I absolutely LOVE Raised Garden Beds!
I mean, I don’t have one or anything. But still, I love ’em.
Right now, we just plant our seeds directly into the ground, but we have big plans for an extensive raised garden bed system. Why are we moving to raised garden beds? Well, besides being easier on the ol’ back, there are a lot of other benefits.
Benefits of Raised Garden Beds
Improved Soil and Drainage
Because raised garden beds never get stepped on, the soil doesn’t get compacted. Also, you can combine the perfect amount of soil, fertilizer, and amendments to make a perfect bed for growing plants. Because you can also use super-powered soil in them, you can also improve the drainage.
Increased Yield
You can plant seeds (even vegetable seeds) closer together in a raised garden bed because the light soil mixture improves the effectiveness of the water and oxygen. This allows the roots to expand easier. A raised garden bed also tends to be warmer than the ground, so you can plant a couple weeks earlier than you could just planting in the ground.
Simplified Weed and Pest Control
By planting densely, you can prevent weeds. Also, a raised garden bed will have less weeds because of its distance from the surrounding grass/weeds.
So, what are you waiting for?
It’s time to get that raised garden on! Check out these 12 tutorials for inspiration in your raised garden plans. Also, check out these resources to get started!
- 5 Easy-to-grow Vegetables for the Beginner Gardener
- How to get Superpowered Garden Soil
- Pre-made Raised Garden Boxes
- The Square Foot Gardening Book
WINE BOX GARDEN BEDS
LONG RAISED GARDEN BEDS
GALVANIZED STEEL RAISED GARDEN BEDS
WATER TROUGH RAISED GARDEN BEDS
U-SHAPED GARDEN BEDS
$35 RAISED GARDEN BEDS
CINDER BLOCK GARDEN BEDS
GARDEN BED WITH TRELLIS
USED TIRE GARDEN BEDS
RAISED GARDEN BEDS ON LEGS
LOG RAISED GARDEN BEDS
GREENHOUSE GARDEN BEDS
Want more gardening inspiration? Come hang out with me on Instagram!
Have you ever planted in a Raised Garden Bed? What’s been your experience with them like?
All the choices look great however, I wondered about the treated wood and began googling about treated woods and then cinder blocks and cement blocks. EPA has some great info. To be safe and not to worry about chemicals and heavy metals leaching into the soil, into veggies, it is worth looking at this and the alternatives( things you can do to make cement blocks ok to use). https://www.epa.gov/ingredients-used-pesticide-products/overview-wood-preservative-chemicals
,https://gambrick.com/are-concrete-blocks-toxic. Thank you for all the ideas, just want to be sure all use safe products and things to make them ok to use.
Thanks DaNelle for the ideas!
You just don’t know how happy I am when I saw this post. By looking at the images of different kinds of garden beds alone, you’ve shared more than what is expected, well done! I am going to try the water trough raised garden beds and used tire garden beds at home.
Hi Joy-
So glad you are going to try the water trough and tire garden beds! Let us know how they go. Best of luck and Happy Gardening! Thank you -Bobbi (DaNelle’s Assistant)
I enjoy your program. I watch every chance I get here in Brazil.
VERY IMPRESSIVE AND INDEED CREATIVE.LOVE IT.
I’d like to have a raised flower bed that I can have on my deck that can winter peppy bulbs for the Canadian winter. Any ideas on this?
I have 4 raised beds , one 6×8 for potatoes and peas when potatoes are gone, 2 that are 4×8 30:high on one half and 40; on other plant low plants on high side and high plants on low side, have slanted beams from bed to bed, 6 ft at center for running beans. I fill a 6ft freezer from these beds each year by rotating as one crop goes out, another is planted
I have several raised garden beds — just used wood planks we had laying around the yard from other projects and nailed them together. I filled them with the dirt combination recommended by Square Foot Gardener. Works great! Even covered one of them with my greenhouse for the winter (we are in North Carolina) and kept a tomato plant, beans, and lettuce going for most of the winter. They are all staggered in the back yard with a birdhouse, the bee hive, and the rabbit hutch. I do get more yield from raised beds for the last 4 years.
KidsBestNutrition.com
Just a question. Would the chemicals from the tire leach into the soil and thus contaminate the bed?
I hope not:)
I think it does, but do some research. You also have to be careful about wood that has been treated with chemicals (some pallets included.)
IHAVE RED MAPLE and douglas fir tree and nothing will grow here so looking forward to raised garden beds
Have you seen the keyhole gardens? I defently want to make one of those.
please send me regular info
I have one that I put together and planted my fall/winter bed (I live in north central Florida) and I’m still getting sugar snap peas and a few strawberries. I just pulled the last of the broccoli. I got my plans from Melanie at http://www.RaisedUrbanGardens.com and she has wonderful pictures and tutorial. I have to say this is the first time I have been successful in getting anything to grow in the 4 years I’ve been trying. I tried amending the soil (read sand) with all sorts of things but all I got were these crazy weeds with roots that go to China and ants that carry me away when I tried to weed. Last year I even just threw the bag of Black Cow on the ground, punched a few holes in the bottom for drainage and plunked the plants in. It worked at the garden they had the Clay County fair, but not for me. I just went today, bought the 2×4’s and got everything cut to size. My next day off I’ll have a second bed ready for a couple different varieties of tomatoes and some squash. When the peas and strawberries are done, I’ll figure out something else. Of course, by then it’ll be too hot for much of anything else here.
Thanks for featuring my garden bed DaNelle! What I love most about the U-shaped garden is you can easily weed and access your vegetables/herbs from any side. Looking forward to a bountiful harvest this summer!
Britt! I think yours was my favorite!