The Use of Raised Garden Beds

Whether you have a small yard or a large one, raised garden beds can be an asset to your gardening efforts. They allow you to concentrate resources and provide a greater variety of nutrients to your plants. Using raised garden beds can also deter rabbits, slugs and other insects. In addition, they can be used on your deck, front yard or driveway.

You can build a raised garden bed of any height. This can be useful for anyone who has mobility issues. However, it is important to remember that the height of your bed can have an impact on the productivity of your garden.

It is important to make sure your raised garden bed is deep enough to support the roots of the plants you are planting. You will also want to make sure that the soil is good. You can buy topsoil from a farm supply store. In addition, you can use compost and manure in your garden bed.

The basic soil mix for your raised garden bed should consist of approximately 60 percent topsoil, 20 percent compost and 10 percent potting mix. You can also add aged manure to your raised garden bed to help build the soil's health. You may want to use a weed barrier to keep weeds from growing around your bed. A weed barrier can be made out of landscape fabric or builder's paper. You can also use pegs to secure the weed barrier to the bed.

The walls of your raised bed can get cold in the winter and can leach chemicals into the soil. If you are worried about this, you may want to consider a solid bottom for your raised garden bed. You can find these in the form of metal or cement blocks. These materials reflect the heat of the sun and will help warm up the soil. You can also use bricks as an edge for your raised garden bed. Bricks can be set end to end around the edges of your bed to give it more height.

You may also want to purchase extra posts to help support the bed. This will prevent it from bowing in the middle. You can also use a weed barrier to keep out weeds from the bottom of your bed.

Lastly, you may want to purchase a root barrier for your living trees. You can also use heavy plastic sheeting to create a barrier. This will help keep out weeds from the ground and also keep water from flowing into the ground to provide proper drainage. However, you will need to make sure the root barrier is deep enough for your tree's roots to pass through.

Once you have prepared your raised garden bed, you will need to top it off with a layer of compost. If you don't want to purchase compost, you can mix your own. You can add compost to your raised garden bed gradually, allowing it to blend with the soil beneath.