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Forest Hill,md.

Seeking help or advice on my raised beds.I have 6 foot x 8 foot x 12"high raised beds that two plants share.No bottoms of course and the sides are a plywood type material that I cut to size.My question is do you think that the beds are two high for the roots as they extend towards the wood will have trouble exiting below the bottom of the 12" high sides?I totally prepped the "main" growing area for the roots to hopefully do as such.The plants are only 4 weeks old and have short vines.I would have time to adjust or cut out areas if needed.Thanks,mike.

6/1/2011 3:32:39 PM

Bowdon, GA

Roots grow very shallow only a few inches deep. How good is the dirt outside the bed?

6/1/2011 6:31:04 PM

Forest Hill,md.

The dirt was well roto tilled today with 2inches sand, manure,peat moss,and other amendments.The bed dirt was well mixed prior to planting several times.An easy fix would be to remove some material at bottom of sides and then reattach the pieces.Dirt inside the beds is about 10 inches above main area ,but I also dug down in the bed several inches as well.

6/1/2011 8:31:21 PM

Muddy Waters

they wont have trouble exiting side walls there very strong at that length you can grow them up a fence 4 feet if you like.

6/2/2011 5:59:24 AM

Forest Hill,md.

Thanks for all the advice.I removed a couple sideboards and discovered roots had already traveled three times further than the plants vines.1 Foot for plant three for the roots...I decided to leave off boards and add more dirt to area leading up to the now 8x10 foot mounds.Also added lots of straw to area to keep out weeds and keep whole area moist underneath.Root structure looked excellent with all the mycho and root building additives that i blended..

6/3/2011 4:57:54 AM