Peter Chan, a Portland, Oregon plant pathologist and agricultural scientist, is the author of numerous books on gardening. In “Better Vegetable Gardens the Chinese Way: Peter Chan's Raised-Bed System,” he and co-author Spencer Gill outline methods for raising vegetables the Chinese way -- in long, narrow, mounded planting beds.
The Benefits of Chan's Raised Beds
Mounded soil drains more quickly and warms up earlier in spring than the surrounding soil, making earlier planting possible. Once the beds are created from soil amended with plenty of compost, no further tilling is necessary. The paths between Chan’s beds are permanent and covered with mulch to reduce weeds and keep them dry. The beds produce plenty of vegetables in a small space. Each year he digs fresh compost into the center of the bed, sprinkles it with lime and lets it overwinter.
Chan's Gardening Methods
Peter Chan’s gardening methods include amending soil with materials such as chicken manure and compost; watering crops in the morning to help wash off insects and increase absorption; and fertilizing planting holes and using fertilizer tea for the entire bed. He utilizes companion planting and recommends rotating crops for disease and insect resistance.
Making Compost the Chan Way
Homemade compost is a principle ingredient in Peter Chan’s raised beds, and Chan believes in easy composting -- piling up yard debris and vegetable waste and letting it rot without bothering to turn it. He recommends making compost in a 4-by-4-foot box and piling organic matter over a layer of branches for aeration. He inserts a 4-foot length of plastic pipe in the middle to aid in aeration, wets the pile and covers it with a tarp.
How Chan Builds His Beds
Chan recommends mounding amended soil into 4-by-25-foot raised beds with an east-west orientation to take advantage of the most sunlight. The bottom layer of the beds should be made of about 1 inch of composted manure over a thin layer of lime. The rest of the soil should be about half compost, 40 percent topsoil and 10 percent sand. Making the beds no wider than 4 feet enables the gardener to reach into and across them without stepping into them and compacting the soil. Using a hoe, taper the sides of the bed so the top is 3 feet wide.
- Better Vegetable Gardens the Chinese Way: Peter Chan's Raised-Bed System; Peter Chan and Spencer Gill
- Chicago Tribune: Learning Chinese-Style Gardening From the Master
- Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet: Raised Bed Gardening
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