And the final compelling argument is that it will be so much easier to warm and prepare the soil early in the spring. I will no longer have to wait for the garden to dry out. The raised beds will drain so much quicker.
So, I have casually mentioned all these reasons to my husband over the past couple of years. The other day, he asked what I planned to do with huge pile of composted horse manure he has been mowing around. He decided it is done cooking, and ought to be spread. Of course, this year the big garden has gone back to lawn. So, I told him I was saving it for my raised beds. With an exasperated sigh he told me to count how many Rail Road ties and 4x4s I would need to edge and fence the permanent garden and promised to work it into our summer plans. Jackpot!
So, the plan is to edge a 24x32 area with RR ties, permanently fence it with the woven "no climb" fence, build a decent gate and install raised beds with gravel or cedar mulch walkways. With good stabalization mat under that, there will be very very little path weeding. Hooray! Mission accomplished.
So, on this cool rainy day, I have been paging through scads of internet pictures. This is my model garden.
Here are a couple of other neat sites I found in my wanderings...
http://www.veggiebeds.com/
And Mom (I know you're reading this) check out this guy.... That's our idea!!! Great example to follow.
http://www.thewovengarden.com/index.html