Raised Bed Organic Vegetable Gardening

A raised bed can be as simple as a big pile of soil on the ground to a fancy landscaping delight. Gardening in raised beds offers benefits that make things easier on gardeners and ensures a healthy and prolific harvest. Plant single crops in raised beds or companion plants.

Raised Bed Organic Gardening

Benefits of raised bed gardening include:

• Soil warms up faster in Spring than in the ground. This lengthens the growing season just a bit, as gardeners may start their seeds sooner.
• Raised beds are a relatively controlled environment; by using clean soil to fill the beds the gardener may reduce the amount of weeding she does during the season.
• Raised beds give gardeners with small spaces and urban gardeners the ability to plant vegetables.
• More vegetables can be grown in raised beds than in the same amount of space in a traditional dug garden.
• Tall raised beds give people with back problems the opportunity to grow bush plants, such as strawberries. They will not need to bend over to pick the harvest.

Raised Garden Bed Construction

1. If building the raised bed on a plot of lawn, it is advisable to dig up the grass underneath. It is not necessary to dig a deep hole. Use a four-tine pitchfork and remove the layer of grass under the raised bed. If building the raised bed on a patio or other surface, start with the next step.
2. Lay weed block down as the bottom of the raised bed. Weed block is similar to a black cloth and it prevents weeds and other growth from coming up into the raised bed. It is readily available at garden supply and some hardware stores. Hold weed block in place with small stakes, if preferred.
3. The sides of a raised bed can be made from untreated wood, plastic wood, or even stones. Some landscape garden designers use logs instead of boards for low-border raised beds.
4. When building with boards, attach hinges at each corner. Some garden supply centers have hinges with stakes on the bottom, which is great when building a raised bed on soft ground.
5. Build up the raised bed at least a foot, higher if preferred.
6. Fill the raised bed with clean topsoil or organic potting mix. If using clean topsoil, add organic plant food to last for the first few months.
7. In early Spring, plant seed in a raised bed as soon as the soil reaches 65 degrees F. This will be a little sooner than the soil in the ground reaches this temperature. It is best to plant one type of seed per bed, but companion plants may be placed in the same raised bed.

Raised Garden Bed Landscape Design

Half the fun of raised bed gardening is designing the beds and surrounding landscape. Don’t be stifled into thinking all raised beds are squares and rectangles.

• Build a hexagon or octogon raised garden bed.
• Build a star shape.
• Utilize an irregularly shaped space with a custom raised garden bed.
• Clean an old sandbox or kiddie pool with natural, mild detergent. Then fill with soil and use as a raised bed.
• Gardeners who experience back pain can build raised beds two or three feet high. Many crops such as lettuce and carrots do not grow tall, and can be tended while standing up or sitting in a chair.
• Build a smaller raised bed on top of a larger one. Line the bottom of the small raised bed with weed block to plant a different crop.
• If the raised beds are not on lawn, think about putting cedar mulch or pea stones on the ground around the raised beds.

Raised Garden Bed Kits

Just as there are greenhouse kits available for purchase to build your own greenhouse, there are raised garden bed kits for sale. The best ones are offered through specialty raised bed garden suppliers and are available online. IP Woody’s Creative Woodworks in Oregon offers raised bed garden design plans and kits made from cedar wood.