His Raised Beds Grow As Compost Added

His Raised Beds Grow As Compost Added FARM HOME Miscellaneous Bill Walker’s raised garden beds keep rising as he adds compost to them each year Although he has some lower beds it’s the ones with 2-ft high sides that grab the eye all 38 of them “The idea is that when they get full I won’t have to hardly bend over ” explains Walker Walker picked up a load of treated 2-in lumber for a low price a few years ago Ever since he has been building the raised bed sidewalls in his shop and hauling them to the garden site with his tractor and loader He has 20 24-ft long beds and 18 36-ft beds He used a variety of 2 by 6’s 2 by 8’s 2 by 10’s and even some 2 by 12’s for the walls with 2 by 4’s for uprights Once he has them in place he pounds in sharpened 2 by 4’s as retainers and bolts them to the walls as well The beds are all about 4 ft wide allowing him to reach the center from either side Paths are 3 to 4 ft wide spaced just right for the use of cattle panel plant supports He centers ends of 16-ft cattle panels in neighboring beds and pounds in stakes made from treated 2 by 4’s sharpened at one end Tomatoes pole beans and cucumbers climb up and over Each fall he removes the panels and 2 by 4’s sprays them with a bleach solution and stores them Walker uses electric fence to keep critters out of his garden and especially the sweet corn Last summer he went one better “I borrowed a hunting dog from a friend and let him roam the garden area He kept the sweet corn safe even from squirrels ” says Walker Making compost is a year-long project Walker starts out each fall with piles of leaves collected from his lawn lawn clippings cow manure and if he can find it rotted hay “I get cow manure and sawdust bedding from a friend with a dairy farm ” says Walker “I use my loader to build the pile with alternating layers of leaves grass manure and hay as high as my loader will lift to dump ” Sweet corn takes up many of the beds as does garlic Walker plants hundreds of cloves each fall Once the plants mature he braids the stalks and hangs them to dry keeping some for replanting Walker and his wife make gallons of what he calls V-6 juice They cook down a mixture of tomatoes celery hot and sweet peppers garlic and onions Then they strain it for juice; the pulp they use like salsa The bulk of the produce is given away to anyone who needs it Walker says being able to give food away makes all the work worthwhile “The Bible says to care for the widows and orphans ” he says “It feels so good to give the vegetables away ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Bill Walker 1027 Ty Valley Ln Glade Hill Va 24092 ph 540 483-9644; cell 540 420-5000

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