[ronnie]

i'm new to gardening, i hoping to learn from the forum just how to grow something good to eat.
i am in kentucky i think it is zone 5 . i want to try raised beds, and 5gal buckets . thanks in advance for all the infro.
thanks ronnie

 

[stephanie]

hi and welcome to the forum, I love raised beds they are allot less work once they are established. getting them built and filled is the hard part. things to consider while building them is a weed barrier under all the soil/compost you put in. If I build another raised bed I will add screen material and then a weed blocker material such as news paper or a purchased weed barrier material. the reason for both is moles,rodents like to dig in raised beds and create tunnels they do this by tunneling under the raised bed.then after Put down that I would start with my layers of compost/manure/old hay,leaves,etc/soil,wood chips and then DO NOT TILL OR STIR just plant your seeds and starts under the wood chips(they keep weed seeds from landing and growing) but your seeds you plant will come up through them. they help keep the soil moist so you don't have to water as much and some times not at all.the composting material at the bottom will warm the other layers and help with your seed germination faster. look up a free film called :back to eden it tells allot about growing veggies and a way to do it with less work and more yield.