Gardens are a hot commodity these days. You don’t have to own a huge patch of land or have a green thumb, and the benefits are amazing, healthwise and in terms of the delicious foods you get to eat.
So, are you ready to raise your garden? Sure, it’s almost spring and it’s time to think about planting your vegetable garden—but I mean literally bring your garden up off the ground and into a four-sided raised-bed. Gardening in a raised-bed has many advantages for experienced and novice gardeners alike.
For starters, you’ll never have to rototill or dig your garden again. Because the soil never gets stepped on you avoid soil compaction. The bed can be filled with a soil mix that is free of toxic chemicals and full of nutrients. The loose mixture drains well, but will hold enough moisture for the plants.
Plants are grown close together and shade out competing weeds, so you spend less time weeding. The close spacing also makes watering and harvesting more efficient and it can more than double the yield of your harvest versus conventional in-the-ground gardening.
A raised bed can be placed anywhere in your yard or on a patio as long as the spot receives six to eight hours of sun daily. No need to relegate your vegetable garden to some far-off forgotten corner of the yard. Place it near where you walk often or even among your perennials.
Aesthetically pleasing raised beds can be part of an edible landscape. That way you’ll not only enjoy its beauty, but remember to care for it and harvest the bounty.
Even those of us who don’t have mobility problems can appreciate not having to squat, bend, and stoop much—or at all—when we garden. I prefer a raised-bed built to a height of nineteen to twenty two inches (a standard bench height) and outfitted with a top trim piece that allows a gardener to rest on the edge while tending the garden.
With all of those benefits in mind, this year, don’t just grow a garden—raise it! You’ll be glad you did.