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Figured out why my raised beds kept drying out and it was the dumbest thing
Spent all spring wondering why my 2x8 cedar beds in the backyard lost water twice as fast as my neighbor's, even after I mulched with 3 inches of straw. Turned out I had built them with the long side running east to west, so the afternoon sun baked the whole face of the soil instead of just the end, and my soil temps were hitting 95 while hers sat at 78. Has anyone else run into this, or am I just the last guy to figure out bed orientation actually matters?
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grays136d ago
Who knew the sun cares which way your boxes point? In my experience the long side facing north and south keeps the soil way cooler, and straw only does so much when the whole bed is catching rays. Your neighbor probably never gave it a thought and just got lucky with her layout.
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kimmurphy6d ago
I've been gardening for years and still couldn't tell you which way is north.
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