My covered raised beds,no more weeding

[carcharoth12]

Last year I covered the top of my raised beds with lumber and it worked great,no more weeding which is sweet.I use 2 gph drip emitters to water and 4 foot 1x1s for stakes.Last year my toms produced about 8-10 pounds per plant,not bad for our short growing season in Ontario.It is still early here for tomatoes cant plant reliably till may 24 but the plants are covered in flowers and growing nicely.

[Salsacharley]

Wow! That is unique! Do you get any critters inside your beds under the lumber?

[carcharoth12]

none that I am aware of.Being from a cold climate (-10 to -30 winters) we probably dont have the variety of critters you would have in New Mexico

[ddsack]

What a novel solution! You must have access to a lot of boards to make this happen in such a large garden area. I see you have a pile of logs in the background, do you saw your own boards? We used to have small local sawmills where you could buy the outside planed boards cheap for firewood as well as green cut boards. They all have disappeared. I envy you your boards!

[AKmark]

Originally Posted by carcharoth12

Last year I covered the top of my raised beds with lumber and it worked great,no more weeding which is sweet.I use 2 gph drip emitters to water and 4 foot 1x1s for stakes.Last year my toms produced about 8-10 pounds per plant,not bad for our short growing season in Ontario.It is still early here for tomatoes cant plant reliably till may 24 but the plants are covered in flowers and growing nicely.

You sure put the time in for sure. Look for a product called IRT, we use it in Alaska to cover raised beds and garden plots. Its affordable and it works big time in the North.

[paradajky]

Originally Posted by ddsack

What a novel solution! You must have access to a lot of boards to make this happen in such a large garden area. I see you have a pile of logs in the background, do you saw your own boards? We used to have small local sawmills where you could buy the outside planed boards cheap for firewood as well as green cut boards. They all have disappeared. I envy you your boards!

Considering the price of wood at box stores these days

[b54red]

I just use shredded wood in the form of cypress mulch. It works great and is reusable for several years and as the smaller pieces breakdown it adds organic matter to the soil.

Bill

[carcharoth12]

I am a logger in Ontario and I own a wood mizer lt 40 hd sawmill so for me lumber is basically free

[wildcat62]

Very nice setup.

[carcharoth12]

What a difference 10 days make.Plants are growing like crazy with hundreds of tomatoes