A raised bed garden consists of erecting beds of soil on top of the ground. Like any gardening style, there are advantages and disadvantages of raised bed gardening. There are also a few options to consider when creating your raised bed.

The advantages of having raised beds are as follows:

Having raised beds allows you to blend your soil so that’s it is more tailored to growing plants with specific needs. With raised bed you will have less chance of soil erosion, pesky critters, leaf litter and other organic debris affecting your plants. Raised beds are ideal for long rooted plants due to the several inches of soil under them. In addition, raised beds will decrease the fatigue of your knees and back.

Unfortunately all of those advantages come with a price:

Constructing a raised bed garden can be costly and very time consuming. When getting your parts, remember that lumber treated with creosote should not be used. The creosote will seep into your beds and kill your plants. The edges of your beds must be constructed properly and reinforced to prevent the sides of the bed from deteriorating over time. Raised beds tend to dry out faster than regular tilled beds and will required a more vigorous watering routine.

Options for raised beds:

Raised beds can be edged with lumber as stated above or the edges can be left unfinished. Obviously the finished edged beds will require more work, time and money to construct. I usually construct raised beds with the unfinished edges. Leaving the edges unfinished makes the bed look more natural. One word of caution with an unfinished edged raised bed; be sure to properly edge the bed before actually making it, and keep the sod cut back so the grass does not start to grow into your raised bed.

Remember raised beds are a big investment. Start building your raised grow beds, and you could see better plants in no time and your back and knees will hurt less too.

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This E-book covers everything from where to get the knowledge you need, tips about which plants to propagate, how much space you will need, the types of rooting media used, an easy method to provide shade for your misting bed, and more!

Grab your copy right now before time runs out!

Download your How to start a plant propagation nursery by using the link to the right.

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I touched on the rooting media you need for the misting beds in part 4 and will explain how to construct a misting bed and a few tips when building one that will greatly aid in rooting your cuttings.

Misting bed locations and dimensions

Misting beds are usually built on the ground. Flats can be set on benches to bring the cuttings up to a comfortable level, but one thing to keep in mind when constructing a raised misting bed is the fact that the rooting media will dry out quicker because there is more area exposed to wind.

A good size for a ground based misting bed is 4′ wide by whatever length you decide. Typical beds are 10′ long, but can be made 20′ long if desired. The only limiting factor is the number of misting nozzles that you will be able to use per zone. Look for my article on determining how many misting nozzles can be used per zone that is based on your water pressure and flow. The 4′ width is determined because you will have to get on your knees and bend over the edge of the bed to work with the cuttings. You can access half the beds width from one side and the other half by the opposite side. If using rooting flats, 2′ is the furthest you want to reach and lift a flat from.

Construct a box out of 2×6 lumber that is 4′ wide by whatever length you have decided on. Set this box on the ground in a flat area that drains well. Read this article on how to move water away from your misting bed if your soil drains poorly. Mark out the area around the box and remove all the grass by either spraying it with roundup to kill it or by cutting through the sod and removing it. NOTE: If you decide on the roundup, you MUST wait at least 3 days for the grass to die before you build your misting bed on it. For added insurance, place 3 layers of newspaper on top of the grass before you fill the bed with the rooting media. If choosing the cut and move method, place the sod upside down to help kill the grass. These pieces are great for starting raised beds!

Once the area is free of weeds and grass, place the box on the ground, install drainage if necessary, and fill it with sand or peat/perlite. Before actually using the rooting media, be sure to water your bed thoroughly to be sure it is moist and drains well.

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Surprisingly, you really don’t need much space to start your plant propagation nursery. I know what you are thinking; every nursery you have been to has been fairly sizable if not quite large. True, but to start your nursery you only need an area about 1/20th of an acre, or 2178 square feet. Now figure that the average home is somewhere near 2,330 square feet, and you can quickly see that you only need an area that is about the same size as an average house.

What is needed to start your plant propagation nursery

Surprisingly, there are few things needed to start your nursery.

• Stock plants
• Misting beds
• Misting system
• Grow beds
• Compost heap
• Sale area

That is a short list isn’t it? Of course as your nursery grows you will need to add a few more items, but that is essentially all you need to begin.

Stock Plants

I touched upon stock plants already but will mention that the best way to maintain your stock plants is to simply plant them in your landscape. Using them in your landscape benefits in two ways;

1. You beautify your landscape
2. They only need to be purchased once

Misting beds

Misting beds are simply beds made specifically to propagate softwood cuttings. The beds can be as small as 4′x8′, and you can begin with just one. To make things even better, sand can be used to root your cuttings in so you don’t need to buy peat, perlite, or flats for rooting. Four pieces of lumber can be used to form the side to hold the sand. Nothing fancy there.

Misting system

An intermittent misting system is installed in the misting bed to provide moisture to the cuttings as they form roots. Intermittent misting systems have traditionally been controlled by two mechanical timers. The newer digital misting timers are far superior and less expensive. Be sure to read the article Intermatic Timers-Why you should not use them for misting systems to learn about the benefits of digital misting timers.

Complete misting systems are now available at reasonable prices when starting your nursery, and these systems are expandable as your nursery grows.

Grow beds

Grow beds are simply beds you create to hold your newly rooted cuttings for them to grow. These beds are not essential if you are planning on selling the rooted cuttings, but if you plan on selling plants that have put on at least one years growth you will need to have them. Plants that have been rooted and grown for at least a year are called liners. These liners are what you would purchase at a local nursery.

Compost heap

Compost is one of those items that is essential to starting your propagation nursery. Compost is nothing more than decomposed vegetable matter that releases its nutrients into the soil, providing your rooted cuttings with essential nutrients. If you are thinking compost is difficult to do, go ahead and read this article at ezinearticles.com.

Sale area

Do you have a front lawn? How about a driveway? Well, you have a sale area! When you fill your sale area with great plants, folks will drive from miles away to buy your plants. Have a big box store nearby and are worried that you won’t get any business? When word gets out about how great your plants, knowledge and customer service is compared to theirs, you will draw them in droves. Skeptical? Go ahead and check out this site and see for yourself.

The next article will go into a little more detail on what you can use for rooting media.

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Let’s assume that the area where you are planning your bed is now planted in grass. How do you get rid of the grass? Chemicals or no chemicals? Chemicals are easy, so we’ll look at the chemical method first.

My favorite chemical for killing grass and weeds is RoundUp, and used properly it is effective. Rule number one: Read the label on the package, and mix the chemical exactly as recommended by the manufacture. Rule number two: Assume that every plant that the RoundUp touches is going to die. It is a non-selective herbicide.

The first thing you need to do is mark out where your planting bed is going to be. Spend some time on this step. If you are landscaping around your house, give careful consideration to what is going to be planted in the bed, and then decide how large each plant is going to be when fully mature. You can keep plants trimmed to a certain size, but be realistic when you make these estimates. Trust me when I tell you, this is the number one mistake made by Do-it-yourself landscapers. People are just afraid to make those beds large enough.

Typically, a bed should never be narrower than 42”, and corner beds should be 12’ in diameter. Islands. If you make those little tiny island beds that I see everywhere I am going to come over to your house and snap you with a wet towel! The island bed in your front yard should be 20’ to 40’ long, and a minimum of 12’ in diameter on at least one end. The easiest way to mark out your planting beds is to buy a can of marking paint at the hardware store. Unlike most spray paint, this only works when the can is inverted, and it is designed specifically for painting lines on the ground. They even have cans that spray chalk instead of paint. I’ve always used the paint, it holds up better if it gets wet.

Once you have the outline of the bed established and marked, mix up some RoundUp and spray all the grass and weeds inside the bed area. Do not put RoundUp in a sprayer that you intend to use for other purposes. You need a sprayer that is dedicated for the use of herbicides. When applying the spray, be very careful not to let the spray drift onto the grass and other plants that you do not want to kill.

To minimize spray drift, adjust the spray nozzle so the spray pattern is narrow and the droplets are larger. A wide, fine spray pattern is sure to drift outside of the intended area. Also keep the pressure in the sprayer quite low. Pump it just enough to deliver the spray. High pressure causes the spray to atomize and drift. Apply just enough spray to wet the foliage. If you have liquid dripping off the blades of grass, you are applying too much. More is not better.

Once sprayed, be careful not to step in the area that has been sprayed. Many a people have had golden foot prints across their lawn because they forgot and walked through what had been sprayed.

This is the difficult part, and the part that many people do not get, so pay close attention. The only way that the RoundUp can possibly work, is if you leave it alone. Did you get that? Once you apply the RoundUp, don’t do another thing with that bed for 72 hours. That’s three very long days. I know you’re anxious, but this is the price you pay for not planning ahead.

RoundUp is a systemic herbicide, which means that it has to be absorbed by the plant, then trans located throughout the plant. It takes three days for that to happen. If you go digging and chopping, you might just as well skip the spraying step. Go build a compost bin while you’re waiting.

After three days the weeds and grass are going to look as healthy and happy as ever. Don’t let em fool ya. They’re as dead as dead can be. Providing the RoundUp didn’t get washed off by rain within the first 24 hours of the waiting period. Now you can dig and chop to your heart’s content.

However, the only digging that I do is to go around the edge of the bed and strip the sod back about 15”. Just peel off about 1” and flip it into the center of the bed. This makes it easier to edge and mulch the bed if you get the sod out of the way. Now for the non chemical method.

Mark out the outline of the bed as described above. Strip the sod back 15”, just like above. Since you aren’t using any herbicides I would dig down about 1-1/2” when removing the sod from the edges. Take the sod you stripped back and lay it in the center of the bed upside down and pack it down firmly. Now take newspaper or brown paper grocery bags and cover the entire bed area. Use 9 layers of newspaper. No matter what method you used, chemical or non chemical, you are now ready to fill the planting bed with topsoil.

Put 8 to 12” of good rich topsoil in the bed. Make sure the soil is higher in the back, closest to the wall, so the water drains away from the building. If you are creating an island planting make the center of the bed the highest point. Make sure the topsoil you buy is well drained and rich in organic matter. Buying topsoil is a tricky game, you’ve got to be careful and shop around. Topsoil is one item that you do not want to order over the phone, sight unseen.

This is what you are looking for when buying topsoil:

Topsoil that is rich in organic matter will be very dark in color. If the soil is light in color it is probably just fill sand. The other thing you’ve got to watch for is how well drained the soil is. Topsoil that has a clay base is poorly drained and sticky, and your plants will not be happy at all. They might even die if they are too wet. Once a clay based topsoil dries out it gets very hard.

Today most topsoil is run through a screener to remove the clumps, rocks, roots, and sticks. There is nothing wrong with buying unscreened topsoil, especially if you’ve visually inspected it, and have found it to be of good quality. Actually, really good topsoil shouldn’t have to be screened, but there is little of that quality topsoil to be had.

When you visit the yard where the soil is stock piled, scoop up a handful of the topsoil and run it through your fingers. If it seems to be grainy, it is probably good soil. But if it appears to tiny round balls, that can be smashed between your fingers, it is probably a clay based soil that will trap water during rainy seasons, and get as hard as a rock when it’s hot and dry.

Pay attention to how the soil is screened. Some machines just shake the soil over a set of screens to separate the debris, and others actually shred the soil. If the soil needs to be shredded, you don’t want it. Look closely at the pile that the raw soil is coming from. If the soil in the raw pile is as hard as a rock, that’s what the screened soil is going be once you get it in your beds. If it appears to be fairly loose, it’s probably good soil.

Put 6-8” of topsoil in your beds. You are now ready to plant. Did you notice that I didn’t get into rototilling and all kinds of extra work. Nor did I suggest that you add bone meal or any of those other goodies that the garden centers sell. I skipped the part about checking the Ph too. Ph is important, but I’ve found that good topsoil almost always has a suitable ph.

I’ve got a confession to make. In almost 30 years of growing, planting, landscaping and the like, I’ve never tested the ph of the soil on any project that I was working on. Is that smart? I don’t know, but I’ve been successful in my efforts, and I have landscaped several hundred homes and grown tens of thousands of plants.

It’s something to think about. What I’m really trying to say is don’t get caught up in too many details, and be careful who you take advice from at those garden stores. Many of those sales people were flipping burgers last week.

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most
interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his
excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his
E-book, “Easy Plant Propagation”

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Yes, you read that right; Mike McGroarty and his backyard grower system is a fraud.

Not my words, but the words of others. Cruising message boards that deal with gardening and plant propagation, I often see folks who say something along those lines. Mike Mcgroarty is a fraud, Mike Mcgroarty is a scam artist, Mike Mcgroarty’s is a ripoff, and a few other things.

Well, I am here to personally let you know that I am extremely happy with Mike McGroarty and his products. I mean, really, who gives away as much information on plant propagation, working with landscape plants, and other topics? Go ahead and check out his website and see what he offers. Sign up for the free newsletter and get ready to learn a ton about gardening and plants in general. Then, scroll way down to the bottom of the page and click on the sitemap link and check out all the free information he gives away. Along with all those articles, he has many more on different websites, on article submission websites, and I have even seen them in a trade magazine I get. Does that look like something a fraud would do? No, I didn’t think so.

Go ahead and check out his website right now!

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“Timing and technique”.

When you do your cuttings is every bit as important as how you do them. So if you do the right thing, at the right time of the year, your efforts are sure to bring success. Through this article you will learn both.

“Rooting Hardwood Cuttings of Deciduous Plants”

Hardwood cuttings are much more durable than softwood cuttings which is why hardwoods are the best technique for the home gardener. A deciduous plant is a plant that loses it’s leaves during the winter. All plants go dormant during the winter, but evergreens keep their foliage. Many people don’t consider Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and and Mountain Laurel evergreens, but they are. They are known as broad leaf evergreens. Any plant that completely loses it’s leaves is a deciduous plant.

There are three different techniques for rooting cuttings of deciduous plants. Two methods for hardwood cuttings, and one for softwood cuttings.   In this article we are only going to discuss rooting cuttings using the hardwood methods.  If you are interested in softwood cuttings, you’ll find a very informative article at http://www.freeplants.com

Of the two hardwood techniques is one better than the other? It depends on exactly what you are rooting, what the soil conditions are at your house, and what Mother Nature has up her sleeve for the coming winter. I have experienced both success and failure using each method. Only experimentation will determine what works best for you. Try some cuttings using each method.

When doing hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants, you should wait until the parent plants are completely dormant. This does not happen until you’ve experienced a good hard freeze where the temperature dips down below 32 degrees F. for a period of several hours. Here in northeastern Ohio this usually occurs around mid November.

Unlike softwood cuttings of deciduous plants, where you only take tip cuttings from the ends of the branches, that rule does not apply to hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants. For instance, a plant such as Forsythia can grow as much as four feet in one season. In that case, you can use all of the current years growth to make hardwood cuttings.

You might be able to get six or eight cuttings from one branch. Grapes are extremely vigorous. A grape vine can grow up to ten feet or more in one season. That entire vine can be used for hardwood cuttings. Of course with grape vines, there is considerable space between the buds, so the cuttings have to be much longer than most other deciduous plants. The average length of a hardwood grape vine cutting is about 12” and still only has 3 or 4 buds. The bud spacing on most other deciduous plants is much closer, so the cuttings only need to be about 6- 8” in length.

Making a deciduous hardwood cutting is quite easy. Just collect some branches (known as canes) from the parent plants. Clip these canes into cuttings about 6” long. Of course these canes will not have any leaves on them because the plant is dormant, but if you examine the canes closely you will see little bumps along the cane. These bumps are bud unions. They are next year’s leaf buds or nodes, as they are often called.

When making a hardwood cutting of a deciduous plant it is best to make the cut at the bottom, or the butt end of the cutting just below a node, and make the cut at the top of the cutting about 3/4” above a node. This technique serves two purposes. One, it makes it easier for you to distinguish the top of the cutting from the bottom of the cutting as you handle them. It also aids the cutting in two different ways. Any time you cut a plant above a node, the section of stem left above that node will die back to the top node. So if you were to leave 1/2” of stem below the bottom node, it would just die back anyway. Having that section of dead wood underground is not a good idea. It is only a place for insects and disease to hide.

It is also helpful to actually injure a plant slightly when trying to force it to develop roots. When a plant is injured, it develops a callous over the wound as protection. This callous build up is necessary before roots will develop. Cutting just below a node on the bottom of a cutting causes the plant to develop callous and eventually, roots. Making the cut on the top of the cutting 3/4” above the node is done so that the 3/4” section of stem above the node will provide protection for the top node. This keeps the buds from being damaged or knocked off during handling and planting. You can press down on the cutting without harming the buds.

When rooting cuttings this way it helps to make the cut at the top of the cutting at an angle. This sheds water away from the cut end of the cutting and helps to reduce the chance of disease. Once you have all of your cuttings made, dip the bottom of the cutting in a rooting compound. Make sure you have the right strength rooting compound (available at most garden stores) for hardwood cuttings. Line them up so the butt ends are even and tie them into bundles.

Select a spot in your garden that is in full sun. Dig a hole about 12” deep and large enough to hold all of the bundles of cuttings. Place the bundles of cuttings in the hole upside down. The butt ends of the cuttings should be up. The butt ends of the cuttings should be about 6” below the surface. Cover the cuttings completely with soil and mark the location with a stake, so you can find them again in the spring.

I know this sounds crazy, but rooting cuttings this way does work.  To increase your chances of success you can cover the butt ends of the cuttings with moist peat moss before filling in the hole. Make sure you wet the peat moss thoroughly, then just pack it on the butt ends of the cuttings.

Over the winter the cuttings will develop callous and possibly some roots. Placing them in the hole upside down puts the butt ends closest to the surface, so they can be warmed by the sun, creating favorable conditions for root development. Being upside down also discourages top growth. Leave them alone until about mid spring after the danger of frost has passed. Over the winter the buds will begin to develop and will be quite tender when you dig them up. Frost could do considerable damage if you dig them and plant them out too early. That’s why it is best to leave them buried until the danger of frost has passed.

Dig them up very carefully, so as not to damage them. Cut open the bundles and examine the butt ends. Hopefully, you will see some callous build up. Even if there is no callous, plant them out anyway. You don’t need a bed of sand or anything special when you plant the cuttings out. Just put them in a sunny location in your garden. Of course the area you chose should be well drained, with good rich topsoil.

To plant the cuttings, just dig a very narrow trench, or using a spade, make a slice by prying open the ground. Place the cuttings in the trench with the butt ends down. Bury about one half of the cutting leaving a few buds above ground. Back fill around the cuttings with loose soil making sure there are no air pockets. Tamp them in lightly, then water thoroughly to eliminate any air pockets.

Water them on a regular basis, but don’t make the soil so wet that they rot. Within a few weeks the cuttings will start to leaf out. Some will more than likely collapse because there are not enough roots to support the plant. The others will develop roots as they leaf out. By fall, the cuttings that survived should be pretty well rooted. You can transplant them once they are dormant, or you can wait until spring. If you wait until spring, make sure you transplant them before they break dormancy.

There really is no exact science when it comes to rooting cuttings, so now I am going to present you with a variation of the above method.

This method still applies to hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants.  With this variation you do everything exactly the same as you do with the method you just learned, up to the point where you bury them for the winter.

With method number two you don’t bury them at all. Instead, you plant the cuttings out as soon as you make them in the late fall, or anytime during the winter when the ground is not frozen. In other words, you just completely skip the step where you bury the cuttings underground for the winter. Plant them exactly the same way as described for method number one. As with all cuttings, treating them with a rooting compound prior to planting will help induce root growth.

Hardwood cuttings work fairly well for most of the deciduous shrubs. However, they are not likely to work for some of the more refined varieties of deciduous ornamentals like Weeping Cherries or other ornamental trees.  Rooting cuttings of ornamental trees is possible, but only using softwood cutting techniques.

Now let’s discuss rooting cuttings of evergreens, using hardwood techniques.

Hardwood cuttings of evergreens are usually done after you have experienced two heavy frosts in the late fall, around mid November or so. However, I have obtained good results with some plants doing them as early as mid September, taking advantage of the warmth of the fall sun. When doing them is early, they need to be watered everyday.

Try some cuttings early and if they do poorly, just do some more in November. Hardwood cuttings of many evergreens can be done at home in a simple frame filled with coarse sand. To make such a frame, just make a square or rectangular frame using 2” by 6” boards. Nail the four corners together as if to make a large picture frame. This frame should sit on top of the ground in an area that is well drained. An area of partial shade is preferred.

Once you have the frame constructed remove any weeds or grass inside the frame so this vegetation does not grow up through your propagation bed. Fill this frame with a very coarse grade of sand.  The sand used in swimming pool filters usually works.  Mason’s sand is a little too fine.  If you have a sand and gravel yard in your area visit the site and inspect the sand piles.  Find a grade that is a little more coarse than masons sand.  But keep in mind that most any sand will work, so just pick one that you think is coarse enough.  If water runs through it easily, it’s coarse enough.

Make sure you place your frame in area where the water can drain through the sand, and out of the frame.  In other words, don’t select a soggy area for your cutting bed.  Standing water is sure to seriously hamper your results.

Making the evergreen cuttings is easy. Just clip a cutting 4-5 inches in length from the parent plant. Make tip cuttings only. (Only one cutting from each branch.) Strip the needles or leaves from the bottom one half to two thirds of the cutting. Wounding evergreen cuttings isn’t usually necessary because removing the leaves or needles causes enough injury for callous build up and root development.

Dip the butt ends of the cuttings in a powder or liquid rooting compound and stick them in the sand about 3/4” to 1” apart. Keep them watered throughout the fall until cool temperatures set in. If you have some warm dry days over the winter, make sure you water your cuttings.  Keep in mind that sand in a raised bed will dry out very quickly.  Don’t worry about snow.  Snow covering your cuttings is just fine, it will actually keep them moist, and protect them from harsh winter winds.

Start watering again in the spring and throughout the summer. They don’t need a lot of water, but be careful not to let them dry out, and at the same time making sure they are not soaking wet.

This method of rooting cuttings of evergreens actually works very well, but it does take some time. You should leave them in the frame for a period of twelve months. You can leave them longer if you like. Leaving them until the following spring would be just fine. They should develop more roots over the winter.

Rooting cuttings of the following plants is very easy using this method.  variegated Euonymus varieties, Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Boxwood, and English Holly. Rhododendrons and Azaleas prefer to have their bottoms warmed before they root.

Michael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most
interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his
excellent gardening newsletter, and grab a FREE copy of his
E-book, “Easy Plant Propagation”.

Tired of writing sales letters for your websites? Use Sales Letter Factory and crank them out in minutes!