How To Design And Build A Raised Garden Bed
Raised garden beds (aka raised bed gardening) changed my gardening life.
Building a raised garden bed. Milk jugs protect young seedlings
My back hurts less, I spend less time watering and weeding and I grow more fruits and vegetables in the same exact space.
According to Ed Smith’s The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible,
“A garden contains two kinds of space-space for plants to grow, and space for a gardener to walk while tending the plants. Walking on garden soil…forces soil particles together and compresses the space between them. The result is compacted soil, which…can no longer support abundant root growth.
“In a typical narrow row garden, over half the soil is compacted into walkways for the gardener…In a garden with wide, deep, raised beds…plants get the lion’s share of the space and they get the lion’s share of the soil…”
How to build a raised garden bed
First, check the track of spring and summer sunlight in your garden space and look for shadow-casting obstacles. Is there a wall near your garden? Trees? Shrubs? Plan for as much sun exposure as possible, even if that means removing shrubs or trees. Your raised garden beds don’t have to be perfectly straight or exactly the same width from tip to tip – use your imagination to take best advantage of what space you have.
Your raised bed can be as long as you want it to be, but the width should be gauged according to your arm’s reach: If you can comfortably reach 18″, the garden bed should be no more than 36″ wide, so you can reach the halfway point to weed, plant and harvest from either side.
Once you’ve decided on the width and length, use a measuring tape, stakes and twine to mark off the area which you’ll be digging. Put a stake at each corner and an additional stake on each long side, and tie the twine between each stake. Create as many bed outlines in your garden as possible, allowing 12″-18″ between each for your walkways.
Using the stakes and twine outline, dig a deep bed (10″-18″) so your plant’s roots have plenty of room to grow. Loosen and turn the soil with a garden fork, then follow with a spade shovel, making sure that all turf is turned upside down and broken up.
Next, dig your walkway 12″-18″ wide and at least 10″ deep and place this soil on the raised garden bed. Rake in.
walkway is lined with cardboard, newspaper and mulch
Then, line the walkway with cardboard (1 layer) and newspaper (2 layers), and cover with wood mulch or straw. This will keep weeds from taking over the walkway. Eventually the cardboard, newspaper and mulch will break down and turn into compost, which you can then turn into your new raised garden bed.
Add lots of compost, fallen leaves, grass clippings, and/or composted manure to your new garden beds to add tilth to the soil, working it in with your rake. If you have the time, create your raised bed in the Fall and let the compost work its magic until the following Spring.
I’d like to note here that many folks create raised garden beds with wood sides but you can leave them open as well.
Raised bed gardening allows for deeper root growth, which creates a healthier plant and consequently a higher yield. It’s a bit of work creating the beds, but once established, weeding is a breeze, watering is more efficient, and your yield is much higher.
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