____________________
Operation
SPECIAL
TROY-BILT
GARDENING
TECHNIQUE-
Making
Raised
Beds
For
Planting
If
you have wet soil or heavy
clay soil, most crops
won't
grow
well due to a lack
of
air and nutri-
ents. Raised beds can help solve
these problems. In addition, they
provide a good irrigation system,
give more sun to the plants, and
foster good root growth. Raised
beds are easily made too with the
optional Hiller-Furrower attach-
ment.
You
can even try wide-row
planting on raised beds. Wide
rows can be spaced from 30 inches
to 36 inches apart, and from 8
inches to 10 inches high.
Photos 4-30 through 4-33 at
right show you the steps to take to
create raised beds. After working
the soil to a fine seedbed, attach
your Hiller-Furrower and use it to
make your rows. The hiller wings
will raise up the soil, creating the
foundation for the raised beds.
After you plant seeds on the ridges
of
each row, rake the ridges flat.
Then use the tiller with the fur-
rower to make irrigation trenches
at the end
of
each row.
Photo
4-30: Step 1 - Work
soil
to a
deep,
smooth,
loose
seedbed.
Photo
4-32: Step 3 -
After
planting
seeds
on
the ridges, rake loose
soil
over
the top. Firm the
soil
per
seed
directions.
Photo
4-31: Step 2 -
Put
row
mark-
er
stakes
at
proper
intervals.
At-
tach
Hiller-Furrower
to make rows.
Photo
4-33: Step 4 - Use
furrower
blade
attachment
to
make
irrigation
trenches
at
the
ends
of
each row.
SPECIAL
TROY-BILT
GARDENING
TECHNIQUE-
Wide-Row
Planting
Wide-row planting
is
a very productive gardening
technique we suggest you try. As the name implies,
seeds are broadcast
in
bands anywhere from 10 inches
to 2 feet wide or more, rather than
in
traditional, nar-
row single rows. As a result, you'll typically grow
anywhere from 3 to 4 times (or more) produce
in
the
same space normally set aside for an area that has nar-
row, single rows.
Wide-row planting (see photos at right) automati-
cally shades the ground which keeps weed growth
down and also holds moisture in the soil. And
of
course, harvesting is much easier - everything is right
at hand
to
be picked. Preparing wide rows is easy -
after you prepare the seedbed and mark off the rows
with string, just hand-broadcast the seeds
as
seeding a
lawn (not quite as much as lawn seed). Cover with
soil and tamp the area firmly with a hoe.
39
Photo
4-34:
Wide-row
,
planting
on
the
right
com-
pared
to
sin-
gle-row
plant-
ing
on
the left.
Photo
4-35:
After
prepar-
ing
seedbed,
mark
off
the
row
area
as
wide
as
you
want,
up
to 4-
feet across.
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