Perennials: First raised bed for perennials, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
You definitely do not want to cover the crowns of your plants as this could kill them (some plants might be able to push up from being covered but better safe than sorry). Often plants’ surface roots will be exposed as the surrounding soil is washed away or compacted. It can be death either way – planted too deep or too high.

Yep, tilling around trees and shrubs could harm them. A raised bed over tree/shrub surface roots can be harmful as well. I would use pots for these areas instead unless you can move the raised bed far enough away from the trunk of a tree/shrub.

Better soil will definitely help out the plants and maybe your back to a lesser degree. Extra work will still be needed to get it going and you will need some maintenance after that.

You might need to just get a bench of some kind and put some hefty pots on it to get the plants at a height you and your back would be comfortable with. A lot of plants don\'t need a lot of depth - just good soil, room to grow, and a good location (sun requirements). You may have to water more often since pots tend to dry out quicker than the earth.

200 pounds of lime over how much area doesn\'t sound like a lot and should not make the ground hard. You could try gypsum that has similar traits as lime (sweeten the soil) and also help to break up clay. I don\'t know how much is needed though and I haven\'t seen that it helps that much but check it out.

Lime is often good to add to a compost pile especially to neutralize the odors of green material breaking down.

Have you got voles, moles, and chipmunks in your yard? I\'ve never used cages underground to protect bulbs and the like but there must be folks who have had problems with these critters and therefore a market for protecting roots and bulbs.

Here is a photo of a homemade bench at one of the nurseries I visit. Looks like cinder block legs and wooden pallets to hold their perennials up for the buying public.