Raised Beds Bad?
I often come across 'permaculturists' begining gardens by immediately building raised no-dig beds on top of the ground and importing loads of mulch and compost.
While the method proves reasonably effective at making vege gardens, the idea of ignoring the condition of the soil underneath should be concidered ECO-NEGLIGENCE!
Some of the gardens i've worked in have had broken glass, scrap metal, carpet (past permaculturists) and plastic. To leave this stuff in the soil is a crime!
Is it not OUR responsibility to clean up the soil?
...for future gardeners to safely work with their bare hands?
It seems somehow disrespectful to ignore the existing soil.
I believe it far more dignified to enhance what's there, to save what's there. To dig down, understand your soil. And care about the natural soil rather than importing stuff from off site.
It's all very well to say- "This is bad soil, i'll just make raised beds"
But where's the respect?
Is it fair to call ANY soil 'bad' or 'poor' or 'barren'?
Or is 'bad' soil just one which will take too much work (or time) to help?
Can see your point
That's a good point. With the past few garden beds I've made I've done a mixture of digging down into the soil, to both eradicate weeds and clear debris, mixing in compost etc. and then layering some stuff on top inside a border) for good measure.
At the moment I'm also working on a no-dig kinda garden which I am not digging for the fact that it is full of couch grass which I am attempting to smother or somehow otherwise get rid of. I'm hoping that what couch does grow through the cardboard/straw layers might potentially be easier to rip out. Oh wait, I can hear your laughs from here! Hah...we shall see how it goes. The other reason I did not dig that one so much (although I have dug a couple of the beds as an experiment), is that it was more space than I could handle to dig with the time that I have. So yeah, time is a limiting factor sometimes. But I wouldn't be surprised if come winter I have to begin an intensive couch grass eradication plan anyway. There is quite a bit growing up through the mulch layer already! I shake my fist in the air and grunt.
Hmmm It gets interesting
Hmmm It gets interesting when you live inner city where there is 200 years of habition artifacts under your garden. Iron scrap is after some considerable time quite good for the soil , its a different story if it is painted. you have to watch out with using cardboard , it is full of chemicals and glue , same with most printed material , full of inks which are full of chemicals. The best thing you can do when you are starting a raised garden is to Have a hangi there or a bonfire, which is a great way to get rid of hedge clippings or scrub and the burnt material will feed the earth with valuable minerals . The heating of the earth gets rid of creepers weeds and slug larve. Npt only that , what better way to start and organic project than have a party and share some fire. I reakon whatever gets a garden happening , even if is not following a high ideal of some kind , its all good , where there is a garden the goodness begins to flow even if its not the perfect pie in the sky hippy dream eco contasfabulation . But i do reakon keep away from sticking the detrius of 20th c living in your garden . Treat your garden like you would your loved one and dont feed it anything but the best organic scraps, sea weed and of course the ocassional dead animal. besides the Plant Devas like it better that way ;)
no dig gardens
wow, great reading everyone's input,... I have undertaken a mix of gardens... Dig and no dig... but what might be of interest, is recently I thought I would 'sort' out a small garden up by our entrance... nicely tucked in under the shade of a couple of trees, but had some 'not so lovely' looking plants, and I thought I would tidy it up, and put in some other things. Oh it has gone very well, sweat of the brow and all that!, trees pruned, the compost (cuttings!) dumped lovingly out of the way in past years, were dug in, but oh no.... you all guessed it.... 4 weeks on you can barely see the plants that I have put in for all the weeds! very healthy ones too... so this garden has laid quietly, under the increasing layers of compost -very healthy soil.... so maybe I should just dump on some more compost! to smoother the weeds again!....