Above ground bed growing

[Maiden69]

Well, finally had a chance to clear a small area next to my bench for a small 5x3 above ground bed. I used the corner blocks that Lowes sell with 2x6 pressure treated lumber that I had left over from the bench. I will probably buy more lumber to raise it a little more to cover the entire bag. Right now I have 6 trees in it, a trident, JBP, yoshino cherry blossom (testing the waters with this one in an 8b zone), peppermint peach tree (again trying to see if it works here), a Chinese pistache, and a bald cypress (which I may move into a water tub as my second year seedlings are almost 2/3rd the size of this one that I bought from a nursery in a 1 gal container.

The bottom is covered with weed barrier fabric and I filled the bed with pine bark nuggets from Lowes. I thought about using regular mulch, but thought that this would look better in the bed. I may use my lawnmower in the mulching setting and cut the chunks o back smaller.

I guess this will be more of an experiment for me, I would love to be able to grow in the ground, but I wouldn't be able to where I live, plus the quality of the soil here sucks.

Soil is a mix of Bonsai Jack's Bonsai Block and monto clay with pumice, for the pine I added some lava as well. I was planning on only using pumice and lava as recommended by @Adair M, but decided to add the other 2 substrates because of how hot and dry it gets here.

 

[penumbra]

Nice job. I like the way you give your plants room to grow. Mine are too close and need to be reset. Its too easy to miss wire removal and such.

 

[Maiden69]

Nice job. I like the way you give your plants room to grow. Mine are too close and need to be reset. Its too easy to miss wire removal and such.

Thanks, my first try was with them on the ground covered with mulch... it was a disaster because I didn't have enough space. The pine was not happy at all because the trident and the cherry tree will shade it after 2-3 pm. Now it get's full sun till around 6-7 pm. I plan on letting them grow for a few years, and with this spacing I will be able to check on them, rotate them (except the pistache), and swap them for other trees if necessary.

 

[Maiden69]

I didn't realize I had not updated this thread with all the changes I've made to the grow bed.

I added two 3'x6' galvanized oval planters in that area, plus a 2'x4' oval planter for small pines, a 2'x4' plastic rectangle with some trees, and a large 3'x8' rectangular galvanized planter for the bigger pines. I already ran out of room and have a second 3'x8' rectangle planter to install for spring when I move the trees around. Today I added a 6'x7'x10' cheap greenhouse frame with 50% shade cloth to alleviate the plants from the extra sun. Should have done this earlier.

I think I will probably change the cloth to 30% as it looks like a lot of shade, probably because of the proximity of the cloth. Cloth is set so it only shades the trees in the front planter and the ones right by the side. Small variety of Japanese quince, Chinese Pistache and the Liquidambar Orientalis. I think next year once I chop almost all the trees in the other bed, the cloth will go over the entire area starting on June when we start getting 100 degree weather days.

The frame came with a greenhouse vinyl cover that I will probably use depending on the weather next year. If we get a freeze like we did this year I may cut back all the trees to the edge of the frame and install the cover with all the trees I normally mulch in.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Every tree is sacred
Every tree is great
If a tree is wasted
God gets quite irate

................ Monty Bonsai

 

[Maiden69]

I should have mentioned @Clicio since he is the one who gave me the idea of using the 50% shade... I was just struggling with how to implement it in a "to me" economical way. And the $80 frame with cover was cheaper than any wood I could have bought to do this.