Skip the open ground and turn to higher ground for seeding your favorite plants. Thanks to raised beds, your garden can be virtually anywhere in your yard while maintaining ideal soil and growing conditions. Gardeners everywhere are embracing raised beds, and we're sure you'll love them too. Here are seven reasons why you need a raised garden bed—we'll even show you how to make your own! Follow our easy instructions to make a 3x5-foot raised bed for your backyard space.
1. Easy Garden Maintenance
Having a raised bed makes it simpler to tend your plants. There's less bending over with beds that are elevated above the ground. Build them with wide borders, and you might even be able to sit while you work.
2. Better Soil Drainage
Raised beds help the soil drain better. Loamy soil (or loose, crumbly soil) means better-drained soil. Because the soil in a raised bed is never stepped on, it's uncompacted, so it generally drains better than flat beds.
3. Extended Growing Season
Because the garden bed is higher, the soil tends to get warmer more quickly in the spring. Plant your seeds earlier in the spring to enjoy your garden for a longer season.
4. Keeps Grass from Spreading
It's harder for turf to spread into raised beds. Before building your raised bed, mow the site to get the grass as short as possible.
5. Protects Plants from Animals
Building a raised bed eliminates foot traffic in your garden. Access from both sides means you never have to step foot in your garden to weed, plant, or water. Raised beds also give a small measure of protection against critters like rabbits.
6. More Garden Space
No space between rows equals more space you can fill with plants. Raised beds work well for small vegetable crops and flowers.
Raised beds provide an optimal growing medium from scratch for those who have no soil or whose soil is compacted or rocky. Because you're building up a garden bed, you can also escape too-wet or too-dry soil by filling yours with rich loam.
How to Build a Raised Bed
By building a raised bed, you benefit your health and the health of your plants. Take a weekend to build one from lumber and metal roofing and enjoy the fruits of your labor all growing season.
Supplies Required
1x4-inch cedar board, 10 feet
1x4-inch cedar board, 6 feet
1x4-inch cedar board, 8 feet
1/4x1-inch cedar slat, 4 feet
2-inch corrugated galvanized metal roofing material, 2x8-foot sheet
Offset metal snips
Stain
3-inch paintbrush
Eight corner brackets
Box of 50 self-piercing hex screws with neoprene washers, #10x1-inch
1/4-inch magnetic hex screwdriver or drill bit
Step 1: Get Boards Cut
Ask the lumber or home improvement store to cut the cedar: Cut the 10-foot cedar board in half for the two long top pieces. Cut the 6-foot cedar board in half for the two shorter top pieces. Cut the 8-foot cedar board into eight 1-foot lengths for the leg pieces. Cut the 4-foot cedar slat into four 1-foot lengths for the inside support pieces.
Step 2: Cut Metal to Size
Cut the metal with the metal snips. Cut in half lengthwise, making two 1x8-foot panels. Next, cut both panels at the 3-foot mark to form the ends of the raised bed. The remaining two 1x5-foot panels will form the sides.
Sand the boards using sandpaper or a belt sander to prep for staining. Be sure to use a rag to wipe away any remaining sawdust. Stain the cut boards and let them dry.
Step 4: Create Frame
Connect the four wood top pieces using corner brackets. Use two screws on each board end to keep it stable. You'll have a 3x5-foot frame.
Step 5: Build Corners
Build the four leg pieces by connecting two 1-foot lengths with corner brackets, using two screws on each board. These will support the 3x5-foot frame and serve as footings for the raised bed.
Step 6: Screw in Metal Sides
Screw in the first metal side. Position legs at both ends of the box frame and then lay the metal side in the section. Screw along the inside of the sides and legs to connect these three sections. The cut metal edge points toward the ground. Repeat to complete all four sides.
Step 7: Place Raised Bed and Finish Assembly
Place the raised bed where desired. From the inside, secure each of the four 1-foot slats at the midpoint to increase the stability of the metal. Once in place, firmly press the legs slightly into the ground. You may need to loosen the soil if the ground is hard. Fill the bed with soil (we suggest a mixture of equal parts topsoil and compost) and plant desired vegetables and flowers.
3 Season Raised Bed Plan
So when you're looking for a place to grow your vegetables or flowers, consider making a raised garden bed. They'll make plant maintenance easy and give your gardening efforts a tidied-up look.
Longer growing season: Raised beds warm up more quickly in the spring and drain better (assuming the soil is properly prepared), allowing for a longer growing season and better growing conditions. Particularly in the South, a properly prepared raised bed allows plant roots to breathe.
Raised beds give plants' roots more vertical space to dig down so that you can fit more plants horizontally in a tighter space. Raised beds drain more quickly than in-ground beds. Raised beds increase comfort and ease when tending or harvesting your garden.
Garden beds created in the ground don't use as much water either, because they don't dry out as quickly as raised beds. Gardening without raised beds allows you worry less about certain plants not being able to grow. You can grow whatever vegetables you want because there will be plenty of space for the roots.
The soil mix also can be a significant, albeit one-time, expense. Raised beds need water more often since the soil is more exposed to air and dries quicker. Similar to growing in containers, the extra watering can leach nutrients out of the soil quicker than in-ground gardens.
Soil is the foundation of your garden, and you want it to be healthy so you can set your plants up for success! We recommend buying high-quality, nutrient-rich soil in bulk. Or, you can make a soil mix with equal parts topsoil, organic materials (leaves, composted manure, ground bark), and coarse sand.
You'd need a ladder, and that defeats one of the reasons we grow in raised beds in the first place, which is to put the plants on your level. Other plants take up too much horizontal space. Your raised beds are precious real estate, and every square foot counts.
On average, a DIY raised bed constructed from wood will cost $25 to $50 per square foot. To have a wooden raised bed constructed and installed for you, budget for at least $100 per square foot. (Find a kitchen garden company in your area.)
They should have at least 8 inches of soil depth to accommodate the root systems of plants, because the majority of plant roots require 6 – 8 inches of soil for healthy root growth. A depth of 8 – 12 inches will suffice for most gardening situations.
Among the various factors to consider when building a raised garden bed, height plays a pivotal role. While there are various options available, a height of 24 inches stands out as the best height for a raised garden bed.
When growing plants in containers or raised beds, you need to pay special attention to the soil you use. Soil taken from your yard or a garden bed is too dense to use in a pot or raised bed. Instead, for containers, you'll want to use potting mix (also called potting soil), a lightweight and fluffy alternative.
To start, lay down sheets of cardboard or newspaper for weed suppression and then fill the raised bed structure halfway up with alternating layers of nitrogen-rich materials (like kitchen scraps and grass clippings) and carbon-rich materials (like wood chips and dried autumn leaves).
Some annuals you might want to grow in your raised bed garden are petunias, pansies, basil, lemongrass, and vegetables like tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash, and onions. Bonus tip: To help reduce the chance of disease and pests, you don't want to grow annual vegetables in the same spot year after year.
Not necessarily! When do you really need raised beds, and when should you NOT use them? The concept of raised beds was created so that gardeners with poor soil conditions could have a way to grow great gardens, too. They do not grow vegetables any better than naturally deep, well-drained soil.
Comparing raised beds and in-ground gardens, it's important to consider their respective advantages. Raised beds offer better soil structure and drainage, which can help grow plants more effectively. They also provide an opportunity to amend the soil with organic matter, improving its fertility and nutrient content.
Overall, raised beds require less annual upkeep than in-ground gardens. Each season, I simply clear the surface of any debris and add a fresh layer of compost. No tilling involved. The other reason raised beds require less maintenance is largely because they can be set up to keep out both weeds and pests.
While generally minor, raised beds do have some disadvantages. Raised beds dry out faster than level garden sites. Accordingly, they have to be watered more frequently in dry weather. Initial construction of the raised bed may take more effort than maintenance of the conventional garden.
Dust, dirt, and debris can accumulate, making it difficult to maintain cleanliness. By elevating the bed, you create a space that is easier to access and clean, reducing the chances of allergens and dust mites accumulating underneath the mattress.
Planting tomatoes in raised beds is easier because they are more accessible. Also, the soil in raised garden beds warms up faster, which gives tomatoes a great head start.
Introduction: My name is Mrs. Angelic Larkin, I am a cute, charming, funny, determined, inexpensive, joyous, cheerful person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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