How to Use Ties and Posts to Divide Garden Beds

Home landscapes support flower beds, vegetable gardens, shrub borders and large trees, but rarely consist of vegetation alone. Structures like porches and patios add hardscapes while pathways and walls add definition. Give your flower and vegetable gardens small, rustic and straightforward divisions with large posts or railroad ties. Lay the wood out before planting, then amend the soil for elevation and nourishment.

1. Lay the ties out in early spring, when the ground thaws enough fro digging. Moist, slightly warm soil provides the easiest construction, while this timing allows a full spring of planting.

2. Choose site(s) for your garden(s). Build one large garden for multiple plantings or set up several smaller gardens for separation and easier maintenance. Put the gardens in sites with full sunshine and quick drainage for best growing. Most flowers and vegetables fail in shaded locations.

3. Measure for the gardens and mark the corners. Build the sides in multiples of 8 feet to avoid cutting the railroad ties or posts. Make one large garden of 16 to 24 feet by 16 to 24 feet, or smaller side-by-side gardens of 8 feet by 8 feet, with 3 to 4 feet between them. These smaller gardens offer space for multiple plantings while maintaining individual planting beds and pathways between. Add 7 inches to each side to account for the ties or posts.

4. Dig 2-inch-deep and 7-inch-wide trenches for the ties or posts at your borders. Use a level throughout the trenches to keep them at a consistent level. This footer gives the ties or posts a resting point and keeps them secure against both soil and rain. Put the ties or posts into the footers and slide them back and forth until they’re secure.

5. Amend the soil inside the gardens to give the flowers and vegetables a rich, crumbly growing base. Dig into the top 10 inches of soil and add 5 to 6 inches of organic compost for nutrition and moisture. Turn starter 6-24-24 or 8-32-16 fertilizer into the soil for best rooting.

Tips: If you build small gardens, allocate one large crop and several smaller crops to each garden. Match Tomatoes with carrots, radishes, beets, basil and oregano, for example, or corn with squash and bush beans. This companion planting makes the most of the space.


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