Raised Bed Gardening

An Easier Way To Grow Your Veggies

To make growing vegetables and flowers easier, consider raised bed gardening. Of all of the methods you can use to garden, this method offers the most benefits in comparison to the effort required. As with most successful gardening ventures, this system directly impacts the soil, and the soil is where good gardening starts. (The soil is also where I, your friendly garden gnome lives, so I am a major advocate of healthy soil!)

The Benefits

Here are some of the benefits of this gardening system:

You do not compact the soil because you don’t walk on the surface of the raised beds, allowing for better root growth.

Plants can more easily get oxygen to their root systems due to reduced compaction.

The planting areas drain better because of less compaction and because excess water can drain to lower ground.

Beds heat up more quickly in the spring and retain heat longer in the fall, extending the growing season on both ends.

Your can plant more closely, growing more vegetables in less space, because you can easily train vegetables vertically, companion plant, and because you walk only between the beds, not between each individual row of plants.

Each of these benefits, that come with raised bed gardening, make it easier to weed, water and fertilize your plants.

Building Great Soil For Raised Bed Gardening

As with every type of gardening, good raised beds depend heavily upon healthy soil. The best part about constructing such a garden is that you need to add soil to the bed to build it up, anyway. So, you have the chance to amend your soil without feeling like you are wasting time or energy. Unless you have perfect loamy soil , time spent improving your soil is always a good investment. And if you have very difficult soil in your garden, you might want to consider a complete overhaul with a good garden soil recipe .

You don’t actually have to test your soil to see if it will work well for your garden. My view is that most people, particularly new gardeners, don’t have time, or are confused enough about gardening already to even bother with a soil test.

Simply grab a handful of soil when it is moderately moist and feel it like you would test pie crust: Make a ball, and then use your thumb to push the soil against your hand, forming a ribbon. If the soil is too sticky and slimy, it probably has too much clay . If it is coarse and grainy, it is a sandy soil . If it makes a nice ribbon that holds together, just barely, it is just right. If you have too much sand or too much clay in your garden, add organic matter or compost to lighten your soil. These will improve drainage and water holding capacity, and also add fertility.

You can dig up some of your existing soil, mix it with these amendments, and build your beds. Raised bed gardening is a perfect way to grow enough vegetables to feed you, your family, a few neighbors and your friendly neighborhood gnomes. Your raised beds will eliminate much of the arduous, backbreaking work associated with other forms of vegetable gardening.

Happy gardening,

Geefrank

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