Besides not bending over, our raised beds drained good. Whereas our regular garden was looking great, until the rains came about 2 weeks, ago and root rot set in, on our tomatoes, now it will not be a good harvest.
As counterintuitive as it may seem, watering them more might actually help, provided you add about 10% of a 3% by volume strength Hydrogen peroxide to the water, which is used sparringly. The resulting foam you see when say applying Peroxide to a cut is essentially the extra Oxygen atom from the H2O2 being released and will help provide some aeration while knocking back bacteria and microbes (Both good and bad SO have some sort of mycorrhizal amendment handy to help replace beneficial organisms after things dry out a bit) Also, to the O.P. if you live in a highly arid region you will find yourself having to water much more frequently, though adding some biochar to your soil blend as an offset will help to retain up to 50% more moisture. (Sure it costs $@ a pound BUT is also very easy to make with a little research. (Heres a good site for that Biochar - biochar-international )
I love mine I have now. Used free guard rail off of road rebuild jobs, lined it with heavy weed control material. Very durable, mI can drive myn'64 Simplicity with tiller up them in the spring and fall. Have used some form of raised bed here in Alaska because the soil warms up better. Then there's the plus of sitting on a box to do the weeding and planting. Ground has gotten further away with age.
No I stuff the inside of the rims with old newspapers. I fill my bin bags with cheap compost, as they keep the roots of tender plants warm, they last the Winter. I really must remember to take some photos.
I do. Soil stays nice and loose and airy, less weeds. It warms up faster in the spring. Raised beds and containers is the only way to go for me.
We grow most stuff in raised beds these days ,yes because of the bending over aspect. The only downside is extra watering but we were smart when we created the beds. We read that if you put logs, branches ,cardboard in the base of the beds and then top up with soil the base materials absorb and keep moisture in just like a giant sponge. And of course enrich the soil as they rot down. Guess what , it works !!
I did that with my raised beds too, the only down side was all the ants that decided it was a great place to live. Pulling weeds and all of a sudden the ground is crawling with them, not to mention they like to chew through the stems of radishes, beets and turnips. My next garden I probably won't put anything but compost and biochar in my beds.
