On 6/4/2013 12:41 PM, harry wrote:

Must have time on his hands.
You never get 100% germination of seeds.
And different plants have different soil requirements.
You certainly don't want to be growing root vegetables in
fresh manure (mixture).

He didn't say fresh manure, did he? And nobody mucks about with
different soils for different plants in their garden.

Raised bed culture has been known about for millenia.
Just another celebrity tosspot gardener trying to sell books.

Yeah, and Mel is the guy who brought the concept to the West's
attention...in the 1970s. He's been doing it for nearly a
half-century. This is just the latest edition of his book on the subject.

Another oldtime gardening practice that's enjoying a resurgence is
straw bale gardening, where you grow plants in/on partly decomposed
straw bales. No need to mess about with garden beds, pots, or dirt.
You can position straw bales on patios or driveways or wherever the
sun is on your property.