If you are planning to grow your own food, you might consider building
raised garden beds. Raised garden beds offer a number of advantages over regular garden beds. For starters, they allow you to avoid digging up the roots of your plants. In addition, they can be built up with soil amendments and compost.
Raised garden beds need to be built out of strong materials that can hold the weight of the soil. The materials must also be able to prevent water from pooling. Some gardeners choose to line their beds with plastic. But there are other materials that can be used, such as wood. It is important to research each material carefully to ensure that it is safe for use in the garden.
If you are interested in using treated lumber, be sure to research the chemicals that are in the wood. Pressure-treated lumber may contain toxins that leach into the soil. A safer alternative is to line the bed with thick plastic. Alternatively, you can use naturally rot-resistant wood. These are usually harder to find and can last a decade or more.
Building your own raised garden beds requires some basic DIY skills. First, you must clear the area where you will build your bed. You can also build your beds from scrap lumber. However, this will add to the overall cost. Instead, you can purchase cedar or douglas fir boards. This is not as expensive as repurposed scrap wood.
When you are ready to plant, you should rake the beds smooth. To prevent weeds, you can place mulch around the plants. Another way to keep the soil moist is by placing a layer of aged manure on top of the soil. During hot weather, you might also need to water your garden more often.
Your raised garden beds should be a minimum of three to four feet wide and eight inches tall. A wider bed allows you to place more plants in a shorter amount of space. Using the same width of bed, you can plant a variety of crops, including root vegetables.
Once your beds are in place, you should mix soil with organic matter to create a rich soil. Compost should make up at least twenty percent of the total mix. Adding fresh organic matter will increase the health of the soil. Keep in mind that you need to amend the soil every year with new organic material.
Lastly, you should be aware that your raised garden beds will need new soil each year. As a general rule, you should aim to add ten to twenty percent of the total volume of soil to each bed. Also, if you are planning on planting perennials, you should make them a little hardier.
While the upfront cost of building a raised bed might be a bit higher than other types of garden, the benefits of building your own will pay off in the long run. In addition to saving money, you can be sure that your raised garden will be more productive and that you will have more food to enjoy.
Raised garden beds are the better way to grow plants and vegetables at home. Our raised planter makes it easy to start your own hard right in your own backyard. The garden box easily keeps weeds away from your soil, prevents soil compaction, provides good drainage, and acts as a defense against submergence, small animals, and other undesirable factors. Plus, the outside color of the plant bed gives a rustic aesthetic to your garden or porch. This raised garden bed is a great practical and decorative addition to your patio.