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At a time when mobile home parks and apartment complexes are steadily growing, it is difficult to find a 50 feet by 20 feet piece of land to set up an ideal farm or field. Raised bed gardening is a welcome option. Known by various names, it has widely been in use in the Oriental countries. The Chinese, Indians and Japanese have been using it for over four centuries. Ancient Babylonians used this in their famous Hanging Gardens while the Greeks, some 2000 years ago, wrote an elaborate treatise on this technique. The French know it as the Biodynamic French-Intensive method. The colonial Americans also were aware of this technique; while the Oneota used ridge-till farming which is a form of raised bed gardening. Also known as the Square Foot method and the Growing Beds method, this is emerging as a dependable alternative for today's world. Raised bed gardening is very space effective and is also economical. The advantages of raised beds in gardening as opposed to in ground gardening are many. Some of the uses of raised beds are: * Prevents soil erosion and compacting * Decreases soil fertility problems * Maximises yield * Conserve water and nutrients * Can be built on slopes and terraces * Less weeding: seasonal tilling is not required as there is no soil compaction. If proper care is taken weeds disappear gradually * Permits soil modification: can be built in places like parking lots, terraces, steep slopes and other places where the soil is compacted. * Low maintenance: a concentrated space means better management of fertilizer, water, mulch and other nutrients, ensuring no waste * Increase in growing season: well prepared beds mean that the plant roots can breathe better. Raised beds catch better sun and warm up faster, properly made beds facilitate better drainage. These factor amend for a longer growing season * Protection of plants: the typical structure of raised beds helps protect the plants from foot traffic * Accessible to the physically challenged: the typical raised bed structure enables better access for people using wheelchairs or those who have a bad back. One has to be very careful while choosing material to make the boxes for a raised bed. There are aesthetically designed, affordable boxes on the market. They are food grade (to stop chemical leaching), UV stabilized polyethylene boxes. If you want to home-make your raised bed boxes, you might want to use simple timber sleepers and bind them together with steel rods. You need to make sure to use untreated hardwood to prevent chemicals leaching into soil. You can consider using planks and rebar or concrete blocks; or you might want to wattle or you can simply use some 20-30 sandbags to make raised beds for your garden. The ideal size of a typical raised bed measures 6 to 8 feet long and is 6 to 8 feet high and has a width of 3 to 6 feet. Its time you chose to take this option and hope you enjoy your time with raised beds. Are you looking for more information regarding raised beds? Visit http://www.thealternativegardener.com today!
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