Understand. Look forward to watching this thread grow!
Flush mushroom compost. You know when you read something and just say "duh"... just had that moment. Didn't even think of water washing some away.
So you think 18" is a little much? My thinking behind the added height is not due to health concerns. I am lucky in that I am able to get down and garden. Still plenty young too. Actually a couple reasons behind this thinking.
1.) The extra depth would allow me to grow potatoes, carrots, other root veggies. Is 18" still overkill? I have never grown any root veggie.
1A) My 12" deep beds grow potatoes and carrots, just fine. Look back a few posts and you'll see a nice stand of Yukon Gold potatoes.
2.) My ground isn't the best. As said before I used to grow mainly in pots. Large totes and the like. My soil is a "clay soil" with incredibly fine sediment and compacts down and suffocates roots.
2A)My ground is Adobe Clay. Trying to dig it in the summer is a job for a backhoe with hardened bucket teeth. I do dig down into the clay a couple inches because a little clay improves water retention and makes better contact with root hairs. My beds are 10%-15% clay.
3.) My thinking of "bigger planter pot equals bigger cannabis plant" might be carrying over. Just want to make sure they have enough room to really grow.
3A) Twelve inches is actually overkill. Many raised bed gardens are only 6" to 8", using compost or imported growing mix. I started using 12" redwood because I had an opportunity to get it free when a barn was torn down. I also was able to harvest a century's accumulation of horse droppings that had drifted between the floorboards of the barn. In places, this was three feet deep, and seed free.(Horses hadn't used it for thirty years.) WONDERFUL stuff!
When you say I would have to remove the top six inches to loosen the bottom soil... you mean after harvest? You wouldn't want to be digging up 6" worth of soil with plants in it, right? Probably a stupid questions but closed mouths don't get fed!
A) If you go deeper than 12", a normal shovel won't penetrate 18 inches. You need to remove a layer and dig the lower level(called "double digging"). I'm meticulous about turning over my soil to a minimum of a foot, and usually an inch or two deeper. Deeper yet would double the work involved.
Very good point, it would add a good amount to upfront cost. But that is something I could live with, if it was beneficial overall. No need to do all the extra work to arrive at the same place.
A) 'Zactly.
Looks like I will start the seeds off in some small 4" pots. Might copy you and then go to the one gallon pot before going into the ground.
A) I use two inch peat pots. I like the way roots penetrate through them. I transplant them very quickly. Usually after the second pair of leaves appear.
Thanks for all the tips. I understand they are opinion, but they are based off what you have done. It's nice being able to pick the brain of someone who is somewhat local too. Helps me get an idea and go from there.
and I swear, I'll try and lay off the thousand questions I keep asking you!