Real estate preps

[steev]

Here in the SF Bay Area, apparently backyard raised-bed boxes have become like "kitchen-upgrades" for home sales; I'm not criticizing, just noting something that didn't used to be a point. When I was younger (BC times; Before Compost), people just planted in the ground, if they were inclined to plant at all (most did, coming out of the Depression and WWII).

I just find this a tad weird, when it's attractive to people who don't really expect/intend to live there very many years and want this stuff to be a sales-point when they want to move up (to a bigger, more prestigious, mortgage, although the boxes may have been ill-constructed {materials, design, or fastening-wise} and therefore deteriorating prematurely).

I'm thinking about this because I'm involved with a young realtor couple who call me to work on properties they're going to sell; the SF Bay Area is currently blowing up in real-estate "values"; how long before this bubble bursts? It's great for sellers; I wouldn't be a buyer on a bet. There are people buying now who won't be able to "trade up" or possibly even pay up.

While I recognize the value of a raised-bed one can sit on, I think the question is: What are you trying to do? Is it about growing food in the city? That's a very useful goal. Is it about growing food when one can't get down to the soil? That's a very useful goal. Is it about growing food when you live in a "grocery-produce-free zone? So very useful! I think the point is that when so many of our population are estranged from the source of our food, anything that draws them back into the reality of where our food comes from, is a good thing.

[philagardener]

It sounds like a real opportunity, and a good chance to get more folks involved in raising their own food. Here in PA, I have seen a start-up or two that does vegetable garden planting and maintenance, so folks can just "walk out and pick their produce". Don't know how well that works, or the level of client satisfaction, but if folks hire house cleaners, personal chefs, and lawn crews, why not? All the better to have someone involved who knows the best place for those raised beds and the right varieties to plant, and raised beds do drain better, warm earlier and offer control over the soil mix. It also can help if one has any concerns about potential contamination from lead paint, etc, and simplifies path/bed distinctions so folks aren't walking on everything.

[prairiegarden]

Raised beds are wonderful, especially for those with mobility or back issues. Most of them tend to be too short - 8inches is great for some things but it isn't high enough for a raised bed if for someone who has bending or kneeling issues. They do tend to need more attention to watering, and slugs and other beasies can decide they LIKE the wood sides, but those issues are generally minor. The main problem is setting them up and getting them filled, that can be a pricey proposition, especially for the taller ones. One thing that can help with that is putting a bale of ( organic) straw down first and then your compost or soil on top of that, more soil/compost will be needed to top it up in following years but it's a gradual thing.

A huge plus is they help prevent the ( apparently) # 1 problem for beginner gardeners, which is trying to cope with a garden way too big for them. Raised beds are limited space, they make things manageable to think about. There's no "border" to establish and maintain. they don't have to struggle with difficult soils. Anything that makes it easier to get into gardening ( and get hooked on it) in my mind is a Good Thing.

[mskrieger]

True. My gardening started out with the ultimate raised beds; plastic bins on a rooftop. I was able to observe the plants minutely and got a hunger for a 'real' garden.

On the other hand, raised beds are pricey, and can discourage folks if their motivation is to raise food affordably. 500 square feet of in-the-ground garden bed plus a fruit tree or two pays off handsomely with just a year or two of practice. I do know some folks who raise an enormous amount of food in containers/raised beds much more affordably than they could buy it, but I would consider all of them to be pretty expert gardeners. (Or tremendous cheapskates. My husband and I sourced our rooftop garden infrastructure for about $10, by chatting up a disaffected Home Depot employee in the garden department who was happy to meet us in the parking lot with busted bags of soil, broken plastic shelving and the like.)

[steev]

Yes, raised beds can be pricey, especially when they're well-constructed from durable materials, but if priced over 25/30 years, the access for mobility-impaired (and OLD!) folks can be well worth it, encouraging getting outside and involved with living processes.

One of my clients has Parkinson's; he had me build raised beds, which he gardens enthusiastically. There is no question that they contribute more than lettuce and zucchini to his life.

[mountaindweller]

Most raised beds I see around here are more or less abandoned. It's something hip you try for a while and then you leave it. It is different for old people who gardened all their life and can't bend down anymore.
Anyway, it is a nice niche for gardeners and better than weeding or running behind a lawn mower. If you can supply seedlings too you make a bit more. Maybe you intstall a watering system too, because if they don't water it is your fault if these seedlings don't grow..
For less fussy people, raised beds are built out of old roofing sheets. Around here it is very fashionable to use these rusty sheets for facades and it looks cool and costs nothing.

mountainherbs.net/

[steev]

Admitted, it's an "urban" thing, but we are ever more so, hence their increasing allure. Personally, I'm not into raised beds, but then, I can still get down on my knees and back up; Inshallah!

I can't imagine ever having raised beds on the farm, really not an urban backyard sort of thing, and if I get down and can't get back up, I figure the neighbors should come over and kick some dirt on me, if it's getting whiffy.

[mskrieger]

For sure, I agree that if tended and used over a long period of time, raised beds can be great--and the folks I know who get the most out of them do tend to be elderly and/or disabled in some fashion. Their gardening skill trumps their limitations.

[prairiegarden]

it's also easier to walk between raised beds, because they are permanent paths they are a lot easier to maintain. ( although weed whacking can get to be a bit of an issue.) For older people falling is often a legitimate concern, and permanent paths tend to be much more stable and easier to navigate.

[mskrieger]

Honestly, maintaining paths in a traditional garden is as easy as scraping a sharp hoe down them once a month. Much easier (for those who can stand and scrape a hoe) than if a bed has hard edges and a grass or perennial weed invades along those hard edges....then you have to painstakingly finger pull (perhaps easier for those whose primary source of strength is their fingers/arms.)

All depends on one's capabilities. My current status may reveal a certain, um, growing tendency to sympathize with those who have trouble bending and squatting and have limited endurance. In my case, this is temporary. But educational .

[prairiegarden]

I was thinking of friends who have a bricked in garden with raised beds, it works very well and looks very attractive. Trying to use a wheelchair on soil paths can be a bit of a challenge and tends to leave the tires very dirty. For them, although one is mostly restricted to a wheelchair it doesn't matter even if it's raining the garden is always accessible. She would not be able to access the garden much of the time otherwise and clean rain won't make a mess in the house, she just rolls the chair back and forth a couple of times on the back entry rug and she's good to go.

I haven't asked them what they do about keeping it clear of random weeds and grass although there was a discussion about vinegar once in another context.

The disadvantages of course, it is not very easilly modified if changes are wanted, and tends to be very expensive to install. Still, my friends say it was much cheaper than going on a cruise and unlike a cruise offers ongoing pleasure as well as probably being better over the long term for both mental and physical health.

[mountaindweller]

I have raised beds only for cuttings and perennial seeds which need automated watering system.
In some circumstances they are great over all you always have to buy your soil unless you have a ton of compost laying around somewhere.
It is SO trendy having a cool locking raised bed or two. As your hourly rates as a gardener are not that great, selling raised beds are a good piece of income, the bed, the seedlings, the soil etc. But you must design the coolest trendiest raised beds there is!

mountainherbs.net/