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Jeremy Strom

9 years ago

Are those metal posts? Is the base of your frame hollow or does the dirt go clear to the ground?

JD Garden, Hillsborough · More Info

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Steve Masley Consulting and Design

9 years ago

Of course I'm concerned about ecology, I've been an organic gardener for 30 years. And as I said, I rely on client's contractors to build the beds and make them structurally sound. In my years in the business, I've learned which designs are problematic, and which designs are more durable, and I incorporate this knowledge in my design and material recommendations.

You can't tell much about the construction of the trellis from the photo I put up, so you don't know how I've modified it. In fact, I did put an extra hour of work into it, and as I said, I've had some in place, with minor repairs, for 4 or 5 years. With the shape they're in, they'll last at least another 5 years.

Trellises don't stay in the same place year after year, because you have to rotate crop families even in small gardens. So having a trellis bolted to the same place in a bed limits rotation and isn't ecologically sound. Sometimes, you don't want a trellis in the back, you want it in the front, to provide a cooler microclimate to shade cool-season vegetables. An in-bed trellis gives more flexibility than hardware-mounted external trellises. With your rolling planters, you can just change the crops you plant in that particular planter, but with a fixed bed, you have to rotate crops and their supports.

You're exaggerating on the durability of these materials, even the cheaper trellises I put in last years, not months. The drainage in my beds is perfect for vegetables, so they're not rotting out quickly. Even in 10-year-old beds, when I deep-dig and expose the bottom timbers, there's very little, if any, fungal etching, even along the seams of unlined beds.

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Comments (6)

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Steve Masley Consulting and Design
9 years ago
Those are steel U-braces that wrap around the beds on 3 sides. The soil goes to the bottom of the boxes, so it's about 30" deep.
PRO
RollingPlanter
9 years ago
I know gardeners like to do things fast and inexpensively, but spending an extra dollar or two is better; especially when you can make your lattice vegetable trellis last for many years not just a couple or a seasons. Placing cheap pipe, "U" clamps and other hardware tricks is not the answer. I design and make a trellis system that cost a bit more to make but last forever for it never touches the ground. The only thing that touches it our the arbors and stems of the plants. Mine is built strong and not something that is stapled, taped together or clamped together. The idea is to build it right the first time and not throw it away year after year. We need sustainable solutions. For more information contact me at: rollingplanter@gmail.com
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PRO
Steve Masley Consulting and Design
9 years ago
Rollingplanter, I admire what you do, you make a beautiful, durable product. I design and install organic raised bed gardens, but I don't build the beds. My clients hire their contractors to build the beds. I liken gardening to music. I don't build the instrument (although I do help with the design)--I tune it, play it, and teach clients how to play it.

Some clients would rather have larger beds and more garden space than spend $400-500 on a cucumber trellis. Not everyone can afford a Mercedes. I've had some of these stapled trellises in place for 4 or 5 years. They're screwed to 2 x 2 redwood posts, which are the only thing in contact with the soil. When the staples come loose, I put in a screw. Trellis fixed and we get another year out of it.
PRO
RollingPlanter
9 years ago
Steve, well put. I see you're not concern with structure integrity or ecology. Touching soil with redwood, whether it is 2 x 2 or 1/2 x 1/2 or whatever should not be happening, permitted at all. Redwood is not a sustainable tree growth.

We are not emphasizing anyone build trellis for $400 to $500. Instead we state that one puts a bit extra time in the design, and hardware. Why should one pay the gardener for something that last a few weeks or months. Yes, our boxes are durable, we don't build them like Chevy Novas but rather like Toyota pickup trucks.

Whether you build your boxes or not, we need to treat building materials as if you can not throw them away once a year. As residence of the Earth we must address things to be more sustainable. We need to utilize and protect our natural resources, for they don't renew over night.

Getting back to the trellis. If you put $10 and an extra hour of work into it, it perhaps would last 10 to 15 years. Then again, many of you gardeners charge Rolls Royce prices and really don't care about the ecology other than your fat pay check.
Peartree
9 years ago
I think your raised beds are beautiful and they look very functional. It's hard to tell from the pic but are the black braces/frames metal? If so were they custom made for this project or prefab?

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Steve Masley Consulting and Design

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