# How did you start your raised bed? Gardening advice requested. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 17, 2017, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736 "2017-12-17T22:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grey)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736/22 "2017-12-20T02:42:33Z")
My family has been fairly successful. We tend to intermix marigolds and nasturtium with the radish, zucchini, carrots, kale, beans, peas, garlic, etc etc for some colour. That said, we’re in a completely different climate zone (4b) compared to Houston. ---
**Author:** ![snowthx](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowthx/32/10660_2.png) [@snowthx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snowthx)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736/23 "2017-12-20T02:58:42Z")
Great thread - I will be following this. I have a side yard with old, mostly dead lawn killed-off by the drought. My plan is to add a couple of raised beds for vegetables, with irrigation. My question is about what to put around them for walking-on and weed suppression. I could do cheap pavers or gravel, but I was thinking of just wood chips as the most economical option. Opinions there? Also, I have some shallow tree roots in part of the area of interest. Should I remove those at the surface before doing anything? ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736/24 "2017-12-20T03:44:02Z")
Find a tree trimming/removal service, tell them you’d love a load of mulch dumped at your house. If they’re used to having to pay for someone to take the chipped trees they might be overjoyed to save themselves some $$ by giving it to you. My only reservation regarding wood chip mulch is that you want to get it spread out soon because if the heart of the pile starts working too much it can be really hot to spread around, especially if your beds are made of wood. I had a fresh chip pile I left sit too long and by the time I tore into it the inside of the pile was basically down to ash. Scary! ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736/25 "2017-12-20T11:58:01Z")
Soil amendments/mulch in the Houston area break down quickly during warm, wet weather, so more frequent application is required. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736/26 "2017-12-20T20:02:20Z")
> [@Grey](#): > > My family has been fairly successful. We tend to intermix marigolds and nasturtium with the radish, zucchini, carrots, kale, beans, peas, garlic, etc etc for some colour. That said, we’re in a completely different climate zone (4b) compared to Houston. Both marigolds and nasturtiums are edible as well; they’re the perfect companions! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-you-start-your-raised-bed-gardening-advice-requested/804736.md?page=1)