Have you ever considered planting your flowers and vegetables in a raised bed? The advantages are numerous. Raised beds are quite different than garden planters. Planters are containers that are elevated and have bottoms which prevent the soil from falling out. The bottoms also have slats or holes which allow for drainage.
However, raised beds do not have bottoms; instead, they are open to the ground. This provides the benefit of allowing plant roots to grow into the ground for any available nutrients. As you can see, there are a lot of great reasons to try raised garden beds this spring.
There are so many different styles and types available you will surely find something that will suit your tastes and needs.
Need some help choosing? Contact the professionals at Evergreen for some great ideas and advice. Benefits of Having a Raised Garden.
Here are some of the advantages to using raised gardens: Weed Control. The raised garden is planted above existing soil. This allows you to use weed barriers which can be placed between the ground and the soil in the garden box. In addition, you can fill raised beds with different types of soil to grow a variety of plants. Say you finally took the plunge and bought several raised beds for your garden, how do you set these up properly? What factors should you consider when preparing the raised beds for the garden?
Consider these gardening tips:. Raised beds come in different sizes, some are three to four feet wide, others measure six to eight feet long. The height of the raised beds will vary too. When shopping around for raised beds, always consider the size of your garden; make sure you get the right fit.
The raised bed should be deep enough for plants to root and not too shallow that the roots are in contact with the compacted soil. We recommend raised beds that are about 10 to 12 inches deep for home gardens. The best spot for the raised garden beds will depend on the plants that you want to grow. You can set the raised beds in a sunny spot, on the front yard, near the driveway, or in the backyard. Again, just make sure your garden has enough space to accommodate the length of the raised beds.
For sloped areas or uneven ground, you might have to make slight modifications to set the raised beds properly. If you are planning to set the raised beds on a grassy spot, you have to remove the weeds first. The easiest way to do this is to outline the space you need and then cover this spot with a layer of cardboard. Then, cover the cardboard layer with potting soil.
Since the sunlight is blocked, the weeds die. The cardboard material will break down as well, allowing plants to grow deeper roots. Should you install irrigation?
This depends on you but if you want to, you can set up a drip irrigation system in raised beds. Just make sure to set up the system before the raised beds are filled with soil. What kind of soil should you use to fill the raised garden beds? Use the best soil quality that you can afford. We recommend top dressing triple mix soil with organic compost for best results.
Raised beds could shift over time and to prevent this, you can install stakes to set the raised beds in place.
Ideally, you want to install thick stakes that are more than a foot deep so the raised beds will not move. Here is a great step by step guide on how to install stakes on raised beds. This is a matter of personal preference but if you are quite the handyman and you have a lot of unused wooden planks gathering dust in your shed, go ahead and make the raised beds yourself to save more money.
On the other hand, if you want to make your life easier, you can simply buy a raised bed. The beauty of store-bought raised beds is that the assembly is a cinch. This is a great option if you have a million other things to take care of and you have zero time to make your own raised beds. Our raised beds are made from premium yet eco-friendly materials.
Stocks are limited so shop while these beautiful raised beds are still available. For some gardeners, they can live without raised beds but for others, raised beds are an essential part of their garden.
If your garden soil is not the best or if your plants have to be raised for whatever reason, raised garden beds will make your gardening activities infinitely better. Using a raised bed is also one way to ensure that your crops have the best chances of survival. Just added to your cart. Continue shopping.
Close search. The 6 Benefits of Raised Garden Beds. Healthier, More Resilient Plants. Retain or Improve Soil Quality. More Space for Growing Plants. Easy Gardening. Slugs can climb , but the tall sides of a raised garden box slow them down and provide an opportunity to stop them in their tracks. You can also install hardware cloth on the bottom of the box to stop crawling critters like groundhogs from stealing root crops.
And, because of their height, dogs are less likely to urinate directly on your plants. If deer are a problem , you can add deer fencing directly to your bed, or purchase a box with a built-in deer fence.
In areas prone to flooding, or in marshy yards, a raised garden bed may be the only way to have a full growing season. For most crops, this is enough drainage, and gives plants almost a foot of extra breathing room above wet conditions. Raised beds also tend to drain better in general, even in heavy rains. Tilling actually creates more weeds by burying weed seeds and giving them the perfect opportunity to propagate.
Successful raised bed growers swear by covering their beds with mulch, cardboard, or black plastic in the spring to kill all the plants that grew up in the winter. One of the most effective ways to battle crab grass is with a raised bed. Largely attributed to better drainage in the soil, early planting in raised beds is possible because the soil dries out faster in the spring and warms more quickly for planting than soil at ground level.
Again, much of this has to do with the type of soil in the bed. If untilled and fortified with compost , your soil will regulate temperatures better than disturbed, nutrient-poor soil. Renters who ache to have a garden should start the discussion with their landlord by showing them a nice photo of a raised bed.
A neat, tidy and properly built garden box can enhance property values and be a feature instead of an eyesore. If the landlord still says no, a temporary garden can be built by using a removable garden box. The box is simply set on the ground, cardboard is placed over the grass inside, and the box is filled with soil.
When you move, take the box with you, spread out the soil, and throw down grass seed again. Urban gardeners are at a higher risk of ingesting heavy metals, including lead.
Many different vegetables, especially roots, tomatoes and greens, absorb heavy metals from contaminated soils and can cause a real threat. Toxicity is also greatly reduced by adding compost, diluting the concentrations of contamination from year to year and binding heavy metals to soil particles just another miraculous use for compost!
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