Raised Bed Gardening - How to Grow Well in Small Spaces

What is raised bed gardening and why should you be interested? It is -- usually -- done in some kind of raised bed gardening in containers. There are square raised beds, rectangular raised beds, and round raised beds. You can make a raised bed just about any shape you want and, yes, container planters are a form of raised bed.

Raised Bed Gardening and the New Homeowner

I asked the lumber yard to cut these pieces 4 feet long for two 4x4 square raised beds.

After that, I went over to the garden center and picked up eight bags of garden soil.
I learned about raised bed gardening from watching garden shows on TV including Mel Bartholomew's TV show on PBS, "Square Foot Gardening".

Hey, how hard can it be to nail four boards together to form a four foot by four foot raised bed garden box?

The pressure of the garden soil also helped keep the shape of the raised bed garden box together.

It's astonishing how much could grow in a small raised bed garden. One of the greatest advantages to raised bed gardening is that you control the soil content.

Build some raised beds and filled them with a mix of garden soil, compost and something to lighten it up -- vermiculite, perlite, peat moss, or even some sand. One of the things you want to avoid in raised bed or container gardening is heavy soil density. If you have a bad back or you have avoided gardening because you don't want to look like one of those pieces of bent over garden art -- you know the ones, women with fat butts in bloomers -- build your garden beds higher.

You can stack your raised beds on top of each other. You can grow just about anything in a raised bed. From potatoes to tomatoes to a cutting garden full of zinnias, you can do it in a raised bed.

Garden Versatility with Raised Bed Gardening

Cultivating soil in a traditional row garden takes time. Using raised beds allows you to garden instantly.

The point here is when putting a raised bed on a hard surface like concrete, give the plant's roots some air.

Make these beds a bit deeper by making the sides of the bed higher -- that allows for plenty of plant growth.

Raised bed gardening will provide you with the unique opportunity to have a garden that will be the envy of the neighborhood. 1. Reasons for using Raised Beds - Creating a raised bed gardening system is a fantastic way to control the soil you use, control weeds and produce the most garden vegetables and flowers in the smallest space possible. Raised bed gardening allows you to easily control the environment in which your garden plants grow - temperature and moisture. 
Raised bed gardens allow you to start your garden sooner and extend the growing season by green housing the raised bed. Raised bed gardening additionally makes it very easy to fertilize and control any types of garden pests that might otherwise damage your garden plants.

2. Materials for Raised Bed Gardening - A limited number of materials are required to create a raised bed for gardening - To build one 4'x8' Raised Bed:

3. Building the Raised Bed - Take one of the 3 pieces of wood and cut it in half - creating two 4ft end pieces. If the soil is poor you may want to add things to improve the drainage before placing the raised bed over the area.

4. Create great soil for your Raised Bed - Having great soil filling the raised bed is the key to having a fantastic garden. Use a combination of regular garden soil from your yard, compost, perlite, manure, etc. so that the soil in your raised bed box is rich for growing garden vegetables and/or flowers. You can purchase garden soil additives at the lumber yard, department store or local greenhouse.

5. Finishing Touches - Fill your bed with your soil mixture. Once the garden soil is in, place small nails every 12" around the top and run your string to create one foot squares. These act as dividers and planting guides for your raised beds, also referred to as square foot gardening. If you are planting a little earlier than usual, you may want to greenhouse your raised beds if the weather is a bit cold. I have been using raised bed gardens for years and would never go back to traditional ways. Once established, raised beds require minimal time year after year. Give raised bed gardening a try - you will love it!

A raised bed garden can be used for yards that have poor soil and drainage problems. The idea of a raised bed is to build above ground, where you don't have to battle against poor soil and bad drainage. What is a Raised Bed Garden? 
A raised bed garden is a garden that is above ground and contained in an area with high sides. The gardener walks between the beds and it is a very organized way to garden. Herbs grown in raised beds have an advantage over in the ground growing for a few reasons.

How to Make a Raised Bed Garden 
The most popular raised bed is the 'contained raised garden bed'. They offer great growing condition for many vegetable and herb gardens, as well as for flower gardens. Also, many fruits such as strawberries, grapes and raspberries do well in raised garden beds.

Since most raised beds are constructed from wood we have created steps for a wooden raised bed.

Step One 
Selecting a site is one of the most important decisions you will make when creating a raised bed garden. If you want to plant vegetables that need partial sun either create another bed in a different location or find a location that will receive both full and partial sun. Step Two 
Decide the size and shape of your garden. Make sure you will be able to access all part of your garden without stepping into the bed. The depth of the raised bed garden is up to you but the deeper the better, especially if you will be growing carrots or parsnips that need deeper soil. If you can try making your bed 12 inches deep!

Once you have the shape and size of your garden you will begin building the bed. Step Four 
Now it's time to construct the bed. Step Six 
After leveling it is time to fill your garden with soil and compost. This will allow you to create a garden with great soil that is ideal for the vegetables you choose to grow. Maintaining a Raised Bed Garden 
Happily, raised bed gardens require very little maintenance. Moisture retention is important, because raised beds tend to drain faster than conventional beds.

 See Other Article Here