protect it against soil moisture. This board will distribute
your weight over the bed as you dig or work on the bed.
A bow rake (preferably 5 feet 6 inches in length)
makes leveling and forming the bed easy. A hula hoe is
the perfect tool for cultivating the upper 2 to 4 inches of
soil.
Laying Out Your Beds
Carefully choose a place for your raised beds that has
access to water and sunlight—preferably 7 to 11 hours of
direct sunlight each day.
To begin, mark out a bed 3 to 5 feet wide and at least
3 feet long. A 3 foot by 3 foot space assures a minimum
mini-climate. Most people prefer beds to be 5, 10 or 20
feet long, as it makes calculating easier.
The maximum length should be determined by ease of
work.
Consider your source of compost. Ideally, you will
have compost that you have prepared available as you
begin to prepare your beds. However, many decide to
purchase compost or aged manure to begin. For this
initial application of organic matter, one may consider
aged manure. While compost is preferable, if one
chooses aged manure, assure that it is two-year-old steer
or cow manure, or two-year-old horse manure that
originally contained a lot of sawdust, or two-month-old
horse or chicken manure not containing much sawdust.
The best time to double-dig the soil is in early