Want a garden in your yard? Build a raised garden bed.
Raised garden beds are an easy way to create interest and add dimension to your garden – no matter what your skill level!
The 411 On Raised Garden Beds:
- If you start with clean, fresh soil, you can avoid the problem of dormant weed seeds and pests from infesting the garden.
- They warm more quickly in spring, so you can work the soil and plant earlier.
- With beds planted higher than ground level, a gardener with limited mobility doesn’t have to get down on his or her knees.
- Soil compaction can reduce crop yields up to 50 percent. Soil doesn’t get compacted in raised beds because it’s fresh and more easily worked.
- Raised beds create areas of fertile, well-drained soil in locales with poor soil and inadequate drainage.
How To Determine Your Raised Bed Depth:
When determining the depth of your raised bed, consider your soil’s current condition. If it is fairly workable, you can get away with raised beds up to 8 inches high. However, if the soil is completely unworkable, meaning the soil can hardly be dented with a small garden spade, make the raised bed 1 to 3 feet high.
4 Steps To Build Your Raised Garden:
- Get your lumber and make sure to use 4 rot resistant posts. The Home Depot sells more FSC certified wood than any other retailer in America.
- Dig a trench 1 to 2 inches deep where you want to position the raised bed. Position the frame in the trench. Level it by either adding soil or digging a deeper trench.
- Fill the wooden frame with high-quality topsoil – there is no need to remover the existing turf.
- Install a watering system such as a soaker hose, perforated plastic sprinkle hose or drip irrigation.