How Much Food Can You Grow in a Single Raised Bed? | Testing the Limits

[@brycekirby1567]

Good job

[@olivianunez8883]

Thank you, you explain everything very well, the best informative site I have seen yet.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Thanks Olivia!

[@gailpetchenik3048]

On my raised beds I use 9 gauge wire to make hoops to hold the frost fabic

[@rebeccabsomanybooks3558]

Travis,I discovered the British use MDPE they cut to the exact length to use as a row cover hoop. I plan to go to Lowes and buy 100ft polyvinyl pipe at 100ft for around 60.00 dollars and cut it to fit length and height I want depending on the vegetable height. Better option than the flimsy hoops we are sold.

[@littlefootranch4410]

I think the plant spacing is just about right. I started gardening when we lived in suburbia & on 1/5 of an acre with a 3,200 Sq ft house so our garden space was TINY. I'm grateful for that experience cause it taught me how to really maximize growing space. I never have followed the " rules" on spacing, if I had, then I wouldn't of been growing very much. Lol

[@detectivemikevarnado7515]

keep growing

[@LazyDogFarm]

Will do!

[@brotheradam]

those sections between the walls and the tees for the water system- I would put a sweet potato slip in each one of those ends..lol

[@harrybutler4077]

As usual good information. Thanks! As to why you have no fire ants in the no till plot I have no idea. If you should figure it out let us know.

[@jefferybarron929]

7:50 turn the valve parallel, up against the end. Tie the main in anywhere. This will pull your main back at least 10 more inches.

[@luckygardener2151]

You know more than I do about being a gardener. I have grown some veggies for a couple or years. I Thank you for helping be a some what successful gardener.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Glad to help!

[@robertswaney6484]

Go ahead and plant the places where you don't have the emitters on the other side should wick enough water for the roots to make those plants grow. Robert in Palmetto,Ga.

[@larrysheetmetal]

DAIKON Raddish you can pickle like bread & butter or cube and pickle spicy like Kimchi . also another plant and eat for years plant is Chinese garlic chives, great in scrabbled eggs, you could back side of the water valves

[@LazyDogFarm]

We made some kimchi last year with daikon and it was pretty good.

[@kenbrown438]

Are you close to Valdosta

[@kenbrown438]

?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yes. About an hour away.

[@KajunHomestead]

Looking Great , I currently have one raised bed and I just love it , fixing to make another with a top that will be covered with plastic for those cold winter days , gonna have it with hinges to open and close like a hoop house.

[@LazyDogFarm]

That's a good idea to have a hinged top on it!

[@rickthelian2215]

Garlic plot looking good with alpha pellets 😊

[@LazyDogFarm]

I think so too!

[@matthewmcclendon5308]

Where do you get the mustard seeds from?

[@LazyDogFarm]

Got mine from Harris Seed online

[@dottieboatman9816]

What’s planted in ground next to mustards?

[@SallyHudsonRealtor]

I was wondering if I missed a video that showed what was planted in the ground next to the large containers!

[@LazyDogFarm]

I had a few sunflower transplants in the greenhouse that I stuck along the back of the plot. They're already blooming and doesn't look like they're going to get very big. I left them in the trays too long.

[@petpawteek8776]

Pack it in there! I totally overstuff my raised beds, sometimes it gets a little messy but it’s those times that I selectively remove a plant or two and give the chickens a treat.🥰

[@Mstymntntop]

Out of curiosity, what is your property size? I’m on a half acre and friends from my hometown can’t believe it is so large.

[@LazyDogFarm]

2 acres total. About 1/4 acre of that is garden.

[@carolavant3778]

I could rightly be accused of having a fire ant farm. They are truly the bane of my existence! Where ever I put the tarp, I can count on at lease three or four fire ant mounds. I pull back the tarp and apply Come and Get It II which is a granulated spinosad product and that keeps me from getting stung up too badly. Sometimes it takes two applications, but it works for a while.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yeah we always get them in our sandier plots. I've never treated them. Mine usually move once we start working in a plot again.

[@brucemills6755]

I like your closing music. For new transplants Iike to water in with liquid fertilizer mixed with some Epsom salt to help with transplant shock. I'm in Southern wisconsin so we know the frost battle. Good luck. Thanks.

[@BeginningFresh]

I’m sure you have thought to you use 90 degree adapters to eliminate the wasted space in your raised beds? You might be using a few extra adapters and tube length but I believe cost would be worth the extra space

[@tannenbaumgirl3100]

Why wouldn't you be able to run the 2nd set of main line around the inside back wall....you could still run each of the feeder lines straight through the beds, just like your doing now, and it would give you the extra space.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I could potentially do that in future seasons.

[@tannenbaumgirl3100]

@@LazyDogFarm All space in raised bed gardening is precious, also considering the cost between purchasing the raised, soil, and soforth. Treat it as if you're running a business, every little bit of profit helps! 😉

[@DavidBrown-vx6fb]

You are very blessed! Our temperature for two days was freezing(28-30) with heavy frost. Lost crook neck squash, zucchini, watermelons, and most of zinnias. All cold weather crops showed some burned leaves but survived! Cold temps/heavy frost caught me surprise(very unusual for central Louisiana). Keep up the good work!

[@drewosborne4522]

check out a book called Squarefoot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.. he teaches how to plant seeds/transplants based on the mature size of a plant, which helps eliminating thinning but also uses the mature plants to shade out potential weeds.. a good read. i’ve based my raised beds on this the past 25 years..

[@caseyarmstrong7064]

When you season is done, you could re run your tubing riser up on the outside of the raised bed. They sell these 2 hole metal straps so you can screw it to the metal. Then you you just candy cane up and over and into your bed. Now leaving you with more plants to plant. Great video

[@gailpetchenik3048]

That’s how I did mine. It may not look as nice, but u don’t lose that space ur not planting

[@stevefromthegarden1135]

The plant spacing looks good to me. Your temps are still pretty warm, so most of what you have planted will grow fairly quick. I use a little wider spacing under my hinged hoop house but we are getting into the low 30s often. Plus losing sunlight pretty fast too. I'm hoping the lettuce will hold pretty well outside with the much cooler weather.

[@IntentionalHomesteading]

What gives you the highest yield - raised bed or in ground? I'm looking to garden to feed my family and maybe some neighbors, not be pinterest perfect. I'm debating putting in some single level wood raised beds or just setting up a plot. I have about a 20x20 area to work with.

[@LazyDogFarm]

If you only have a 20x20' plot, I'd probably go with raised beds -- just maybe pack them a little tighter than we did in our plot. The raised beds will allow you to grow a larger variety of things -- think of it like a bunch of little micro plots in your 20x20' area.

[@StubbsMillingCo.]

Could it be that there are no “dead” microorganisms in the beds that are no till? If tilling you kill some of the microbs🤷🏼‍♂️ could it be that deep? Sometimes but that’s just my best educated guess😂

[@morganconley7111]

All of my raised beds are 100% compost and I still have fire ant issues. I'm dealing with those little jerks right now.

[@davidward1259]

Travis, how are you handling the different water applications rates of the tape vs the tubing? The tubing is usually 1/2gph per emitter where as the tape is listed as less per hour. As to the spacing, I think you are just right. Especially with the lettuce. If they get crowded, just prune out the outer leaves and let the core keep growing to fill back out and for an extended harvest per plant vs pulling the entire head at once (for the leaf varieties).

[@LazyDogFarm]

I've just been trying to use the tubing for dense plantings, so hopefully the water demand of the dense planting somewhat balances the unbalanced watering rates.

[@davidward1259]

@@LazyDogFarm Makes sense and sounds like a good plan. Thanks

[@Mstymntntop]

My drip tape is 4” at 0.67 gpm/100’. I used drip tubing initially and switched to tape after my tubing only lasted two seasons. Tape lasts just as long for me and is SO much cheaper

[@LazyDogFarm]

It'll be interesting to compare this season. I'm still a big tape fan, but wondering if tubing might work better on these small applications for tight spacing.

[@darecofreedomfarm3]

Have you ever seen a fire ant mound in the forest? I have piled poke salat leaves and pine needles on mounds and they disappear in a week.

[@LazyDogFarm]

I have seen them on the edges of a forest.

[@donp9492]

Too full is better than too empty. Just my take on this subject.

[@mattshepherd8586]

So glad you survived the frost. Hats off my friend. I think the ants like loose easy soil. Cant wait to see how packin em tight works out in the raised beds.

[@timfetner8029]

Hey Travis. Raised beds are looking great and I think your plant spacing is on target. That’s one of the advantages of raised beds, with the ability to pack the plants in with tight spacing. No idea on the fire ants but my guess is that they don’t like the compost layer and prefer the sandier soils of your tilled plots. I’m a huge fan of no till and glad to see you are experimenting with it. The key is to continue to add compost, worm castings, etc. to the plots. Would be very interested to see a video update on the worm bed.

[@that9blife465]

Its my understanding that ants do not enjoy to much moisture. In the no till plots it may hold moisture better ? Especially with all the root systems that have broken down over time acting like a sponge. That being said i have ants in raised beds but they eat the worms and other harmful pests so not sure if i just got lucky with them type of ants ?

[@articmars1]

I dont think its the compost. My bin will get full of ants unless i turn it on a reg basis

[@mutantryeff]

We may finally be getting into the wet season in northern California. November is also a month that we have to be prepared for frost/freezes to primarily protect the citrus trees. Need to pull out several 20x20 tarps and heat lamps that I run underneath the tarps. Some of the leaves that touch the tarp can get burned, but the trees will survive. The worst-case situation is strong winds that can pull the tarps off - even though I use cinder blocks to hold them down. I hope we get rain this year, but they are saying it will be the third year in a row of very low rainfall.

[@DavidBrown-vx6fb]

Travis, I notice that tubing is not covered! If you have a heavy freeze(25-30) for 2-3 days, your tubing might freeze and rupture especially since your beds are above soil! Best garden success to your and yours!

[@LazyDogFarm]

We don't ever stay that cold for that long. If we do get a freeze, it usually warms up pretty quick in the mornings.

[@marysurbanchickengarden]

Lots of food growing up there in Ga. I crowded my raised beds to the point I had to transplant some of it to other places, some of it I put in ground. I've found I really like gardening in raised beds, but I need some taller ones for my messed up back.

[@LazyDogFarm]

Yeah I really like the taller ones. They take a lot of time to put together and a lot of soil to fill, but worth it IMO.

[@leahness3588]

You fire ants are working smarter ,not harder. They would rather move the soft soil, than hard. lol

[@alexsummersell3567]

Fire ants: I will say the no till plots have an increased biological activity when compared to the other beds. Now why the ants would flee from nesting in those areas is unknown. I believe they don't like it.

[@dwardodwardo643]

That broken down wood compost is going to hold alot of water. My bet is your going to be fighting to much water.

[@LazyDogFarm]

It does seem to hold water well, but no issues with over saturation at this point.

[@joewilson1457]

I live in zone 8 b and it's some more of that global warming climate change, I heard it was going to be extremely cold this winter ❄️❄️❄️

[@LazyDogFarm]

I've heard the opposite. All the long-term forecasts I've seen for this winter are showing that we are going to have a relatively warm winter compared to the seasonal averages.

[@PixieDust-eq6kc]

We usually get fire ants in our sweet potato bed. I sprinkle cinnamon on them and they don't like that. They don't hurt the plants though so I don't worry too much.

[@markware4933]

Hooray on the win versus the frost. I garden about 160 sf of raised beds in addition to containers and a small open ground corn patch. I'll have to say that I do a very poor job of it indeed compared to what you've just showed. I'm inspired to step up my game and get those beds yielding closer to their potential. Also gives me an excuse to run some new drip lines which is always big fun in my world. Don't know diddly about fire ants. Ask again when it's raccoons.

[@tnjon66]

I think the beneficial nematodes found in the compost causes the ants to shy away from the no-till plots John S

[@lindamckeown2830]

I have had fire ants under tarps in no tilled beds. I think you were just lucky this time. I would have to plant something in that space where the drip lines go into the beds. They might produce from the water you are adding anyway. Take a chance with your extra plants.

[@rickjay4639]

My vote is too tight. I do the same thing myself every year. I say I'm not going to do that again and never fails I tell myself I can get a few more plants in there. It's easy to do when you have seedlings that are small doesn't look bad until they mature

[@LazyDogFarm]

The good thing about the mustard and the pak choi is that we could cut some small and thin the herd so to speak if need be.