microbiotic life and plants will stay alive. The bed
should be planted as soon as possible so the plants can
take advantage of the new surge of life made possible by
bringing together the soil, compost, air, water, sun, and
fertilizers.
A good growing bed will often be 2 to 10 inches
higher than the soil’s original surface. A good soil
contains 50% air space. (In fact, adequate air is one of
the missing ingredients in most soil preparation
processes.) Increased air space allows for increased
di)usion of oxygen (which the roots and microbes
depend on) into the soil, and of carbon dioxide (which
the leaves depend on) out of the soil. The increased
“breathing” ability of a double-dug bed is a key to
improved plant health. Thus, the prepared depth will be
as much as 34 inches in clayey soil. A sandy soil will
probably not raise as high as clayey soil at +rst. To
prevent erosion and promote more even water saturation
in a clay bed with a high rise, create a lip around the top
of the bed (see this page).
If the bed raises higher than 10 inches as you are
double-digging, be sure to level it out with a rake as you
go along. Otherwise you will end up with a very wide
and deep trench at the end of the bed. Then you will
have to move a large amount of soil from one end of the
bed to the other to even it out when you are tired. This
would also cause a disproportionate misplacing of
topsoil into the subsoil area.
brent
(Brent)
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