Tom Carey: Grow boxes and raised beds

Summer in Florida means an incessant risk of extreme amounts of rain from any single thunderstorm. I’ve seen plants ankle-deep in water wilting as a result of their roots drowning. Add the inherent onslaught of insect pests and weeds, and there is almost enough of a reason to take a summer break. Many of the annual vegetables of our North American cuisine just do not grow well in summer, but the perennial (forever growing) plants that are almost family members need to be planted in a way to manage their survival.

The growing beds on the ground in my garden soil are 3 feet wide with 3-foot paths between them. The rototiller on my tractor is conveniently wide enough to cover the bed in one pass. With weeds surpassing the manpower available to micromanage, I depend on tilling a bed at the end of a crop on a macro-scale. But if a perennial plant is interplanted with the seasonal annuals, the necessity of tilling a broad swath is circumvented. To keep my beloved perennials safe from floods and the growing beds available for macro-tilling, I plant my perennials into separately raised growing beds and grow boxes.

Manufactured grow boxes usually have some type of reservoir and osmosis watering system. A productive harvest is almost turnkey. Not to discount the fun of gardening, but the upfront purchase expense would mean years of constant production to seek a break even. Respecting the intrinsic nature of being a farmer, frugality and ingenuity have come to the rescue. Set four empty plastic 12-ounce cups upright in the bottom of a 3-gallon nursery pot. Fill the pot and cups with soil and plant. When you irrigate, the cups act as mini reservoirs and wick out moisture as needed. Although not as “set it and forget it” as the bona fide grow boxes, the time between watering is extended to a manageable schedule and plants are not subject to flooding.

Raised growing beds usually have some type of siding to retain soil above the surrounding grade. Modern pressure treated lumber is inoculated with only copper and when lined with weed fabric should be innocuous toward the plants. Redwood and cedar do not rot, but are very expensive. I found a concrete/silica siding material at a big-box store in 12-foot lengths by 8 inches. Design 3-foot-wide beds however long, run stakes down the exterior of the siding, and fill with soil. The weight of the soil pushes against the siding and stakes create a stable growing area above flood stage.

Tom Carey is the owner of Sundew Gardens, a you-pick gardening business in Oviedo. Visit the Sundew Gardens Facebook page and e-mail him at [email protected]