Raised beds are a beautiful way to nurture your edible plants, create definition in your outdoor space and make tending your gardening much easier.
Plus, your initial investment will pay off in healthier plants that produce well all season long. Learn why vegetables thrive in beds and how you can construct your own raised garden bed in just one afternoon.
The primary reason to create a raised bed is to create the perfect soil and growing conditions, regardless of your native soil. You can give your crops exactly the nutrients they need and provide good drainage for the healthiest plants possible. Raised beds offer your crops some protection from the elements and make it easier to tend to your plants over the growing season.
Your plants are closer to eye level, making it easier to spot pests and diseases early and saving your back from too much bending. Aesthetics is important. Raised garden beds, especially those framed from premium hardwood, add a finished look to your garden. They can be attractive enough to flaunt in a front yard or other places where in-ground planting may not fly. Raised garden beds don't need to be enclosed. Unframed raised ground beds are inexpensive, come together quickly and are the preferred choice of many gardeners and farmers.
To create a mounded bed, break up your soil, mix in some nutrient-rich soil or compost and form mounds inches above the surrounding ground in long rows. Beds deeper than 6 inches need a frame or container. Mounded beds have you working close to the ground while tending your plants, so it's worth investing in a comfortable kneeling pad to protect your knees. Also called elevated raised beds, these are planting containers standing on a frame or legs and not sitting directly on native soil.
Perfect for a porch or patio, this finished elevated garden bed is made from untreated cedar and is safe for growing vegetables. You can even have peas, cucumber or pole beans climb on a planter with a trellis. Supported raised beds are made from a framework placed directly on the ground that holds soil in place up to a certain depth. Frameworks can be made of stone, plastic or metal but are traditionally made of wood.
As with most things, a little planning will go a long way toward making your raised bed garden a success. Pick as flat a site as possible that will get full sun for as much of the day as possible. Most food crops thrive in full sun � ideally 8 hours or more for summer vegetables like heirloom tomatoes , peppers and eggplants. Walk your available space at different times of the day to watch where the sun and shadows travel, paying attention to any large trees, fences or buildings that create shade.
A flat site not only makes building your raised bed easier, but it also prevents root rot as water pools at the bottom of a slope. A rectangular shape is most practical. Think of a bed like an enclosed garden row. As long as you can easily reach into the center from the side of the bed, you can create any shape you like.
It might be helpful to sketch out a design on graph paper with rough measurements. Height: Raised beds in a frame should be a minimum of 6 inches off the ground, but inches is best. This depth allows for rooting vegetables such as carrots to grow freely and is also a comfortable height for the gardener to sit on the side while weeding or harvesting.
Width: Beds should be a minimum of 3 feet wide to comfortably accommodate most bushy summer vegetables like indeterminate tomato plants. However, if beds are much wider than 4 feet, it's difficult to reach across the bed. You want to avoid compressing the soil by stepping or pushing into it, so keep beds a comfortable width. Spacing: Be sure to leave adequate room between your beds so it's easy to move between rows full of plants.
Imagine plants at their full size. You want plenty of space, allowing air to circulate and prevent diseases like blossom end rot. While you can buy pre-assembled kits, many come with poor quality wood prone to rot or splintering.
Also, many kits come in sizes too narrow or too wide to be practical. By building your own raised garden bed, you can choose higher-quality materials and construct the exact size you want. This might be the easiest possible method of building a garden bed. With Oldcastle planter wall blocks and boards, you can create a supported raised bed in minutes without screws or drilling. These blocks can be stacked as tall as 2 feet high and have side slats on all four sides sized perfectly for 2 x 6-inch wooden boards.
Using wider block timber like this is more expensive, but it has the added benefit of making your raised bed more comfortable for sitting. Rachel Boller is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money. BestReviews spends thousands of hours researching, analyzing and testing products to recommend the best picks for most consumers.
BestReviews and its newspaper partners may earn a commission if you purchase a product through one of our links. Skip to content. Comfortable for gardeners and deep enough for vegetables to develop strong roots, a height of inches is ideal for a raised bed. While you can go higher, be sure to consider the expense of additional soil.
Making a raised bed vegetable garden. Why raised garden beds? Better soil. Fewer pests and diseases. Natural beauty. Types of raised garden beds. Mounded raised beds. Elevated container beds. Supported raised beds. Before you build. Bed size and spacing. Length: Length is completely up to you, your budget and available materials. Choosing materials. Rot-resistant wood: Untreated cedar or redwood timber planks should last years. The premium material for raised garden beds, this is a rare kit with western red cedar boards included.
Recycled plastic or composite decking: Rot is obviously not an issue for plastic, so your bed will stand the test of time. These recycled plastic timbers can be stacked to form garden beds and have the added benefit of warming the soil, which means plants can be started outdoors sooner if you live in a colder climate.
Materials to avoid. Cheap pine or fir: These woods will begin to rot in years. Chemically treated wood: Pressure-treated lumber, dyed woods and railroad ties might have harmful chemicals that could leach into your soil and therefore your food. Rubber tires: These also have undesirable chemicals for edible plants. How to build a raised garden bed with no tools. Pick a location for your bed and design a bed that takes advantage of your space. Level the ground beneath the site of your bed.
Place planter blocks at the corners of your design. Slide in 2 x 6-inch wood planks into the slats to form the walls of the first layer of your raised bed. You can also use composite decking planks.
Add a single layer of soil and nutrients. Stack a second layer of blocks on top of the first and repeat with wood and soil to build out your sidewalls. For added stability, drive rebar down through the center hole of each stack of blocks. Fill with soil. Recommended on Chicago Tribune. Before you buy. Best garden tools for beginners. Electric pressure washers vs. Which headphones are best for runners?
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