.

Some people prefer consistency and probably stick to the "field" operation because they know it and it does not involve them in any extra work. (there is something satisfying in digging over the ground in Autumn and in Spring)  There is also the worry about potentially no digging. ( these are comments made by my new allotmenteer neighbour aged 80 when I asked about this)

Others. like me, would like to try it but just do not have the time to lug the materials to the allotment and build the beds.  I only started my half plot this year so still have a lot of work to do to get it into shape.  Funnily enough work and family do take over ones life when one least expects it. 

I also have a half plot size garden which also has vegetables and is split into beds but because the ground is mainly clay I still dig it.  I have one 6 feet by 4 feet bed and even with manure and other organic materials is still mainly hard clay.

My aim would be that by the time I retire (that's a few years away yet) I would like to think that at least 50% of the allotment will be beds of about 10 feet by 4 feet.

However, I would say that I am interested in how others have got on and are getting on with raised beds. So any others with comments?


Bill

[tim]

Just 2 thoughts -

1. Small (even raised) beds/areas are more condusive to getting things done. And less treading of the soil.
2. Old way - allows regimented weeding /hoeing, & more economical machine cultivation.

[grawrc]

I like being able to set myself targets for the day on a "bed" basis. It's satisfying to achieve your target and also easier to ignore the undone bits which are targets for another day. I have raised (-ish) beds but I don't have wood round them.

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

I've switched over to a bed system this year and i've been very pleased. The first thing it does is impose some order on the plot, and it looks good (which encourages you to keep it that way). Planting in blocks also encourages you to replant free space more quickly (rather than waiting for a row to be finished). For me, it's made rotation more tricky to work out, but it just needs more thought (and I don't make any special effort to rotate salads, roots and legumes anyway). The main drawback I was expecting was more slug damage, but this hasn't happened
The problem i've had so far is since the beds are about 4 ft wide, I planted the broad beans in a block like sweetcorn; had poor circulation and had rust much sooner than usually (won't do that again). Also a problem i've noticed on other plots with carpet is that as the carpet gets older, moss grows on it and spreads onto the soil (difficult to get rid of it)

With an open ground method, you naturally form paths across the plot, and the soil becomes very compacted, difficult to weed and hoe (and looks poor)

The main issue is it turns you into a right stig, always poking in skips looking for old carpet

[kt.]

I have no raised fixed beds, other than for strawberries.  The rest of my plot is flat ground, with paving slabs dividing it up into equal sized beds.  For me - It makes sowing and organising where I want to put my crops so much easier.  I also find it easier to gage space so I do not plant too much of one thing, leaving me no room to put something else next to it.

[davyw1]

I think when it come down to the choice of growing in raised beds or open bed system you have to garden within your cappabilities or dissabilities and choose what suits you.
I prefer the open bed system as suits my way of being able to do things apart from hoeing most other things ie; planting out has to be done on my knees.
Also there is very little lost ground in open bed system no repairing  or replacing timbers.
How mant beds would i get in this part of the garden
[attachment=1]

[Deb P]

I have a combination of wooden raised beds and open rows. There are advantaged and disadvantages to both, depending on the quantities of things you like to grow.

Large veg like cauliflowers I grow in a 3-2-3 formation in raised beds, harvesting the middle one first. I plant close, harvest early and always have something to plant in the place of harvested veg, so my raised beds are very productive. I was concerned that potatoes would be difficult, but can fit two rows of 5 spuds each per raised bed, it was a breeze to harvest them, and had really good yields too. Open rows are good for things like squash and marrows, but I use supports for them when it is their turn in the raised beds to make best use of the space.

Maintenance wise, I think raised beds are easier to keep looking neat if that bothers you, easier to net or fleece, but admittedly more work to set up in the first place. I haven't quite decided how to arrange my new 2/3 rds size plot yet...probably a combination of both again!

[grannyjanny]

Deb, when you say you plant close with large veg like caulies, just how close do you plant. we only have small beds in the garden & need to maximize space.
Janet.

[Deb P]

In a four foot wide bed, I plant them in a staggered row 3-2-3-2... so the caulis in the 'three' row are planted 6" from the side boards, and one in the middle (at the two foot mark) ie' 18" apart, then the caulis in the second 'two' row are both planted 12" from the side boards.....like this..

  X           X          X         

        X           X         

 X            X          X 

More difficult to describe than do!         

[redimp]

I use "beds" that are not bordered by wood for all crops except potatoes.  Potatoes are laid out in the traditional way and I therefore, fully dig a quarter of my allotment per year.  For the rest, I prepare beds that are about 1.5m wide and half the width of my plot long (about 5.5m) so I can plant closer together.

[davyw1]

Deb, when you say you plant close with large veg like caulies, just how close do you plant. we only have small beds in the garden & need to maximize space.
Janet.

Never checked the catalogues for a while but you used to be able to get high density vegetables, if your space is limited might be worth a look.

[amphibian]

My soil drains very quickly and is prone to drying out, for me raised beds would be very hard to keep moist. I grow water loving crops, such as squash in craters to maximise water in the root area.

However my allotment has been out of cultivation for a decade, once I have upped the organic content of the soil I might use raised beds, or a mix. I never liked raised beds for spuds.

[northener]

We built raised beds in the spring its the best move we ever made. They are just more manageable and it so much tidier. Its much better for weeding you can keep on top of a small space and eventually if you keep at it you'll have weed free beds. We also put copper wire around the scaffold boards (bit like an electric fence) to keep the snails off, its worked a treat.

[tim]

Yes - targets!

Apart from 8 Raised Beds, one patch is divided by a + of slabs into four 20'x15' lots. Less daunting than the whole, & helpful for rotation.

[Tyke]

From what i've read, raised beds produce a greater yield than open beds as you can plant a lot closer together and you don't stand on the soil. This is my first year with an allotment so i will neeed to compare my beds with others on the site to feel sure about this in practice.

[Larkshall]

Just 2 thoughts -

1. Small (even raised) beds/areas are more condusive to getting things done. And less treading of the soil.
2. Old way - allows regimented weeding /hoeing, & more economical machine cultivation.

I have always worked on the old system of rows. We are in a heavy clay area and I am rapidly coming round to the idea of beds. When I worked for the Forestry Commission, we grew and sent out 3.5 million trees per year from 24 acres of nursery (no longer in existence), these were grown in beds 3ft wide with 1ft path between. When they wanted to mechanise the job, they found that using an American tobacco planting machine worked very well with those measurements.The beds were not "raised beds" with board surround, but slightly raised beds with the path in between at a lower level. Although this was on sandy land I can see that it would work very well on clay. It avoids treading down the beds, a big factor with the wet periods we are now getting. It would also be possible to use rotovators on them.

[Robert_Brenchley]

There's no need to build raised beds unless you have a specific reason, like waterlogged ground. The methods used - planting closer together, not walking on the beds - can all be used on the level.

[antipodes]

Yes my French neighbours are very puzzled by what they call my "Planting everything in little squares" method! They all do big long lines!
As I have little time, I feel that my method suits my plot well - I have five main areas, divided by paths. I can rotate easily this way. You can plant a small patch very quickly, especially as I cover then dig - last week, a 2x1 patch of beans took me half an hour to uncover, dig over, pull out the few remaining weeds, sow and water.
As Tim pointed out, it is much less daunting to do 2 short rows than a long one and when you are  a beginner it seems to build up more quickly that way. My soil is very soft from almost never being walked on - I can water and tend everything from the paths.
I don't have raised beds as such, just small patches.

But each to his own!!

[Old bird]

No one yet has said that the weeds just come out so easily either.  I was weeding this morning before work and I was pulling dandelions out and getting root and all!  I have kept one bed for the "traditional" way.

Funnily enough, when the allotment committee were doing the inspections the other day, being on the committee I go with them!, the all ooed and ahhed over one that is gardened the "traditional way" and didn't seem interested in ones that were really doing well and producing loads!  So it seems that visually they are not as acceptable as the "old" system.

I will be sticking to my raised beds though.  I have both wood bordered ones and humped earth ones and they all seem to be doing very well indeed.

Minimal slug damage also this year - maybe due to the coffee input!

Old Bird

 ;D