Up your gardening game! The complete guide to raised garden beds
Raised garden beds are an effective way to make the most of tiny spaces in a blossoming garden. This guide will lend a hand you design and build handsome, easy-to-maintain raised beds. Let’s start by creating your perfect garden!
The following excerpt is from A garden for life By Rhonda Fleming Hayes. It has been adapted for apply on the Internet.
PHOTO: This cedar garden with L-shaped raised beds creates both a nice seating alcove and a larger growing space.
Step up your game with raised garden beds
Raised beds are no longer revolutionary, but if you have been reluctant to take advantage of raised beds, now is the time to take a step forward. They can enable you to continue gardening for years beyond the bending and stooping phase of life, to name just one distinct benefit. Raised beds are a substantial reason for the success of my kitchen garden. Sure, there’s plenty of sun on this side of the house, but the magic is the soil I was able to plant into these beds.
They make playing in the mud a pleasure. Once you start gardening in raised beds, you may never look back.
Shawna Coronado is using her Cobra head for growing raised beds. Photo courtesy of Cindy Dyer
Let me count how much I love them.
- Raised beds heat up faster than the ground in spring, which allows for earlier planting and a longer growing season. I gain as much as two weeks at each end of the growing season.
- You control the soil composition in raised bedsensuring it is nutrient-rich, well-draining and contaminant-free. This can be a lifesaver if you live in a flood zone where massive metals can contaminate the soil.
- Raised beds allow for better drainage, preventing waterlogging and root rot, which can be a problem in clay soil.
- They allow for better aeration and root developmentleading to healthier and more productive plants. This ensures high harvest efficiency in a narrow space.
- The the soil is not compacted by foot traffic because you never have to enter the beds to reach all the plants.
- You will have it less troublesome perennial weedsand the weeds you already have will be basic to remove in looser soil.
- They can deter some pests.
- They look great.
For those of you keeping score, raised beds have a few disadvantages.
- Raised beds act as a enormous container, so they parched faster.
- The higher the beds, the more often you will need to water.
- However, this can be remedied with drip irrigation or a net irrigation system that also acts as a square foot gardening guide.
In chilly climates (zones 3-4), you’ll want to stick to annual crops and flowers because raised beds are not insulated from the chilly like ground beds.
In a raised bed, the roots of perennial plants will freeze quickly, rather than going through the gradual process that helps the plant go dormant.
The raised beds in my kitchen garden are made of Corten steel, which has a natural, weathered patina.
Size and depth of the raised bed
Think twice, or maybe several times, before building (or buying) and placing raised beds; it is not basic to move them.
Multiple smaller beds may work better than one huge bed. Make sure you are near a water source or can bring water there without additional hassle or cost.
If you apply more than one bedmake sure there is enough space on the path between them for a lawn mower, cart, wheelbarrow or simply for maneuvering – at least 2′ (0.75 m) wide.
The most common raised bed size is 4′ x 8′ (1 x 2 m), which largely depends on standard lumber dimensions. The ideal width is 1 m to allow access from both sides without having to climb onto the beds. Narrower beds limit planting options.
If you are using blocks or pavers, you will want to include space for planting; their width can take up a few more inches of planting space in the bed – valuable growing space if you have narrow growing space. Take it off and walk around to feel it first.
Different situations require different heights
A size of 12-18 inches (30-45 cm) is ideal, but you can choose 36 inches (91 cm) to prevent rabbits and other pests. To avoid excessive bending, aim for a range of 24 to 30 inches (61 to 76 cm).
What you want to grow determines the depth
Minimum 8″ (20 cm); 30–45 cm is suitable for crops such as lettuce, vegetables, kale, cucumbers, herbs, strawberries and even zucchini; for tomatoes you need 15-18 inches (38-45 cm).
Materials for raised beds
Cedar is the gold standard when it comes to rot-resistant and tough wood. There is also oak, hemlock, black locust and redwood, each of which may be more tough to obtain.
Pressure impregnated wood is the most rot-resistant of the standard wood options. It has become less toxic over the years, but it is still composed of toxic chemicals that can leach into the soil. If you want to go this route, you should do more research on your state’s extension website. Never apply older treated wood or railroad ties, which contain highly toxic creosote.
Galvanized steel is an attractive option, available in many different sizes and designs. Please note that zinc (used to galvanize steel to enhance corrosion resistance) can leach out of it in highly acidic soils. Steel beds covered with special, ecological coatings (e.g. Vego Garden) are becoming more and more popular.
My raised beds are made of Corten steel, which is weather-resistant steel. Corten steel is considered an environmentally affable material due to its high durability, extended service life, 100 percent recyclability and low maintenance requirements. Mine are longer than typical beds because they are designed to fit our long driveway to provide maximum planting space. My only regret is that I don’t have a rolled steel edge at the top; the edges are pointed, so you can’t lean on them.
Soil For Raised Beds
Garden centers, lumberyards and other landscaping companies now offer soil mixes specifically formulated for raised beds, and some are certified organic.
To make your own mixture, the recipe is basic
Two thirds of topsoil and one third of compost. It can be purchased in bags for smaller beds, but if you plan on growing a enormous crop, purchasing soil materials in bulk and having them delivered is the most painless way to get raised beds up and running.
Every spring I refresh the beds with a few inches of manure and compost revitalizes the soil and replenishes what has fallen over the winter.
Soil testing should be done every two to three years.
Consult your local office for information on soil testing procedures (some garden centers do this too). Before planting, you want to make sure your soil has adequate nutrients (and that you’re not applying too much fertilizer).
When using raised beds for the first time, it may take some time to achieve the right balance in the soil.
Phosphorus can accumulate in the soil with excessive fertilization. Massive food crops such as tomatoes, pumpkins, peppers, melons and cucumbers can deplete the soil at the end of the growing season. Rotate crops every three to four years (as with established gardens) to avoid pests and diseases.