Creating a Raised Bed Garden
Many homeowners are faced with the challenge of installing a garden because of limited space, heavy shaded structural areas, poor soils that are hard to work with, or living near a beach area where the salt sprays can be damaging plants.
Do not despair because you have come to the right place as I seek to resolve your garden problems and you can have that garden you always wanted, whether a vegetable, a herb, or a flower garden, with some creative thinking you will be well on your way by installing one or more, raised beds.
Raised bed
What is a raised bed? I am glad that you asked, a raised bed is a garden feature or design where your plants are grown in such a way that they do not make contact with the soil surface but is elevated to a point to allow for proper plant growth.
I have seen such designs where persons used soil as a mound to elevate planting areas for aesthetic or for plant health purposes, this too is a type of raised bed. Raise beds can be designed from wood, concrete, hard plastic, or other materials. What I love about these types of gardens is you can design them according to your desire and they do add a touch of class.
Limited space
You may be living in a condo or an apartment where there is limited space as far as patios, and a balcony is concerned, in this case, a raised bed will allow you to have that garden. Even though this article is not about container gardening, here are some cool ideas from my article on container gardening which you can try, the same principle applies. Just follow this link. Container gardening, gardening the smart way.
Structural Challenge
You may be facing a condition where the structural design may have certain areas over shaded making it impossible to install a garden because of not getting sufficient sunlight
raised beds give you the option of installing a garden in a sunny location, you also can try container gardening if you prefer. Remember the goal is to be creative and think outside the box.
I know the challenge because I was faced with a few issues concerning a particular garden area it was not until a few hard square plastic containers were used as a raised bed that this problem was solved.
Poor soil profile
There is organic material on the market that can be used to condition your soil that may be of poor quality, sometimes it may take a lot of work for the ideal soil, a suggestion again is to install raised beds and use good garden soil
and save yourself all that hard work. For example, you may have an area that has poor drainage, meaning that in times of heavy rain, rainwater may take up to two or three days before an area is completely dry. In a case like this, a raised bed will work wonders for you.
Salt Sprays
You may be living on beachfront property and the salt sprays from the ocean may not allow you to plant a herb or vegetable garden in a particular area. Don’t despair you can still find a location on your property and with the help of a raised bed still, have that herb or vegetable garden.
While it is true that some plants are soil tolerant which I have written an article on salt-tolerant plants, herbs must be sheltered from salt sprays because they cannot take the salt.
Building a raised bed
While raised bed may be of the simplest form or the more complex, I know that we can both agree that the main purpose is to ensure that you have the garden you always wanted while ensuring the overall health of your plants. Here are examples of simple and more complex bed designs.
Simple and more advanced
You can build a raised bed as big or as small as you desire, it all depends on where you will be installing the bed and what you will be planting.
Building a simple bed consist of four 2 x 4s wood. Nailed together or you can use brackets, make sure that the frame is solid and firm. Once completed you should have a wooden frame box, just add soil and plants.
For patios, porches, or balconies you will need 2 x 4 s, and plywood. Create a wooden box with legs as shown in figure 1, the inside of the box should be lined with a nylon fabric or other material to protect the wood. The fabric can be held in place by using finished nails that are small or try using liquid nails.
Make sure and drill a few holes to the bottom of the wooden frame to allow for drainage, line the inside of the box with pebbles make sure to cover the entire bottom of the box this will help with drainage also.
Add soil on top of pebbles, fill box leaving about 2-4 inch space from the top, now add your plants and enjoy your garden.
The final word
So by thinking outside the box and letting your imagination run wild, you can come up with some cool designs by having that garden that you always wanted while adding that touch of class.
About the author
Norman loves being in the garden, both at home and for his job....
he is 'Natures Little helper' being outdoors, growing his vegetables and flowers from an early age.
Now having spent over 22 years in the profession he want to give some of his knowledge to others...
his vast array of hints and tips you will find scattered over this site will help you no end growing plants in your garden.
I’m so excited I found your site. Its so easy to follow and has so much information that pertains to my niche, that i think i just found my new favorite follow. The comments want me to elaborate, but in all reality I could learn alot from you. So i don’t know how far it wants me to go with this. I think you’re organization is great, its informative, easy to navigate, and about an interest of mine.
Hello it is so good to meet you, and I am so happy that we have made this connection.I am sure there is a lot that I can learn from you, maybe we can PM each other and share ideas. I wish you the best of success and I am looking forward to hearing from you. Have a good day.
Hi Norman,
Interesting post. I am having to compromise with my Mrs these days. I want a landscape garden. She wants one with vegetation along with the landscape which I think may ruin the looks. But of course she wins.
Raised bed may be a solution. I could put some at the back of my garden or at the side and may be a good solution.
I take it using a raised bed for vegetation is also an option?
Thank you for your site. It may have solved a little problem of mine. Very good alternative.
One thing though. You included a brief instruction on how to build a raised bed. Maybe you can add some pics or diagram on how to build the bed? I think it would help. Thank you.
Hello it is so good to meet you, raise beds can work wonders. Thanks for the suggestion,I will do what I can to add a diagram. Wishing you the best of success with your garden project. Have a good day.
Hi,
I have been checking out your website and really love all the great info on setting up a garden. We just bought our first home with space for a garden in our back yard and I want to grow vegetables in the spring but don’t want to spend a lot of money setting it up only to fail at getting the vegies. I guess my confidence is very low. You make it sound possible!
I was also interested in the Quit Tea. I have never heard of it and I have an adult child who has tried to quit smoking several times, but hasn’t been able to completely get free of it. I’m going to send him the link to see if it looks good to try. I’ve heard it can take up to 6 different tries to finally quit for some people. I’m pretty sure he’s close to that number!
Thanks again,
Michi
Hello it is so good to meet you and I am glad that I could help, wishing that your son succeeds at over coming smoking because it is really bad for your health. And best wishing on your garden project. Have a good day.
I’ve always loved the concept of raised beds.
My old, old dad is still a keen gardener and the raised beds he has built allow him to manage his garden with more ease.
The pleasure people get from growing stuff and nurturing the soil and plants is huge, and even therapeutic, for all generations.
What do you think about this idea? …I believe that residents in aged care facilities could really enjoy raised beds, waist height, so they could potter at will in the garden. Even wheelchair bound people could use well designed raised garden beds. It’s a pet dream of mine.
Thanks for a lovely website. Janelle
Hello nice to meet you and I agree with you. Raised beds are so cool and it allows anyone to have a garden no matter the size of space and it do add a touch of class. It is good to see that you are offering and reaching out to the aged and those in wheel chairs, this is a great idea that way they will get to work with nature and see the rewards of their labor not to mention getting a nice little workout. Wishing you all the best with this. Please let me know how it goes and have a good day.
My wife and I put in a raised garden bed in our backyard many years ago because we have this clay soil which you can’t do a lot with.
We have put a few things in it over the years and then we covered it up with tiles for many years until this year where we removed all the tiles and the weeds and put some plants in and it is looking pretty good now.
I’m glad we have done it as the area where the garden bed is, is looking so much better since we have paid it some attention.
So I’m glad to have come across your post that has given me encouragement that what we did was a good thing to revitalise a garden bed that had been lying dormant for some time.
Hello Adrian it is so nice to meet you and I am glad that this article brought some encouragement to you. Having a raise bed sure benefits and add some class at the same time. Glad I could help, all the best to you and have a good day.
Great Post! I love the idea of having a raised bed. In what environment would the plants be able to live most comfortable, if I were to plant them in a raised bed? Have you ever built one for yourself? If so, I hope we could discuss how you built it and if its possible to customize and make it look unique. Thanks for an awesome read, I learned a great deal about raised beds, more than I knew before.
Hello it is so good to meet you and I am glad that I could help. Any plant that is native to your region can survive in a raise. It is only a matter of knowing what you want, the size they reach when mature and the maintenance or care of that plant. As far as building a raise bed, it can be from the simplest to the more advance, and it would be my pleasure to help where I can, just give me a shout. Wishing you the best of success have a good day.
I have been gardening for a very long time, and I find this a very enjoyable endeavor whether it’s a vegetable or flower garden. I have been thinking about doing raised beds for herbs and flowers. Your website has given me excellent information that I was wondering about. The section on how to build different types of raised beds was very insightful and informational. I will definitely be building one or two of these this spring.
Hello Nancy it is so good to meet you and I am happy that I could of help. Wishing you the best success off success with your garden project. Have a good day.
What a great idea! I don’t know why I didn’t think of this before because I’ve been wanting to grow a small vegetable garden and I have no usable yard space that isn’t on concrete, so this will be a fantastic way to not only spice up my patio area, but have some great fresh veggies I can grow myself. I really like the raised table with the storage underneath. 🙂
Hello Shannon it is so good to meet you, raised beds can work wonders no matter the space you are working with. You can make them as big or as small as you want and they do give that touch of class. Glad that I could help, all the best to you, happy gardening and have good day.
Hello Norman,
You just gave me a great idea using raise bed for planting. One of my hobby is planting vegetables in my back yard I do that after winter. I found it relaxing and it makes my stress go away. Your idea of raise bed is wonderful because it will probably solve my problem on soil pest and other harmful insects that destroyed my vegetable before harvesting. I hate them, just imagine the frustration when I see my plant mess up and can no longer harvest. You are right, I can pick the kind of soil with fertilizer on it inside of enclosed raise bed. Awesome. Now I have a plan, thanks to you.
Hello Cris so good to hear from you, and I am glad that I could help. I know the feeling of working so hard only to see your plants being destroyed, raised bed makes a great choice, all the best to you and your garden project. Have a good day.