Putting in cactus bed and need some opinions please!

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Jova
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Putting in cactus bed and need some opinions please!

Post by Jova » Thu Mar 11, 2010 7:39 pm

Alright, so I've started working on building my new cactus bed. It's going to be in the middle of my circle driveway, in full sun. The current plan is a 12 foot by 12 foot square raised bed, using old railroad ties for the sides. I've heard it's best to grow cacti on a hill, so the plan is to make an artificial hill by using 3 levels of railroad ties, staggering down to create a "hill" that will be about 30 inches tall at most. I plan on using some heavy plastic or a tarp to line the inside edges of the bed as to prevent the sand from seeping out into the driveway, but to leave the bottom of the bed un-lined as to help it drain. I'm currently planning on digging sand out of a nearby riverbed, and mixing in some rocks and cheap peatmoss or potting soil, and putting a layer of small and larger rocks on top. I want to have a variety of cacti, yucca's and other desert plants that will survive the 6a climate. The entire bed will be covered by plastic during winter months. So that's basically the plan I have right now, but if anyone has any suggestions, comments, recommendations, etc.. please speak up! I've never done anything like this before, and it's going to be a huge endeavor and I don't wanna screw it up:) Thanks in advance!

Eric



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Post by DesertZone » Fri Mar 12, 2010 6:12 am

Sounds like it is going to be a very nice cactus garden, but if it was me I would leave out the moss and potting soil. I would keep out most organics so as to prevent any fungus from growing in the future. But this would depend on how wet your climate is. :D
Last edited by DesertZone on Fri Mar 12, 2010 11:58 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by lucky1 » Fri Mar 12, 2010 7:22 am

Jova, great plans.
Will look forward to seeing your progress pics.

You can ignore pics of your chiropractor... :lol:
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hardyjim
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Post by hardyjim » Fri Mar 12, 2010 12:25 pm

Fun project!


Is your driveway on a slant?-Good incline?
If it is you could use bigger rocks at the bottom to allow the water to run off and out.

The main thing is drainage,drainage,drainage,as mentioned you don't need much peat or whatever in there(10% or less),
you can alternate between bigger rock at the bottom and pea gravel and coarse sand.


As far as the plants you want to grow,how exotic well you be going?
Will you provide any cover?
I would also suggest(if this is circular) to plant the taller stuff in the middle.


What have you got in mind?
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Jova
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Post by Jova » Thu Mar 18, 2010 12:33 am

Thanks for the replies folks... I love the idea of not having to add any potting soil or peat moss, since that was going to be my only expense in this entire project:) Already had the railroad ties in a pile here on the farm, and I'll just be digging the sand out of a local riverbed. As far as the incline, the driveway is on a slight diagonal slant toward the south and east sides. I dug out the lower level of the bed as to make it level, so it sat level in the driveway, but I built the entire bed into a hill formation using 3 ties on the back, stepping down to only 1 on the front, as to make an artificial hill for better drainage. As far as the plants, I want to go as exotic as I can without having to provide supplemental heat during the winter. I do plan on building a temporary greenhouse over the top of the bed for use in winter months, but I want to stay away from providing heat. So far, the only plants that I have on the list are the eastern prickly pear cactus that thrive unprotected in my climate, and the trunking yuccas that I found growing in the woods not far from here. (see my ID post in the yucca forum for a pic of these) I do plan on putting the taller plants in the center of the bed, keeping in mind that the greenhouse cover for the winter will be the traditional arched shape. I plan on starting a build thread with pics on this project in the next few days, as soon as I find the time and energy to upload all of the pics:)

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Post by lucky1 » Thu Mar 18, 2010 10:59 am

Jova, since you're bring in a lot of river sand, I recommend you not plant anything in it until after the whole "mass" of it is seated into the hill behind your railway ties, i.e. water it until it settles into location. Otherwise you might lose the planting level around stuff you put in too soon.
After it's settled into place, and dries somewhat, then it's ready for planting because it won't shift any further.

We'll all look forward to your build pics.
Barb
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Barrie

Post by Barrie » Thu Mar 18, 2010 6:06 pm

One other thing that comes to mind, don't over plant. I know it seems hard to do, but believe it or not, many cacti and succulents can fill a planting area rather quickly.

Cheers, Barrie.

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hardyjim
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Post by hardyjim » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:40 pm

Just to add to what Barrie said.

Opuntias,Imbricatas and some Yuccas can take over a planting bed.
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Jova
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Post by Jova » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:53 pm

Thanks for the info guys, the build thread is up! :)

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