Advantages of raised bed gardening

A well-tended garden can bring you great pleasure and add an element of beauty to your yard. Raised bed gardening remains a popular choice because raised beds have many advantages over conventional gardens.

Easier to work and maintain

More and more people are choosing raised bed gardens because they are easier to work and maintain than conventional gardens. A raised garden bed is small enough to work without actually stepping on the bed. Since they are designed to walk around and not in, rainy weather or mud won't delay work. Other advantages include:

• Soil. Raised garden beds provide the opportunity to control soil conditions. Since you get to fill the raised bed with the nutrient rich soil of your choice, you can customize the mixture of soil. Adding compost and mulch to meet the specific requirements of the plants you want to grow.

• Higher yields. You don't need the usual space between rows of a raised garden bed because no walking is done in the bed to cultivate your harvest. So, fruits and vegetables can be planted closer together producing higher yields.

• Less weeding. Weeds are not as big of a problem if you do your prep work when you create the raised bed. Ideally, plants in a raised bed garden are spaced just far enough apart to avoid crowding but close enough to shade weeds.

• Maintenance. Since the planting level is higher on a raised bed garden, less stooping is required for watering, picking and other chores which also make the garden easier to maintain.

• Expanded growing season. Raised beds warm up sooner in the spring and stay warmer later into fall than traditional gardens. In wet seasons, soil dries out faster, permitting planting to proceed between rains.

• Better drainage. Raised beds permit plant roots to develop in soil held above water-logged or compacted ground. This provides an optimum soil environment for root growth and drainage.

• Using difficult sites. Raised beds makes gardening possible on sites where you otherwise couldn't grow plants. Rooftops and solid rocks are just a few examples. Terraced raised bed gardening turns hillsides into productive gardens while reducing soil erosion.

Great for beginners

Beginners can ease into gardening with raised beds. Creating a small bed limits the amount of space you have to take care of. This gives you the opportunity to create a manageable and productive garden with the crops of your choice.

Design possibilities

Raised bed possibilities are endless. You can locate raised bed gardens anywhere and make them any shape. In the beginning it's easiest to start with a rectangular garden pattern, but as you get going you can use your imagination to create plots around existing landscape.

Complement your landscape

There are no rules. Choose materials, textures and shapes that complement the natural area. You don't even have to frame a raised bed if you don't want to. Some gardeners simply mound up soil so they can intersperse flowers and other plants within existing landscape.

Framing

If you do choose to frame your raised bed, you get the advantage of a clean edge between your lawn and your garden. Your plants and soil won't creep into your lawn and grass and weeds won't creep into your beds. Plus, a frame will help keep soil in place during heavy rains. Although there will be initial expanse and labor in constructing walls for a raised bed garden, the finished product will last for many years.