Jova's raised cactus bed build, with pics!

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:52 pm

A few weeks ago, after seeing some pics of amazing cactus gardens online, I decided to fill the ugly, empty space in the center of my circle driveway with a cactus bed of my own. I found a large pile of old bridge timbers from a railroad back in a clearing on my farm, so I planned to use those for the sides of the bed. This first pic is of the area where I built the bed before I had really done much work...

Now, the real pain in the butt was that the ground wasn't level at all, and I wanted the bed to be level so it wouldn't look stupid, so I had to dig trenches where the railroad ties would go. Apparently, this area had been part of the driveway years ago, and I had about six inches of gravel to dig through, just underneath the sod. After a lot of time with a shovel and a level, here's how it looked:

Next, we moved the railroad ties into the trenches I had dug. Other than the railroad ties being extremely heavy, this went pretty smoothly, and it all lined up much better than what I expected. Here it is with the first level of ties down.

Next, we cut up some of the ties with a chainsaw and stacked them up into the formation that I had planned out. The idea was to build an artificial hill for better drainage. After we got all of them in place, we lined the sides with a layer of painter's plastic, as to try to keep the sand from seeping out through the cracks between the ties. Here's where we're at thus far:

We leveled out the dirt in the middle, using a lot of it to fill in the excess space from the holes I'd dug. Next day off I'll be loading up several hundred pounds of sand and gravel from a riverbed to fill it up, and hopefully in a few weeks it will be time to start planting! And here's a bonus pic of my dog Ernie laying in the bed. I think he likes it because the freshly dug ground is cool, so he'd better enjoy that while it lasts!

Thanks for checking out the thread, and please let me know of any suggestions. I'll keep everyone posted on the progress!

Jova

Cameron_z6a_N.S. · Post by **Cameron_z6a_N.S.** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 7:56 pm

looks good so far!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:09 pm

One thing,o.k.-more than one

Don't just pile sand/gravel on that soil unless it will be 1 1/2'+ deep,
if you do the sand/gravel will act like a mulch and keep the whole area to wet.
This will never allow your cactus to dry out,especially the ones with deeper root
systems like Yuccas.
It will also hold a lot of moisture and cause your winter protection to sweat unless
you have some serious ventilation/fans going.

Don't forget to make a walk(pavers,etc)for whoever reads your meter or they may step on you plants/protection when they
read it!

BTW
It looks awesome,that will be a nice area to work with!

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 8:42 pm

Jim, the soil thing was something I have been wondering about. I had planned on leveling out the soil in order to put about 6-8 inches of sand on top of it, and I had read that amount would be enough sand. Do you think I'd be better off to just remove the soil entirely and fill the entire thing with sand? As it sits right now, there's no way I'd be able to have 1.5 feet deep of sand at any point, but if I removed all of the soil, I would have that much on at least the back half of the bed. The front section where it's just 1 tie deep only has a few inches of space before it hits the soil level, so I'll have to be careful about what I plant there, because I feel that if I dig below the normal soil line and fill that section with sand, it'll just collect water. I have thought about planting a couple of the yucca filamentosa in that section, since they grow like weeds in the natural soil around here. Oh and also, the meter on the front is an old one that's no longer in use, and the one that the guy comes to read is in the back and should be easily readable without the guy having to climb through the cacti:)

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:13 pm

Yea,I think removing the soil is a good idea-
This way you only have sand/gravel in there,you could shred about 10% organic matter in there and then mix pea gravel and course sand
together.
Just my opinion but I would omit anything that you can grow outside of your "sandbox"that's for play!
You can just plant the regular stuff around your raised bed ("to set the mood!") for accent stuff.
You will be surprised how much cool stuff there is to grow and wish you wouldn't have planted those Opuntias
and Yuccas that can grow anywhere!
I mean seriously=Gloriosa,variegated Aloifolias,all kinds of cool Yuccas!
Dozens and dozens of flowering barrels.
There is so much cool stuff!

Plant the small barrels in front/sides where you can enjoy them
and the tall stuff in the middle and back-trust me,I made all the mistakes,just about

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Thu Mar 18, 2010 9:27 pm

Jim, you certainly have an amazing garden! The main thing I wanted to ask you about is that it appears that your garden is rather flat, and right at the soil line. Did you dig below the soil line and put sand in the hole? I'm afraid that if I dig below the soil line, in order to put the sand to the depth that you recommend, that I'll basically just be building a small pond full of sand that will just collect standing water, but perhaps I'm wrong about that. My bed has room for a lot of sand depth in the back, but only a few inches in the front, and to be able to put more than a couple inches of sand down, I'd have to dig it below the natural soil line... Will this work? Also, I like your idea about not planting the yuccas and opuntias that I can grow anywhere, and putting the more exotic stuff in the bed. I'm going to start ordering things soon, could you give me some ideas on what species I should look for? Thanks for all the help Jim!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 11:53 am

I didn't want to admit this

but when I first made it I just put sand down in a big pile.
It was maybe 18"high in the middle,that's how I know the sand acts as a mulch!

Last year I dug down over a foot everywhere I could around every plant,the smaller cactus were
o.k-because there roots are mainly on the surface that is sand.

So,I dug it out and added crushed limestone as a filler/buffer/drainage/ph + between the dirt and gravel/sand.

I added gravel and sand on top off that for the next foot plus,it drains well and the drainage is better as you go down.

I don't think you need to worry about it filling with water it will filter down through the soil.
The main thing is having the top foot or so and surface dry out fast,which it will if it's gravel/sand.

I lost the Opuntia(tree) and most of the Imbricata this winter,they stayed frozen to long with not enough
cold weather to harden off before winter hit.

I even covered it from rain starting Oct 1.
This is the main issue with them making it through winter and after a cool but not cold fall and cool summer
they just stored water to efficiently.
If we had more"normal"winters I think both of these plants would not have had any a problem,
they both made it last year undamaged,probably because their roots were not as extensive.

I have some cuttings of the Imbricata and Opuntia if your interested?

Look on the Cold hardy cactus page(Kelly Grummons)for a nice collection of VERY cold hardy cactus-flowering barrels.

I also check e-bay often.
These are the 2 places I got my cactus-and Alligator alley.

http://coldhardycactus.com/index.htm

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid ... Categories

http://www.alligatoralley.com/mailorder.html

YOU HAVE A GREAT SPOT!-AND YOUR SOUTH OF ME!

I would even put Y.aloifolia outside your garden as it would probably make it through mild winters with a little crown protection.

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 12:43 pm

Holy crow, a project for a young spine!
Mine hurts just from looking at the pics

Only have one thing to add to comments so far.
I wouldn't have put any plastic up on the insides of ties.
Yup, a bit of sand (when it's really dry) will probably leak through the joints, but it'll stop.
But you don't want to increase humidity around the roots.
Plastic will create humidity after heavy rains.

Great pics Jim of ideas for Jova as to what he can plant.
And once Jova has a yucca or two, he'll be smitten and increase the bed size for more yuccas!!
Perfect plan for taller stuff in the middle.

Re path to the meter...meter readers here must have poor eyesight, but they almost press their noses to the dial to read it.
Maybe find three or four flat rocks, lay them left step, right step, left step...
(OK I added 2 comments

)

Ernie's adorable!

Keep the pics coming.

Next will be Jova admitting he wished he had made the planting bed larger because he bought 265 plants

Barb

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Fri Mar 19, 2010 6:16 pm

lucky1 wrote:
Keep the pics coming.

Next will be Jova admitting he wished he had made the planting bed larger because he bought 265 plants

Barb

Yep,it doesn't take long to fill up!

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Wed Mar 24, 2010 8:08 pm

Alrighty, so we spent all day working on the "giant litterbox" in the driveway:) We removed most of the soil from inside, and filled the bed up with several loads of a nice sand/rock/whatever else mixture that we pulled out of a local riverbed with a backhoe. We filled it a bit higher than what we wanted the end result to be, anticipating that it will probably settle an inch or two. Then we added some rocks that we pulled out of the river, and wallah!

Only thing left to do is get some plants in there!
<a href="http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n290 ... 7Large.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n290 ... 7Large.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
<a href="http://s115.photobucket.com/albums/n290 ... 9Large.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i115.photobucket.com/albums/n290 ... 9Large.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Corrosion · Post by **Corrosion** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:54 am

wow. It seems to me you are a man with golden arms

Looks very aesthetical in my point of view. Looking forward to any new pics.

Paul Ont · Post by **Paul Ont** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 7:37 am

Very nice Project! Don't let Jim talk you out of growing Opuntia, they have some of the nicest flowers, and they are also tough as nails... Plus, if you look at a place like intermountain cactus, you can find all sorts of interesting/exotic looking things!

I, personally, like a top dressing of decorative stones to set the mood (and also to have lightning fast drainage for the top 1"+ of 'soil').

Here are some of the Opuntia that are so worthwhile (and some balls and barrells too):

polyacanhta 'Wasatch pink':
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... ogKG"><img src="http://inlinethumb58.webshots.com/24313 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00019"></a>

basilaris v. aurea:
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... FmJb"><img src="http://inlinethumb15.webshots.com/16206 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00015"></a>

polyacantha 'Hildegard's Pink':
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... ZCCy"><img src="http://inlinethumb22.webshots.com/43157 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00024"></a>

phaeacantha v. major 'Red' (It doesn't look very red to me!):
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... MqdI"><img src="http://inlinethumb23.webshots.com/46166 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00059"></a>

Echinocereus rechenbachii v. perbellus (5th year in the ground, first flower... They are usually a darker pink than this one):
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... dBXg"><img src="http://inlinethumb18.webshots.com/42321 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00049"></a>

O. polyacantha 'Crystal Tide'- IMO the BEST flower of the hardy cacti!!!
<a href="http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/pho ... TVvr"><img src="http://inlinethumb44.webshots.com/42603 ... 600Q85.jpg" alt="DSC00102"></a>

Your garden desgin is also very nice, looks like it will make the middle of the driveway a place to stop!

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 12:32 pm

Didn't try to talk him out of anything,just said-plant stuff you can grow outside-outside the box!
He can grow a lot more stuff then you

or me

Looks awesome-like you said,time to fill it up.
Don't let Paul talk you into growing any weeds(anything that survives winter in Canada) in there!

Just messing with ya-Paul.

Try Kelly Grummonds(shameless plug),Cold hardy cactus page,he's got a lot of blooming barrels,he is also who I got that Blue Parryi from.

He also has a lot of beautiful Opuntias

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 6:06 pm

Jova, nice job, I like it.

Next...plants!

Barb

DesertZone · Post by **DesertZone** » Thu Mar 25, 2010 8:25 pm

I like it also.

Ronrostrata · Post by **Ronrostrata** » Fri Mar 26, 2010 5:07 pm

Great job - looking good !

ROBRETI · Post by **ROBRETI** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:47 pm

This is sheer beauty, great job!
Rob

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 5:27 pm

Jova's obviously still at the chiropractor...

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Tue Apr 06, 2010 6:26 pm

That's a wise crack

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Wed Apr 14, 2010 11:40 pm

Thanks for the comments everyone! And Barb, no chiropractor visits thus far, but the ole' tylenol bottle took a hit:) I'll have some new pics up in the next couple of weeks that actually show some plants:)

hardyjim · Post by **hardyjim** » Thu Apr 15, 2010 9:42 am

Looking forward to it-

You won't believe how fast some of the "desert" plants can grow!

Jova · Post by **Jova** » Fri May 28, 2010 8:48 pm

Alrighty, finally snapped some pics of the cactus bed with some plants in it (sorry for the pic quality, took them with my phone). Everything is starting to take off, and all cacti are putting out new pads. It's been growing slowly for now, probably since it's rained almost every day for a month, but I'm betting that it'll take off once we get some real hot and dry summer weather. The aloe is the only thing that won't stay in the bed all winter, and it got a bit cooked in the first few days after I put it outside. Also, big thanks to Jim and Bill, since they sent me almost everything that is planted in there:)

BILL MA · Post by **BILL MA** » Sun May 30, 2010 6:11 am

Looking Good Buddy! You'll be amazed on how different it looks by the end of the summer.

Bill

lucky1 · Post by **lucky1** » Mon May 31, 2010 3:04 pm

All that hard work paid off, looks great.
I hope the meter reader doesn't fall off his stepladder in a few years.

Wow, if that's after rain...imagine what some sun will do.
Barb

Cowtown Palm Society · Tue Jul 20, 2010 6:37 am

Nice work Jova. Looks great!

Duncan

damir · Post by **damir** » Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:30 pm

great garden jova! congratulation!