A very good article, Reid!

I agree with everything Reid said in his article! And I love raised beds. I build the bed frame, lay down a layer of cardboard inside the bed, add my dirt, compost, and pine fines. Mix and water periodically, then let sit for a week or two before planting in it. If you have worm compost, that is the best thing to use when you add your plants. Gives the plant roots a great start!

Outstanding information and very well explained, and

I too enjoyed my raised beds until a clan of chipmunks burrowed into them. No amount of closing up their entrances discourages them. I may have to remove the soil and line the bottom with hardware cloth.

Don - There have been times that I thought of lining the floor of my raised beds with hardware cloth as well. My problem is roots from nearby trees. I probably would have quickly done that if the Hardware Cloth was not so darn expensive.

Good luck! I think your idea will solve the chipmunk dilemma!

No tilling here!
Just layer with organics such as leaf mold in fall.
Sometimes peat and sheep manure is added.
Your article is very good and explains why we should not till.
Thank you for writing it.

Excellent article. Well written and informative.

cottelpg said:Excellent article. Well written and informative.

No-till isn't just for raised beds... but for a new "regular" (not raised beds) garden, I think tilling is necessary for a certain amount of time, depending on what you're starting out with. Our soil was very rocky and clay-loam, and took quite a few years to get to the point where I no longer felt I needed to till, several years ago. And, while no one would describe my garden as "weed free" (someone might have let the chickweed go to seed last year ), the soil now seems very healthy, with worms everywhere and never any standing water (which for years was a big problem for us). I use lots of grass clippings for mulch over the course of the gardening season, and add even more, plus leaves and such, in the fall (nearly all of which has decomposed and disappeared from view by the spring). And I also have a compost pile that gets added to the plantings as needed.

Thanks for the excellent article, Reid -- it really does all start with the soil!

Thanks for the compliments everyone! It was my pleasure.

I loved this article....I can show it to my husband because I am always having to convince him that no tilling is the way to go! Donshirer, now that my dog is getting old The chipmunks have been out in force digging holes in my raised beds and everywhere else as well. Thanks for the idea!

I have four raised beds, using untreated 2x12x12, 3 feet wide. Composting and growing organically for 41 years. Tilled for a while, greyclay here, but have not tilled in years. At least ten. I hardly have any weeds.

I too have clay, and I'm in a low lying area, so have major water in the spring. My vegetable garden is mostly in pots. Its much easier to find flowers for your conditions, so my flower beds look great. I have several compost bins (Rubbermaid w/holes drilled in them) I add table scraps and grass and leaves. I roll them around all summer as I'm adding to them and let them sit all winter. In the spring the compost is glorious! I add it to all my pots and my veggies do great!

DonShirer said:I too enjoyed my raised beds until a clan of chipmunks burrowed into them. No amount of closing up their entrances discourages them. I may have to remove the soil and line the bottom with hardware cloth.

We live in the country with plenty of "critters" all around us. First we needed to have a fenced garden area, tall enough to keep out the deer. Then we built several Square Foot Gardens...4' X 4' X 1', with hardware cloth lining the bottoms.

One year (many years ago) I grew 100 tomato plants from seed. The deer got (most of) their tops, and the gophers got a lot of the bottoms...We did manage a modest harvest from this, but no where what was expected. Now l don't have to grow so many to get a decent harvest!