1. I wouldn't line it. If anything, I'd till or break up the ground, but, that's not really necessary either.

2. sounds good to me. I have done that in building a new garden before and it worked out well.

3/4. I don't cover so can't really comment.

5. I would do it when you get the chance. I am not sure how much time it would take for the temperature to normalize - can't be that long, can it? But, it would give it some time to settle, you may want/need to top it off after it settles. But, you could plant the same day you fill them if it comes to that.

I haven't grown many of the ones on your list, but, the ones that I have grown, those numbers seem small.

seems like you will be crowding them a bit for some of the species. I would also break up the ground under if possible and definitely do not put a lining in under it. Some of the plant sizes you list above look much different than I have experienced.
Twilights will grow wider than bigger and about 2 ft or so wide but probably less than 2 feet tall.
Jalapenos will likely get bigger than what is listed and I beleive the Hot Hungarian wax plants will likely be smaller than listed. At least on the lower end of the range. Oh, and one other piece of advice: When deciding where to place it, don't go by the shade pattern you are seeing today as it will change significantly in a month or two.
Good luck,
Bruce

This post was edited by esox07 on Tue, Apr 30, 13 at 22:12

I have a small raised bed in which I usually grow garlic, onions(for green onions), jalapenos, mini bells, hungarian wax, and cayennes. I pack things in, just about 12 inches apart and they always seem to do well. To make my bed I followed these steps:

1. take the sod up from the lawn, roll and lay aside;

2. dig down a good 6-8 inches, piling the soil aside;

3. Make and place your frame (I used cedar)

4. lay the sod upside down on the bottom,

5. backfill with removed soil adding chipped leaves if available;

6. add a mixture of top soil and composted cow manure to desired height.

This is a lot of work, and is best done in the fall before planting. I don't fertilize anything I grow in the earth, so the quality of the soil is paramount.

Mine is only about 6 inches high and I amend by turning under all my cuttings and chipped leaves each fall.

Hope this helps.

I have 20 - 5'x12' 12" tall raised beds, I got tired of tilling. I grow everything from onions to corn in them. First thing I did was lay down thick black plastic, just have to make sure there's no big gaps for the dirt to run out (where there were gaps, I stapled plastic on the sides and flat on the ground to keep the dirt in). I plant my peppers around 15" apart and they do great, too good in fact. All of my beds are filled 100% with compost from a guy down the street that sells dirt, etc. I know I should put mulch on top, but, it's too much hassle having to remove it then buy and put on more, so no mulch. I have considered getting some thick landscape fabric to keep the weeds down, still get weeds and grass in the beds, but, at least they are a lot easier to remove than in the ground. The last 3 years (when I started putting them in) have been my best years ever. Last year was the absolute best (I have never had luck with belle peppers, but I was buried last year, and with almost 2 months of 100+ degree heat) I contribute it all to MG shake and feed for tomatoes. That is now a staple at my house. Good luck.
Pam
Pam

I just built a couple raised beds for my brother. You've gotten good advice so far. I would not use plastic mulch or rocks...just bark mulch, if needed.

First, remove or chop up the lawn where the beds will go.

Assemble your frame, then tack half-inch hardware cloth to the bottom. Flip over, set in place.

If using pressure treated wood as I did, line the inner surface with plastic. Also line the wood if you want the wood to last a couple years longer.

Then fill with your soil and compost mixture. Water well to allow for settling.

Pics:

Josh

Thanks everyone. Re: sizes, I suspected some of the measurements were off. It's difficult with the Jalapeños, because there's a gazillion kinds and I don't really know which one I have - the seed packet and the provider only say "Jalapeño".

Bruce, you mentioned that some will be bushier than what I've noted. Which ones are the bushiest in your experience? From my current plants (they're 10"-18" tall at this point), I can tell that the Poblanos and Serranos will definitely not be among the bushiest, while Twilight, Ring of Fire and Jalapeños seem to be branching out quite a lot.

Nice, Josh! Thanks for posting the pictures, very helpful. Re: breaking up the lawn, is this to allow roots to grow down? I wasn't really expecting them to grow that deep. I figured that putting plastic on top of the lawn would reduce the chance of stuff growing from the lawn through my bed.

I chop up or remove the lawn so that it doesn't come up through the bed. It's inevitable, really, but better to start with a clean slate, so to speak. Drainage is important, which is why the bottom of the bed is permeable...but gophers are bad, so there needs to be a mesh barrier.

Josh

Jalapeno will get larger than indicated - maybe 30" tall by 20" wide. Serrano about the same shape but smaller. Of course, habit depends on variety as much as growing conditions.

This will be a good situation in which to practice pruning. You don't have to let the plants grow as they desire.

Nice looking beds Josh!
Pam

Yah, great looking beds there Josh. Wow, that's a lot of dirt. Did you have it trucked in? Makes me want to do a couple beds.
Oh, and as far as removing or chopping up the grass, are you really worried that the underlying grass or weeds or whatever will grow up through a foot of dirt? I would think any grass or weeds would die before they penetrated even a few inches???
Bruce

This post was edited by esox07 on Wed, May 1, 13 at 22:17

here's a couple of pics of my beds. ok, how do you post multiple pics in a response? I have tried everything but it will only let me do one.
Pam

Beautiful beds, Pam. To post multiple pics, you have to use a photohosting service...when you mouse over my pics, you'll notice they're hosted at photobucket.

Bruce, my brother had 3 yards of top soil mixed with compost dumped on the street in front of his house. We wheeled the dirt front to back in that tiny barrow and a 5-gallon bucket! That part took the longest.

The grass is invasive, and it readily grows into the beds around here. The key is to pull it as it apppears....easier to keep up than catch up, as they say.

Josh

Geez, awesome beds Pam.
Josh, sounds like you had a pretty good workout the other day making and filling those beds.

Bruce

Yessir!
Thankfully the dirt was light...but it sure took a lot of trips!
Glorified cat-litter boxes....hahaha

Josh

Thanks guys. Sheesh Josh! I hope the distance from the road to the beds wasn't too far! We have a trailer and I have gotten more loads of dirt than I can count from our local guy, but, at least I can either park the trailer next to the bed, or only have a short distance with the wheelbarrow.

Here's the second pic I tried to send, other end of garden. haha, and I just realized, not a single dog walking through either photo, that's unheard of. ;-)

Pam

What an ideal setting...

Josh