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Hanging Gardens of Semiramis
I do not think Geoff Hamilton invented raised beds. I would not be surprised if it dated back to Roman times and before - I believe they built walls round terracing etc. In Egypt they build little earth walls round growing areas to keep the water and soil in. One has the feeling that little has changed since the times of the Pharoahs.What is being suggested is that he started a trend, a fashion, an enthusiasm for them. He certainly publicised organic gardening techniques in the UK and many people turned towards that direction under his influence. He certainly started a lot of people asking questions about the need for chemicals. Me included.
Walking in Uganda, I noticed raised beds everywhere, fieldfuls of them, miles of them. I believe that they are good for tropical downpours, for instance, as rain drains away down the channels instead of swamping the plots of corn and potatoes etc.
Raised beds heat up earlier in the spring as well, it's not all about drainage. I've also found that whilst the beds themselves drain, they drain into the (soil/mud) paths, which is a bit of pain. I guess that's back to the paths question on other threads...On the original idea, it does sound good, but wouldn't you have to keep updating the cardboard as it rotted? Would chicken wire have the strength to hold it (I guess there's different grades of chicken wire).