Raised Bed Gardening
Building raised beds for gardening can be as simple as using landscape edging to building permanent beds from treated wood. Treated wood is relatively safe to use for raised beds, but some of the chemicals used in preserving the wood can leech into the soil, and thereby your plants. Untreated wood, stone, even bales of hay or straw can be used to build raised beds, and there are no contamination issues. These materials, aside from the stone, will decompose in time, actually adding nutrients to your soil, and will have to be replaced. Using discarded wooden pallets that can be gotten for free in many areas, you can build a raised bed for little cost, and re-use materials that may otherwise be thrown into a landfill. Simply cut them in half, if needed, and brace them up when setting them out on the perimeter of the raised bed you are building. Once they are in place, screw or nail them together, especially at the corners, for stability, and fill the bed with topsoil, compost and more topsoil. Turning the soil before planting is a good idea to get the compost well distributed throughout the soil.
Build the raised beds no wider than three to four feet, for ease of reach. When weeding, planting or picking, you should be able to comfortably reach the center of the bed from either side. This will also keep weeds from being more of a problem than with a wider bed.
Build the raised beds no wider than three to four feet, for ease of reach. When weeding, planting or picking, you should be able to comfortably reach the center of the bed from either side. This will also keep weeds from being more of a problem than with a wider bed.
Smaller Options for Raised Beds
Smaller, more portable raised beds may be the right fit for your yard space, and you can grow a compact bed of various vegetables, herbs and berries in one small space. These types of beds can be easily covered to keep animals out at night, and shaded when the sun is too hot for the developing fruits. These compact beds are also good for raising your own seedlings, if you put a bottom in the bed, it can be moved indoors when the weather is too cold, or placed in a mini greenhouse that can be made from old storm windows, wooden windows, etc.
Raised bed gardening allows more flexibility in placement of the plants you want to grow. Instead of a large tilled area, you can place these beds where the plants need to be, such as with tomatoes, that need full sun until the fruit comes in, then they need shade to keep the fruit from scorching. Putting a raised bed where there will be shade later in the season is perfect.
Strawberries do well in raised beds, and the beds can be expanded as the plants send out runners and multiply. They are easier to tend in a raised bed, since they can be trained to grow where you want them, and always be within easy reach. Herbs such as any in the mint family will do well in a raised bed also, since they will spread everywhere, you may want to put a barrier on the bottom of the bed.
Raised bed gardening allows more flexibility in placement of the plants you want to grow. Instead of a large tilled area, you can place these beds where the plants need to be, such as with tomatoes, that need full sun until the fruit comes in, then they need shade to keep the fruit from scorching. Putting a raised bed where there will be shade later in the season is perfect.
Strawberries do well in raised beds, and the beds can be expanded as the plants send out runners and multiply. They are easier to tend in a raised bed, since they can be trained to grow where you want them, and always be within easy reach. Herbs such as any in the mint family will do well in a raised bed also, since they will spread everywhere, you may want to put a barrier on the bottom of the bed.