Creating Raised Garden Beds
Why choose raised beds?
Using raised beds, planted intensively can produce 4-6 times the amount of yield than normal row planting. The size of the area you need using raised beds is greatly reduced. By cutting down on the wasted space between rows you can save as much as 70%. Managing your beds also takes less time, the compact space makes it easy to water, weed and fertilize. Adding fertilizer to this compact space saves dollars instead of spreading it throughout a row garden. Plants that like to spread and take over are far easier to keep confined to their designated space. You can have lawn or various groundcovers that can add color and or aroma to your space. Try planted creeping pennyroyal between your beds to help keep out bugs. As you walk on it, you will enjoy the refreshing aroma and flies and mosquitoes will even stay away from the area! You may wish to have raised beds closing off the entire perimeter of your garden space. The perimeter beds can be planted with plants and herbs that repel insects, such as Wormwood, Mugwort, Pennyroyal, Garlic, Marigolds, Pyrethrin, Hyssop, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Nasturtiums, Catnip, Chives, Feverfew, Marigolds, and Rue.
How much work?
Digging the soil to create a raised bed will prepare the beds for several gardening years. The soil does not get compacted down from being stepped on so maintaining the soil is much easier. The more soil builders you add the easier the soil is to work. Roots crops especially benefit from raised beds, as they need non compacted soil to reach full growth potential. If you have a row garden now, start converting to raised beds, a couple a year. Try planting garlic or onions first and you'll be converted forever to raised beds with the size difference. With the savings in money, time and space, what are you waiting for?
A Simple Plan with Raised Beds Including Border of Raised Beds
The Steps to Creating a Raised Bed
- Design your beds as long as is practical but beds should not be more than 5' wide. You want the center easy to reach from either side. Now your ready to mark off your bed, use a simple 4 corner post and your garden string to define the area. Lightly moisten the soil, remove any top vegetation and add a 3" layer of compost into the top 1' of soil. dig a trench at one end of your bed about the width and depth of your shovel. Remove this soil and place in a wheelbarrow to move later to opposite end of the bed.
- Loosen the underlying soil in the trench with a spading fork to 12" deep. Try not to mix the lower soil with the topsoil.
- Dig a second trench the same as the first. Shovel this soil into the first trench you made. Loosen the next set of subsoil you have exposed and continue trenching and loosening until you reach the end of your bed.
- When the last trench is dug and its subsoil loosened, fill it with the remaining soil from your wheelbarrow.
- Rake the top of the bed smooth and flat. shape the bed so that the sides slope gently outward at the base. If desired, box the perimeter of the bed using 2x10 lumber fastened with galvanized nails.
That's it! Plant your seeds and enjoy the new look and ease of your garden!
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Raised Beds & Accessories from U.S. Suppliers
Click on product name for sales details.
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"Stone" Raised Bed
Looks Like Real Stone, But Without the Hassle! This raised bed features a durable, faux stone wall with a two-color finish that makes it nearly indistinguishable from a real stone wall. Best of all, there's no maintenance. You simply use the 18" spikes to lock sections together and secure to the ground. It's incredibly lightweight, yet strong enough to sit on while gardening!
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Round "Stone" Raised Bed
This "fieldstone" raised bed is made of extremely durable polyethylene with a unique two-tone finish you can't tell from real stone, even up close. Each quarter-round section weighs only about 11 lbs, and the whole thing goes together in minutes with just a hammer. Best of all, the plastic insulates soil much better than stone, extending your growing season. Will never crack or chip. Includes spikes to lock sections together and secure planter to the ground.
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Fieldstone Raised Garden Bed
No mortar, no mason, no maintenance required! Patterned after the stone wall at a Connecticut farmhouse, this durable plastic raised bed is indistinguishable from real stone. It assembles in minutes with just a hammer, and resists bowing even when filled with soil. An impressive-looking project that anyone can do! Sections weigh just 11-1/2 lbs each for easy handling. Just line up the holes, lock together with corner spikes (included).
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Grow Bed Produces Big Yields in a Small Space
Nothing beats a raised bed for growing vegetables. They keep the soil warm for improved root growth, retain moisture and practically eliminate weeding. Our revolutionary Grow Bed raises soil temperatures even more with energy-absorbing black plastic sides and it costs less than other raised beds too. In our test gardens, five Grow Beds yielded over 50 pounds of sweet, juicy melons, over 100 bell peppers, 54 eggplants, 53 pounds of potatoes and 216 pounds of tomatoes—in just 45 square feet! Extends the growing season. Disassembles easily for storage.
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Grow Strawberries in a Small Space
The Berry Terrace is only 6 feet in diameter, but its ingenious 3-tier design gives you enough growing space for over a bushel of delicious, juicy berries. It assembles easily without tools and includes a sprinkler system—what a great value! Makes it easy to grow your own trawberries.
Includes sprinkler system! Sturdy aluminum frames are self-locking.
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Stackable Corner Joints, set of 2
New Corner Joints Create Endless Design Possibilities Use these versatile corners to create everything from multi-level raised beds to angled landscape edging. Use singly for 5-1/2" high beds or edging, or stack two corners for an 11" high bed. Your 2" x 6" lumber slides right in.
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Build-A-Ball, Set Of 6
Build-A-Balls Make Fun and Functional Structures With these rubber connectors and some bamboo poles, you can build all kinds of sturdy garden structures in minutes— without tools. They're as much fun as an old-fashioned kid's toy. Fits our #4 and #6 bamboo or any 3/4" pole.
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Cedar & Copper Raised Bed
Now we've made our classic cedar beds even more attractive by adding copper caps to the corner posts—without raising the price. In fact, our 3 x 3 bed costs $10 less than the original! Frame a corner of your patio or put several together to create a formal European kitchen garden.
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Hydro Grow Watering Kit
Raised beds irrigated with slow-drip HydroGrow hose not only produce healthier plants than hand-watered beds, but higher yields too. This easy-to-use kit lets you water 2 or more raised beds in one continuous line -- all you need is scissors to cut the tubing to size.
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Inline Connectors
In-Line connectors keep your Raised Bed straight and true. For raised beds that won't bow out at the sides, use 4-foot planks and join them with these reinforcing in-line connectors.
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Raised Bed Corners
The hardest part of building a raised bed is constructing corners that are square, strong and trim-looking. These ingenious corner brackets cut building time and result in a handsome, sturdy raised bed every time.
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Self-Watering Raised Bed
Now you can enjoy all the advantages of raised bed gardening, plus the added benefit of watering weekly instead of daily. This stylish planter boasts two 4-gallon reservoirs that keep plants lush and green even in a drought. Its crisp lines and realistic wood grain look elegant on the patio, but it's tough enough to use in the garden, because it's made of crack-proof, fade-proof polypropylene
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Cedar Garden Center
Here's a larger version of the popular raised cedar planter. Easy to access, the container is constructed of insect and weather-resistant cedar. Slats in the bottom permit extra water to pass through, yet hold the soil in place. 36"H x 25"W x 74"L
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