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Gardening in Raised Beds


Gold Post Medal for All Time! 858 Posts
February 9, 2011

Raised Vegetable GardenRaised beds pack a lot of growing power into a small space. They provide an excellent growing environment for all types of plants including vegetables, flowers, herbs, and berries, as well as offering gardeners ways to overcome a variety of difficult growing conditions.

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What are Raised Beds?

By definition, raised beds are garden beds constructed higher than the surrounding soil. The dimensions can be anywhere from 2 inches to 2 feet or more above the ground, as determined by site location, the soil conditions, and/or the gardener's personal preferences. Raised beds are typically 3 to 4 feet wide so that plants remain within easy reach from all sides, with the borders supported by a framework of boards, stones, or other types of edgings.

Raised Bed Advantages

An Attractive Appearance: Raised beds look attractive. The framing creates lines and shapes that are naturally pleasing to the eye as well as giving your garden a tidy, well-organized appearance.

Easier Maintenance: Raised beds are easier to maintain. When it comes to watering, weeding, and harvesting, plants remain easily accessible from all sides. Design variations can be made to accommodate difficult terrain and suit any landscape theme.

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Efficient Use of Resources: Anything added to the soil to support plant growth (e.g. fertilizers, water, soil improvers) are all concentrated within the growing areas so there is no waste. The same is true for the application of sprays and oils used to control insects and disease.

Expanded Growing Space: In a raised bed system, walking paths are created between the beds not between plants. This allows you to dedicate all of the growing space for crops, and allows you to space plants closer together, which maximizes yields.

Fewer Weeds and Pests: Closely spaced plants shade the soil and suppress weeds. The edges of raised garden beds also act as a barrier to invading grasses and weeds and help protect plants from a variety of crawling pests including slugs and snails.

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Improved Soil Conditions: Instead of battling poor soil conditions, raised beds can be built over existing sites and filled with nutrient-rich soil.

Lack of Soil Compaction: The soil in raised beds is never walked on so it stays loose and friable.

Rapid Soil Warming: Better drainage in the spring allows the sun to warm the soil faster for earlier planting.

Reduced Physical Strain: Because you work at a higher level, the kneeling and bending that comes with traditional gardening is minimized. Also, for gardeners with limited mobility, raised beds can be custom built to a height and width that accommodates the physical limitations of the individual.

Suitable Edging Materials

Faux wood and stone products cost more initially, but will last for years. Avoid wood products that have been chemically treated when constructing beds used to grow edibles. Naturally rot-resistant wood like cedar or redwood is good, though a bit more expensive. Untreated pine or Douglas fir will rot eventually, but can be replaced easily and inexpensively.

Building a Workable Size

For beds designed to be accessible from all sides, a width of 6 feet will keep plants within a comfortable reach (3 feet) for most gardeners. Beds located against walls or fences should be constructed no more than 3 to 4 feet wide for easy maintenance. The length and depth of your raised beds is really a matter of personal choice. If the existing soil is poor, plan for a minimum height (new soil depth) of 8 to 12 inches. This will give plant roots plenty of room to grow and spread.
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Site Preparation and Bed Positioning

When selecting a site for your raised bed, position it so that the long side of the bed gets maximum sun. You'll want to keep taller plants in the back if the bed so they don't cast shade on your shorter plants. If you are constructing more than one bed, leave enough room between them to accommodate garden equipment like wheel barrows and lawn mowers (about 3 feet).

Fill Beds with Good Soil

A good soil mix consists of 50% soil and 50% compost with some fine sand or grit thrown in to help drainage. It will take a surprising amount of soil to fill up your beds, so if you need to import soil, it's usually cheaper to buy it in bulk than to purchase bags. If you have to purchase bagged products, look for a planting mix that contains compost or well-rotted manure.
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Soil is usually measured and sold by the cubic yard. (1 cubic yard = 3x3x3 feet). To figure out how much you need for your bed: width x length x depth. Fill the bed completely full to compensate for settling.

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More Solutions

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November 15, 2015

I used plastic cat litter buckets in my garden. My small raised bed is not deep or big enough to grow tomatoes. I drilled a few drain holes along the bottom, plus used a circular saw bit and cut a large 4" hole in the middle. I raised the soil depth and allowed the roots to extend out the bottom into the raised bed soil.

 
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Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 147 Feedbacks
July 9, 2009

Why not make a raised garden in an old bath tub? The reason I ask is that when my hubby and I were at a flea market, they had a very large old bath tub for sale.

 
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August 12, 2011

This is a page about building raised beds. There are a variety of reasons to build raised garden beds, from poor soil to creating a more orderly garden space.

wood framed garden bed

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