Raised Garden Beds…Why or Why Not

Raised garden beds are a great way to grow your vegetables, fruits, and herbs. They offer several advantages over traditional in-ground gardens. Let’s talk about the benefits of raised garden beds, and a few negatives to be realistic.

The Benefits of Raised Beds

The first thing that I always think of is the romantic feels of a beautiful garden space. With raised beds, trellises, twinkle lights and a place to sit and have tea or a glass of wine in the evening. The grass pathways and beautiful rows of raised beds. Archways to walk under, with the smells of flowers wafting from above. Beautiful paths with loveliness growing along the sides. OOOLALA! That is my dream garden in a nutshell!

Raised beds can provide many benefits

So I’ll stop dreaming and get to the facts, such as improved soil and drainage. This can allow you to put your garden anywhere, rather than picking a spot that has decent soil or a large level area. Building up soil for in-ground gardening can take years when starting at a deficit. Raised beds allow you to use the best soil you can get your hands on.

Maintenance can be far less time consuming than in-ground gardening. Tilling is not required, simply loosening the soil is all that is needed. Weeds are easier to control, especially if you start with a barrier before adding your new soil.

By choosing the height that works for you, gardening becomes more accessible for people with all abilities. Bad knees? Bad back? Hard to get up and down? All of these things can be helped by raised beds. You just need to plan carefully, considering limitations.

A Few Cons for the List

The Expense

This honestly kept me from doing raised beds for years. Building materials are very expensive. Dirt can also be very expensive. There are a few things you can do to help but it probably won’t be free garden space.

Look for second hand materials. You can often find items on Facebook Market Place, Craigs list or a local Buy, Sell, Trade group

Be creative! Think of ways to work with what you find. Maybe it’s metal roofing or fence posts or even rocks (that’s hard work) but be creative on how you put together the beds using the materials you find. Some of the most beautiful gardens I have seen are from a variety of resources put together in creative ways!

Permanence…

Once you build your raised beds, you’re probably not going to move them. Plan carefully and think long term.

Side note, Caution

I often hear advice to line the bottom with cardboard to make a barrier, killing weeds under the cardboard. I just recently had a very costly experience with this. Some cardboard is treated with chemicals. I had a very large cardboard box an item was shipped in. Unknowingly to me, the cardboard must have been treated with some sort of chemicals. I used this cardboard to line milk crates to grow pre-spouted flower bulbs for our flower farm. This is a normal practice for many flower farmers. All of the bulbs in the crates with that particular cardboard died within a month. The crates with other cardboard are doing well. This was the only difference between the crates of plants. Use with caution.

In Conclusion

Raised beds can be a beautiful addition to your landscape and a great way to garden. Usually the maintenance is far less and soil quality can be controlled quickly and easily. They can be expensive so be realistic. Maybe adding a few each year will help make it more of a viable option when the budget doesn’t allow for it all at once.

Be creative, a garden can be an expression of self. An artistic piece if you want it to be!

Happy Gardening Friends!