Raised Bed Gardening
Any recommendations on raised beds for gardening?
I’d like to install a raised bed for vegetable gardening this year. I think this will allow me more control over the soil quality. What’s the cheapest and easiest way to go about it? Should I buy one of the ready-made beds available online?
In case I wasn’t clear, the soil is not my concern, it’s the actual bed itself. Should I try to build one, or buy one that snaps together?
If you are handy at building then you should build one yourself. When you buy prefabricated kits you are then locked into size and design. Building one yourself will give you much more flexibility.
Not sure if this post will help but I thought I would give you the option of reading. Good luck and the neat thing is you will be gardening no mater which way you decide to go.
http://naturehills.com/gardening/blogs/common_questions_answered/archive/2008/02/13/raised-bed-gardening.aspx
Raised Bed Gardening
Building Raised Beds Garden
When your garden does not have very good soil, raised bed gardens can be a real boon. Raised beds are nothing more than building above the ground as opposed to in-ground gardens. In a raised bed garden you have complete control over the soil you use and the compost and fertilizer as well.
How to build your raised beds garden?
Contained beds are probably the most popular kind of raised beds garden and very good for growing vegetables and herbs. You can also grow fruits like grapes, strawberries, blueberries and raspberries.
Construction of the beds can be done with wood, which is a popular choice because it is inexpensive and easy to work with. Natural stone, concrete blocks and brick are good but can become expensive when you tack on the cost of labor to the overall cost. You have gardeners who use hay or stray to outline the garden and then fill in the soil and compost and get their garden started. What could be simpler!
The whole purpose of gardening is to do something you enjoy and to enjoy what you do. If you have to worry about budgets and things it will rob you of the joy of gardening.
First you should select the site as I am sure you have been informed every side you turn for advice. Choose locations that get lots of sunshine, at least 5 hours and as much as 8 hours daily. Choose an area that is totally flat and as level as you can find. Water should also be readily available near the site or you should put in a water connection for your garden.
Next, decide on how big a garden you want and don’t forget to take into consideration how many hours it will take to maintain it. Whether you have the time is also an important consideration. In raised bed gardens the soil is not compacted and so your plants have plenty of loose soil to grow freely in. A garden spanning approximate 4-5 feet is good and you have the advantage of being able to access the bed in the middle from both sides. Keep the depth to at least 1 foot and your vegetables will grow well.
Level the ground out completely and get rid of all the debris. Then prepare the soil, use the best quality soil and compost available, you will not be sorry. When using native soil, dig out the soil and mix it all up well.
Construct the beds and frame them with the material you have chosen. You can put in a layer of chicken wire at the bottom to prevent burrowing animals like moles from getting at your plants.
Once the frames are in place, fill in the soil and compost and then get it all nicely mixed up. Next level the soil out to the level of the frame tops. You should not have uneven mounds or you will face water problems, dry in some areas and too wet in others.
Now you are ready to start planting and you should plant without leaving too wide a gap between the plants and rows.
About the Author
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question on raised beds for vegetable gardening.after i build the bed..what type of soil do i add ?
If you can start with 3-4″ of a well rotted manure, then top it off with a decent screened loam and till it all together, you will have a garden that will produce incredible yields with no need to add additional nutrients the first year, and maybe not even the next. Be sure to till thoroughly, because some crops don’t like the soil too “hot”
Raised Bed Garden and Blueberries