How do you create hills for gardening?

[uniqueenigma]

What are they and how do you create them? I know they're recommended for stuff that takes up lots of space with growing and for vining plants. I know that with hills, they're recommended if you're growing watermelon, cantaloupe, any type of squash (zucchini and pumpkin are what I'm interested in). What do they look like and how do you create them? How big should they be in diameter (rough guesstimate in inches would help please). Do you just plant the seeds in a circle on the hill? If so, how far apart do you space them? Also, when the seedlings germinate, then what do you do?

 

[attie]

I'm not sure what you mean by "hills" uniqueenigma but I would say that the idea would be to keep the fruit away from the ground moisture. If you were to plant the seeds on a hill you would need something quiet large but if you plant on sloping ground it wouldn't matter. A more practical idea would be to make small hills [mounds] out of straw or something like that under each fruit as it forms.

 

[suziquzie]

Just make a pile of soil with a hoe.... easy cheesey!
I put 3 to a hill, in a sort of triangle (5 or 6 if they are older seeds, just in case, then thin to 3) about 3-4 inches apart and leave them alone.

 

[buckytom]

i plant everything in row hills.

that is i turn the soil, pushing the shovel down as deep as i can go (about 12 to 16"). then i turn a second row right up next to the first so i have a broken up row about 3 feet wide.

i spread compost and/or organic fertilizer over the length of the row, and run a tiller over it, working backwards to turn the additions in.

this leaves sort of a sloppy hilled row, which i then straighten out with a metal rake buy pulling up the sides to form a pointy hill, then grading it flat with the back of the rake, dragging it along to make the top it smooth.

hth.

 

[attie]

Soil bulks naturally by 30% when you dig and work it, so this is what you mean by hilling???

 

[quicksilver]

Susie's got it right, and easy, uniq.
Don't make mountains out of mole hills!

​

 

[Uncle Bob]

Hills, as in gardening hills, can mean two things in Uncle Bob's dictionary of gardening terms. First, like Miss SuziQ said...a mound of dirt, made with a hoe, shovel, or whatever, in which seed are planted. Mostly used by home gardeners for various melons, cucumbers, etc with the idea of keeping the small plants up out of standing water to prevent drowning. Mostly a waste of time, and energy. I planted 7 acres of watermelons once when in high school and built hills on all 7 acres...The next year...no hills...just put the seed in the ground...No difference at all that I could see. Also the term is used here to refer to how many different planting/seed spots you have in a row. As in I planted 50 hills of squash....50 different holes in which I put seeds, and covered, or I planted about 100 hills of Okra, meaning I planted okra seeds in 100 different spots, spaced evenly, down the row.

 

[Maverick2272]

I am with UB, unless you are planting in an area that seems to stay moist or retain water hills are not necessary. Our veggies, herbs, etc are all planted in with our prairie beds with all the other plants and they do great.
I do have to remember to water them as none of the prairie plants need watering, but that is it. One caviot is that I am not planting strawberries, watermelon, or cantelope so I have no worries about having to put down straw or take measures to keep them from rotting from moisture exposure.

 

[suziquzie]

Is it just me (I have sandy soil) or does having hilled rows seem to keep the soil around the plant drier?
DH insisted I needed raised rows, I think I have to water more often than I did without.
Everything grew just fine every other year without raised rows.

 

[Maverick2272]

We had sandy soil when we lived in Evanston, its on the North Shore and you can still see the 'hills' left by the dunes. I remember two things about our veggie garden there: no hills or mounds, and the tomatoes and peppers went nuts! Huge plants, lots of fruit, and we had to give a lot away as it was too much for us. I remember the cherry tomato plants were especially huge.

 

[attie]

Is it just me (I have sandy soil) or does having hilled rows seem to keep the soil around the plant drier?

You're quiet right Suzi, but by doing it like everybody says you have the benefit of being able to water the plant in the "V" where the soil joins the hill rather than using a spray and wasting water, you don't wash any insecticides off either.
Thanks guys, I was on the wrong track

 

[Uncle Bob]

Is it just me (I have sandy soil) or does having hilled rows seem to keep the soil around the plant drier?
DH insisted I needed raised rows, I think I have to water more often than I did without.
Everything grew just fine every other year without raised rows.

Miss Suzi....When I prepare my gardens I prep (disk) the area with a tractor...then I "row up" using disk hillers, an implement behind the tractor that creates long rows that are essentially long continuous "hills" These rows act mostly as a guide to lay out the garden...In a small garden spot a piece of string stretched from end to end would accomplish the same thing. Next when I get ready to plant I either use a tiller to till down the row to make a bed for the seed, or either I run planters (behind the tractor) to plant large quanities of an item...corn, or peas. In both instances the rows are mostly flattened back out. This is..in some ways an old school type of "farming"...Today's modern large scale farming (hundreds of acres) of corn, cotton, soybeans, use a "no till' method sometimes. They go into the field and simply just plant it without tilling/disking/prepping the soil first. This helps with erosion control, and it cuts out a lot of labor and fuel cost. Finally to answer your question...Yes..if your rows are left "hilled" up the soil will have a tendency to dry out faster than if the ground was flat. Also, if your soil is sandy, then it will require more frequent watering than soil that is less sandy.

 

[Lizannd]

But if you are growing potatoes you want to keep them

"hilled" and even increase the hill as they grow. And with leeks you want to start them in the valley and gradually add soil from the hills on either side as the leeks grow.

 

[quicksilver]

Where you'll be planting in florida Midori, you have sandy soil with good drainage. You'll need to ammend the soil with organic matter, as we discussed acouple of weeks ago. The point of hills is to keep the "fruit" from mildew or rot.
And don't plant seeds or seedling more than 12" apart to allow bees pollination easier travel distance and axcess.
The "hill" method is only used for melons and pumpkins, and potatoes. Not peppers or tomatoes.

But for the life of me, I can't figure out where your going
to put all the stuff you're talking about in these 3 threads in a "raised" home garden you extensively discussed several weeks ago.
How big is this garden going to be? And how many people do you plan to feed?
I salute you're ambition.

 

[Uncle Bob]

"hilled" and even increase the hill as they grow. And with leeks you want to start them in the valley and gradually add soil from the hills on either side as the leeks grow.

Correct....pull the dirt to them as they grow...

 

[uniqueenigma]

I'm not planning on planting melons, squash, and pumpkins in the garden I'm planning on growing this fall. As for the space, there's a huge yard where I'll be relocating to. I have no intention on growing things such as squash and melons in raised beds. I know they're vining plants and that they take up lots of space; this is precisely why I asked how you make hills. When I said hills, I wasn't referring to a literal hill; to my knowledge that's how they're referred to with gardening. When I say hills, I mean small mounds. Unfortunately with the explanations given, they were way too complicated and confused me even more. All I want to know is, how big in inches should the hills (mounds) be across (horizontally). I am also wondering if I should use portions of fertilizer and topsoil to form these hills. If so, what is the ratio of each to one another that I should use with the topsoil and fertilizer?

One more question I have to ask and that is this. Is it feasible to grow melons, tomatoes, squash (zucchini and pumpkin) in raised beds? If so, how? I'm just asking this for the sake of curiosity more then anything else. As to why I'm requesting this information, it's for future reference.

The only other questions I have are how far apart do you space the seeds when you plant them, and
do you have to put them in any particular shape (circle, square, triangle, etc.). How many seeds should be planted per hill, and how many do you thin them down to when they've germinated.

 

[Constance]

Well, you do make hills when growing potatoes. You plant them in a flat row, but as they grow, you keep pulling the soil up around the stems, where the little potatoes form.