From a single structure on legs to lawn garden alternatives, few garden structures can compete with a raised bed.
Raised bed gardens offer low maintenance, high yield, control over growing conditions and a chance for those without a lot of property to enjoy gardening. They’re flexible. Then can be worked without bending or ground-level tending. And they’re great for all ages and abilities so everyone can get into the action.
Andrew Eckhoff, general manager at Bountiful Acres in Buckingham said natural wood remains a popular material from which to construct raised bed containers.
“For longevity and durability cedar is great, along with red oak,” Eckhoff said.
While more expensive, he said, cedar’s qualities — a long shelf life, and rot and insect resistance — make it an ideal material for raised bed gardening.
“I do see metal being used, but when we’re in hot temperatures the heat will radiate, and it can cook the plants,” he explained.
Vegetables are popular options in raised beds. They’re easy to keep watered and weeded. Vegetable raised bed plots can be constructed for horizontal and vertical growing. This opens the door for growing vining plants like cucumbers, beans, pumpkins and other squash varieties.
“Growing them up keeps them very clean though you do need to worry about deer in the same way you’d worry if (your plants) were in the ground,” Eckhoff said.
“Sometimes people do cutting gardens in raised beds, using ‘Cut and Come Again’ zinnias and (sometimes) see sunflowers, too,” he said.
Herbs are great plants to grow in raised beds, and they combine well with vegetables.
And while you could grow perennials in a raised bed, it’s not common to do so.
“Perennials do well planted in the ground” so there’s not much call to put them in raised bed gardens, Eckhoff said.
A raised bed garden can be placed just about anywhere, though they’re most commonly found adjacent to patios and decks. A kitchen garden close at hand makes it easy to bring homegrown produce to the table. Raised beds can be placed directly at ground level and will often take the place of a traditional in-ground garden. They can be located just about anywhere on a property. Keep slope, water sources, garden tool storage, sun and shade exposure in mind when selecting the best spot to place a lawn raised bed.
As with any garden endeavor, water sources and the ability to provide supplemental water to plants during hot dry spells is critical to garden success.
“For moisture retention, I’m a fan of slow deep root watering,” Eckhoff explained, “don’t turn the hose on full blast. I like to do it at 50 percent force or less. At a slower low rate, the water will infiltrate into the soil and roots,” he said.
Deeper watering less often gives plants and roots a better chance at weathering long dry spells. You’ll water less often, too. Keep water flow in mind when hand-watering or using irrigation systems.
When it comes to high harvest yields, it’s hard to beat raised bed gardens. That’s because you can control the soil type, amendments like compost or prepared soil mixes easily.
Nutrient-rich soil means higher yields, Eckhoff said.
“A raised bed is basically a container, so the plants will use most of the nutrients in the soil quickly. You may need to fertilize more often than you would for in-ground planting,” he said.
Remember to apply plant-specific fertilizers or take advantage of organic materials or compost to enrich the soil.
He recommends following plant tag planting directions. If using seed packets, follow spacing and depth directions according to packet instructions.
“If it says 12-inch spacing on seeds, for example, I recommend keeping with that in your raised beds,” he said.
While higher density planting is tempting in smaller spaces, consider the downsides to this approach.
“With higher-density planting, the plants will grow, but they’ll grow smaller or your yield will be less,” Eckhoff said.
Weed, water, feed and harvest are among the main garden tasks during the growing season.
Eckhoff said it’s important to have clear goals for your gardening endeavors, as well as the amount of time you have on a daily, weekly or season-long basis to have the greatest success — whether you enjoy in-ground gardens, container or raised bed gardening.
“When a garden is more accessible and easier to care for, people tend to stay interested longer,” he said.
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