Cedar Experiment, Week Five

his is the fourth installment of me answering the question: do cedar beds really inhibit the growth of vegetable seedlings?  This experiment looks to see if cedar beds lined with cardboard will help veggies grow bigger and faster.

Why even grow in garden beds at all?  Some famous gardeners, like Steve Solomon from Territorial Seed or John Jeavons, the author of "How to Grow More Vegetables," are advocates of growing in amended but native soils.  Those who claim beds are best, like Mel Bartholomew of Square Foot Gardening state the reason for raised beds is that they'll help the soil drain faster and warm faster in the spring. My own experience has shown me that I can use Jeavon's process of double digging and combine it with raised garden beds to the benefit of my garden.  If I dig out the area to contain a bed eight inches down, mix that with my imported soil , then add that mix back into the bed, I get the microbial ecosystem from my native soil along with the lighteners I add to the imported soil.  Root crops and potatoes seem to love the amended native soil raised beds, while cabbages and squash fare best in native soil with only a small amount of extra compost.

Here's the Lined Cedar bed:

And the Unlined Cedar Bed:

The marked differences are still apparent.  The beans and carrots are faring better in the lined bed,  the beets are bigger in the unlined bed.  Can't wait to eat 'em... and of 'em.