Raised bed gardening was common during the colonial era for vegetable gardens. Today, raised bed gardening is popular again. Some benefits of raised bed gardening:
- Easier pest control.
- Increased productivity per square foot. Per University of Ohio, Dawes Arboretum doubled its yield over a 3-year period in raised bed gardening versus conventional.
- Water conservation
- Beds warm quicker so you can plant earlier and extend your season.
- Beds can double as cold frames.
- Saves space and time.
In raised garden beds (meaning higher than the ground), typically four feet wide, you can reach to any point of the bed without having to walk through it. No space is wasted! If you want several beds, construct paths between them.
Is raised bed gardening for you?
Gardening Tip: If you have slow-drying clay soil, soil that does not drain well, or any soil situation that is undesirable, raised bed gardening may be your best solution.
Gardening Tip: If you have arthritis, back trouble, or if you are a senior citizen, raised bed gardening and container gardening are ideal!
Gardening Tip: If space is limited and you need to get the most out of the smallest area; or if you have pets in your yard that would overrun a vegetable plot; then raised bed gardening or container gardening is for you!
Gardening Tip: The vegetable garden plan is even more important in raised bed gardening. Arrange plants so they complement each other, and do not shade or overgrow others.
Your garden plan should incorporate these needs:
1) A North-South orientation is best for low-growing plants.
2) East-West might be best for tall growing plants (corn, peas, beans, caged tomatoes) and then you plant the low-growing plants on the Southern side of those to avoid shading them.
3) Try a technique called interplanting. Plant corn to allow pole beans to run up them. Plant the beans on the Southern side. Or you could plant corn with melons or cucumber between.
Gardening Idea
A bed is basically four pieces of pre-cut lumber, formed into a narrow rectangle and joined at the corners. You can use pressure treated lumber, cement blocks, brick or redwood. Raised Bed Gardening Kits are available in garden supply stores or on the Internet. A frame is not mandatory; you can mound the dirt into a rectangular bed.
More Gardening Tips
--If burrowing pests are a problem, put wire on the ground under the bed.
--Put optimum soil into your bed at the outset. Keep beds optimum by adding compost. Per Ohio University, one-third of soil in the root zone should be existing soil.
--A clever gardening tip is to build support systems for tomatoes, etc. mounted to the bed frame so they are more durable. Another is to construct seating around the beds for those with back trouble.
Gardening Idea: Plant raised beds with themes. A pizza and Italian bed might have tomato, oregano, basil, chives, onions, and peppers.
Gardening Idea: Ohio University was used as a source for this article: Ohio Online.
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©April, 2006, text by Sally Morton. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
