A three-year study at Dawes Arboretum in Newark, Ohio found that raised beds nearly doubled the yield per square foot compared to traditional vegetable gardens.
Raised beds allow you to plant closer together, you can start the growing season sooner when the soil warms up in spring, and the soil stays loose and fragile because it won't be washed away by walking into the garden. compacted. The best part? You can place one anywhere to get the necessary 8 to 10 hours of sunlight per day. You don't even need a piece of land. Let's take a closer look at some of the benefits of raised garden beds.
Raised bed gardens allow you to grow anywhere as long as your chosen area gets at least 8 to 10 hours of sunlight per day. Heat-loving people need sunlight, such as tomatoes, melons, cucumbers, peppers, etc.
This is actually part of the tagline for my first book, The Raised Bed Revolution: Build It! filling! Grow it...a garden anywhere! You can place a raised bed in your driveway or patio and place it on asphalt or flagstone. If you have hard or clay soil, or an area with too many roots to dig into, you can place a raised bed on top and fill it with your own special mix of soil. If you have drainage issues, you can add gravel to the space and install a raised bed on top. Put the raised bed on wheels for easy mobility. If you're concerned about weight, there are lightweight fabric containers made from post-consumer recycled materials. If space is limited, you can build a vertical loft bed.
From easy-to-assemble kits and prefab options for those who need help with construction, to a plethora of carpentry plans for those who use power tools, there are many possibilities.
You control the soil in your raised bed
Another benefit of raised garden beds is that you have control over all the organic matter you put in them. In a raised bed, the soil remains loose and crumbly as you reach into the bed to weed, plant, and harvest, rather than walking through it or stepping in to do something that compresses the soil.
Of course, you can modify your subterranean garden soil over time. However, if you want to grow right away, raised beds are a great option. Here are some suggestions for the best soil for raised garden beds.
I get a lot of questions about what to do with the soil in raised beds at the end of the season. The soil stays in my raised beds but needs to be replenished after the season to support all the plants. You'll also find that soil levels drop throughout the season after a few heavy rains and after you've pulled out used plants. I fix all my raised beds with compost in the fall and/or spring, depending on what I'm growing.
Tailor-made raised bed design for easy use in limited spaces and gardens
A loft bed can be absolutely any size or shape. If we're talking standard rectangular loft beds, plan to build them to be 6 to 8 feet long, 3 to 4 feet wide, and at least 10 to 12 inches high. If you can't bend or kneel, you can raise them up to your thighs or waist.
This leads to another point. When you're building multiple raised beds for an area, space them out so you have room to walk between each bed, you can easily bend over to the garden, and you can push a cart full of compost as needed The trolley passed by.
My friends at Bufco, a company that makes raised bed kits, and other gardening services, provide accessible raised beds for those who need mobility assistance. I love the custom aspect of the loft bed, it opens up the joy of gardening to more people.
choose your own material
Building a new loft bed means you can choose whatever material you want to use. All of my loft beds are made of untreated cedar but I also upgraded a washbasin and an antique table to make a loft bed and added galvanized metal on the other side which I love Could make it easier to move to a different part of the fabric selection if I need to. You can also buy thin nails. Or paint the outside of the wood to add color to the garden.
Soil in raised beds heats up faster
In spring, the soil in the raised bed warms up faster. This means you can sow seeds for cool-weather vegetables like peas, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, carrots and other root vegetables more quickly. Before the heat hits, I usually plant crops like peppers, melons, cucumbers, and tomatoes on the go in late spring after the threat of frost has passed.
Add accessories such as insect protection and antifreeze.
If unexpected weather is forecast, turn your raised bed into a mini loop tunnel. I use Pex pipe for hoops and conduit clips to secure them to one of my raised beds. Niki uses PVC conduit and rebar stakes in her plumbing. These allow you to add floating row covers in case of sudden spring frosts.
Includes spreader and restrains weeds
For plants that like to occupy the garden, a raised bed can help contain them. Mint is a good example of a plant that needs control. You wouldn't fill a four by eight loft bed with it. However, you can use a smaller raised bed to limit its spread.
With raised beds, you can grow vegetables closer together. You can also interplant greens or flowers that attract beneficial insects, such as centella asiatica. This helps limit the space in your home for weeds to grow. Adding a layer of mulch can also help control weeds.
