Using a Raised Garden Bed - Benefits and Useful Tips

A raised garden bed is the perfect solution to many challenges faced by gardeners all over the world.

Gardeners enjoy them because they are simple and easy to maintain. Also, you will be able to use the right soil for the right plants without all the confusion that usually goes with planting a large garden.

One of the advantages of a raised garden bed is that the soil can be mixed with the right type of fertilizer as well as a mixture of the right type of soil. This is important when planting different kinds of vegetables and herbs which often need special nourishment other than what garden soil offers.

Another advantage is that such garden beds can be built in such a way that there is never a reason to step on the soil and compact it while you are weeding and spraying the plants. Compacted soil creates drainage problems and prevents the plants roots from spreading and absorbing all the nutrients from the soil.

Building a raised garden bed really doesn't have to cost you anything if you look around your garden or your neighbor's garden for the right items. Most times, people build their raised beds with bales of hay or straw and then throw the right amount of soil which has been pretreated with fertilizer over the straw. The straw or hay enables the soil to drain correctly, which in turn prevents the roots from rotting and the plants from dying.

This way of building a raised garden bed is perfect if you have a large area that you want to plant, as you can divide the area into sections in which you plant different plants. For example, if you are planting a vegetable garden, then the carrots would be planted in one section and the cauliflower in another, with a walkway of compacted soil between the two sections. The sections of raised beds should only be as wide as your arms can reach from both sides, so that you can access the plants in the middle without stepping or disturbing the soil in the raised bed.

Herbs can sometimes be a little tricky to grow and to keep healthy, so most people who grow herbs build raised garden beds out of wood, which is a simple and easy way to keep the herbs nourished. The wooden raised bed looks almost like a box without a lid, with sections in between to divide the different kinds of herbs. Not much space is needed for herbs as most grow naturally in bushes or small clumps.

A more permanent raised garden bed is built with bricks and cement and is the more costly type of bed. You will need to build four walls with the bricks as well as to throw a cement floor at the bottom with drainage holes to improve the flow of water.

Whatever type of raised garden bed you choose to make, there are definitely advantages when it comes to keeping your vegetables, herbs and flowers lively and healthy.

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