Farm Design - Bed Preparation for Vegetable Farming (Bread Sandwich Method)

As part of our Agriculture for Everybody blog series, we are going to see Bed Preparation for Vegetable Farming (Bread Sandwich Method) popularised by Dr. G. Nammalwar.

Specifications

Length - Can be of any size

Breadth - 2.5 ft to 4 ft (Max)

• Nobody should step on the bed, once the beds are prepared as this will compact / harden the soil.
• Generally, one drip point is required for 2.5 ft breadth size, 2 drip points are required for 4 ft breadth size.
  

Space between Beds - 1.5 ft to 2 ft (Max)

• This area can be used for irrigation as well as for all the activities like sowing, manuring, harvesting etc

Implementation

1. Remove the Top Soil up to a depth of 1 ft and keep it separate for later use.  Another way to identify the top soil is the difference in change of colour between the top soil and the sub soil.
2. Loosen the Sub Soil up to a depth of 1 ft which is beneath the sub soil.  This basically means, you need to make the compacted or hardened sub soil loose.
3. Add a thick layer of Compost on top of the sub soil.
4. Where possible Charcoal can also be added on top of the sub soil.
5. On top of  the Compost or Charcoal place the top soil.

Notes

• The bed should be from East to West direction to get maximum sunlight throughout the day. 
• Generally, most of the vegetables need full sunlight and hence proper plan should be made to ensure that no shadow falls on the bed.
• Few vegetables may tolerate semi-shadow and these can be planted where shadow falls on the bed.
• If multiple raised beds are made next to each other, can opt for sprinklers for watering.