Building garden beds

My stated goal is to be completely no-till. I am moving StonePath in that direction, however, I still am not quite there.

I thought I'd illustrate the method I use to prepare each bed for spring planting. I have developed a combination method using my broadfork and my Mantis tiller that yields very good results.

We plant in individual raised beds at StonePath. We find them much easier to use for the intensive manner in which we plant. Each bed can be maintained and tended separate from the rest which means if we have a problem, it's contained automatically, and conversely if something is working well in one bed, we can duplicate it in the others. It gives us the ability to experiment.

The beds are all roughly 4' x 8'. This size allows us to work the bed easily form each side. We do have a few larger beds which we designed for larger crops such as vining crops.

In preparing the beds, the first step is going over the bed with my broadfork. The fork loosens ands opens the winter compacted ground, and also aides in weeding. Weeds are much easier to remove when lifted in this manner.

 This is what the bed looks like after the inital use of the broadfork. The bed has already lifted itself a few inches above it's starting level. The ground is aerated and open, all the weeds have been removed.

We next bring in the soil amendments. We are totally organic at StonePath, so it's critical that we maintain our own compost bin. The compost is cow manure, leaf mold, last years, end of garden plant material, egg shells, and scraps from the kitchen (no meat or cooked items) that has aged since last year.

Once the compost has been raked over the forked bed, I bring the Mantis into play. The Mantis is a great tiller for small, raised beds. It's easy to handle and direct and does a nice job of breaking up the dirt clumps.

The only thing I don't like about this tool (and tillers in general), is the damage done to the organisms in the soil. That is why eventually, I will be excluding this step.

The other problem tillers bring is that they create "hard pan". Hard pan is a polished hard surface made just below the tiller's tines as it works the soil. This hard layer a few inches below the surface of the ground can prevent deep root growth and affect how water drains in the soil.

To alleviate this problem, I again go through the bed with the broadfork. It breaks up any hard pan, and further opens the soil.

When the bed is finally raked smooth, I have a workable garden bed that is approximately 8- 10 inces deep of nice soft loam, ready to plant.