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Home » Blog » 10 Reasons to Try Raised Bed Gardening

10 Reasons to Try Raised Bed Gardening

By PreparednessMama on July 5, 2018 * Leave a Comment

What Is Your Vegetable Garden Style? Try Raised Bed Gardening

Using raised beds in the garden is one of my favorite ways to grow vegetables. In my old house I had a big garden area, the kind my husband liked to till with a tractor, and even though I had the space, I still set aside a row of raised beds in my garden. They allowed me to extend my growing season by several weeks in the spring and fall. I also placed one close to the kitchen door for my herb garden.

Raised Bed Gardening
10 Reasons to Try Raised Bed Gardening

While you can spend good money on plastic or pressure treated lumber, my raised beds were made from the boards of an old deck that we tore down. They came together pretty simply with some screws and corner supports. The supplies were easy to find at any hardware store. The project was done in hours – by a somewhat crafty girl, on her own. They lasted 5 years before I needed to think about replacing them, all for a $20 investment.

What Are Raised Beds? The “raised” part means that the soil level in the bed is higher than the surrounding soil, and “bed” implies a size small enough to work without actually stepping onto the bed.  The bed does not have to be enclosed or framed, but if unframed, the use of power tillers is feasible. Framing offers several other opportunities, however; and a properly maintained bed will not need tilling each year.

Here are my Top 10 Reasons to Try Raised Bed Gardening

Cinder Block Raised Bed
You can build your raised bed up for easy access
  1. The soil will dry earlier and quicker in the spring. That means earlier planting!
  2. It is simple to add a row cover or tunnel house to a raised bed.
    See links below.
  3. Easy care…think watering, weeding and pests, plus you don’t get as dirty
  4. Great for small space gardening. You can even put a raised bed garden on concrete, if you build it deep enough!
  5. Makes multiple growing seasons and succession planting easy.
  6. Build it tall or deep for people with accessibility challenges .
  7. If you have toxic or worn out soil, you can build on top of it and the soil amendments you make are more likely to stay put.
  8. You can use a different medium besides soil – see the next post, Square Foot Gardening for more ideas.
  9. Raised bed gardening compliments your bigger garden plan.
  10. You can make beds from found or recycled materials for little time or money.

Things to Consider When Planning a Raised Bed

vegetable garden styles
Maximize your space..find your vegetable garden style
  • What materials will you use to contain your raised bed? Some people purchase kits made of plastic , others use pressure treated lumber (and others stay away from it because the chemicals may leach into your soil), and others use salvaged or found lumber. You can even use cinder blocks or stones. Some people may choose to not contain the bed at all, but instead pile soil up about four inches.
  • Four feet should be the maximum width of your bed. You need to be able to comfortably reach in to harvest. The length is up to you.
  • Can you walk all the way around your raised bed? Take advantage of the space and make sure you can harvest from all sides. 
  • If you build on a fence, place the crops that will have the longest harvest time in the back or consider a 2 foot bed width.
  • If needed, place stepping stones or planks in your raised bed to help with harvest and to keep from compacting the soil.
  • Think about the direction of the sun and place your beds in north / south orientation for maximal sunlight exposure. Be aware of any tall trees or building that might shade your area.
  • Sprawling plants like watermelon or squash don’t like to be contained. They will get out and make it hard to walk around the garden and harvest. So plan the area carefully or learn some vertical gardening techniques.

Raised Bed Gardening Resources Around the Web

Books about Raised Bed Gardening at Amazon (affiliate link, thanks!)

Tips for Raised Bed Gardening from DIY Network
Lasagna Gardening website by Patricia Lanza
Raised Bed Gardening by Organic Gardening.com
How to Build Your Own Raised Bed Cloche – downloadable publication from OSU Extension

Other posts in the Vegetable Gardening Style Series:

Vegetable Gardening Styles, Container Vegetable Gardening, Vertical Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, The Mittleider Method

PreparednessMama
Preparedness Mama and its collaborators have created a one-stop shop of critical resources for families looking to prepare for disaster. We know firsthand that getting ready for the worst with a big family poses some particular challenges.
 
We’ve learned from the past so that you don’t have to make the same mistakes again. Fear of the unknown is one of the scariest things in life, but we hope that Preparedness Mama’s treasure trove of practical advice will make that unknown less daunting and ultimately help take the scared out of being prepared for every single one of our readers.

Trackbacks

  1. Vegetable Garden Styles - Try Vertical Gardening says:
    April 3, 2013 at 8:18 am

    […] « 8 Reasons You Should Try Container Vegatable Gardening Garden Primer: Raised Bed Gardening » […]

    Reply
  2. 8 Reasons to try Container Vegetable Gardening - A Garden Primer says:
    April 3, 2013 at 8:19 am

    […] Gardening Styles, Raised Bed Gardening, Vertical Gardening, Square Foot Gardening, The Mittleider Method, SPIN […]

    Reply
  3. Garden Primer: What's Your Vegetable Garden Style? - 72 Hour Kits - Emergency Preparedness says:
    April 3, 2013 at 8:23 am

    […] Raised Bed Gardening: Keeps your garden neat and easy to maintain, especially if you weed block the paths. […]

    Reply
  4. Garden Primer: 8 Reasons to Try the Mittleider Gardening Method says:
    April 22, 2013 at 1:40 pm

    […] you are not interested in the Mittleider Method, you will learn some great gardening tips about raised bed gardening in general and the video’s about building the greenhouses and trellises are fantastic. Give […]

    Reply
  5. Six Planning Tips for Starting a Garden from Scratch - PreparednessMama says:
    December 27, 2013 at 6:07 am

    […] Step Number 2 – How much space do you have? Learning to garden on your patio in pots will require a different strategy than beginning a system of raised beds. […]

    Reply
  6. 8 Reasons to Try Square Foot Gardening | PreparednessMama says:
    December 3, 2014 at 12:23 pm

    […] Primer Series: Vegetable Gardening Styles, Container Vegetable Gardening, Vertical Gardening, Raised Bed Gardening, The Mittleider […]

    Reply
  7. Build Raised Beds from Cedar Fencing | PreparednessMama says:
    March 25, 2015 at 8:43 am

    […] own raised garden bed and even create several. Be sure and check out our other gardening posts and raised bed gardening ideas on the website. We’d love to hear your comments […]

    Reply
  8. Raised Beds | Pearltrees says:
    July 22, 2016 at 5:25 pm

    […] 10 Reasons to Try Raised Bed Gardening. […]

    Reply

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