When you decide to make raised garden beds after keeping in your mind all the factors such as your climate, sunlight, availability of materials to fill beds, the quantity of water you can supply to beds, and last but not least your preference.
Why build raised garden beds beneficial for you?
The advantages of raised beds are quite clear. Another good aspect of raised beds are maintaining the fertility of your soil, if your soil is not healthy or become compact for your plants then raised beds are a good option for you. Compact soil is a soil in which a large amount of clay is present.
In this process, the density of soil increase and it will lead to root rot and other diseases. If your soil is sandy then it has no ability to hold the nutrients for the plant which results that your plant remains hungry. You can also get rid of the problems of weeds and pests.
You can’t deny the fact that you get good drainage in raised beds which is not possible in, in-ground beds. It is your decision, what is underneath, you add the material to the bottom of beds, according to your plants need. In this way, you are free from the worry of the quality of your soil and other things.
Just bring in brand new soil and you are ready to go. By building raised beds you can satisfy your aesthetic sense, as you can design your wooden boxes design and color them according to your taste. If your back is tired of bending while doing weeding and harvesting, and now you want to build raised beds.
In case if you already have in-ground beds then you know that kneeling and leaning are part of it. After making the decision, the second question that arises in your mind is how to build tall raised garden beds for your garden.
Raised garden beds provide roots more room to grow
Many tall raised beds are set up on legs, but the best suggestion is that you can build your raised beds right on the soil. In this way, it is possible for your plants to make direct contact with native soil, and if you are growing vegetables which have deep roots like carrot, reddish and others, can’t be restrained from spreading.
Size of raised beds
When building a raised bed or two, your first decision is about the size. You can build your beds about any size you wish. The best size is 3-×5- foot dimensions with a depth of 30 inches, but you can modify this size according to your wish. If you choose width about 4 feet then it allows you to weed, water or harvest without stepping into the bed. The right height of your bed is also very important.
If your bed is tall, then you can easily sit on the edge of a raised bed, in this way you can avoid bending. If your size increased then the cost of filling the bed will also increase. If the size of your bed is small then it has its benefits. It is easily portable and less expensive.
If your intention is to grow perennials (plants that live more than two years), annuals (a plant which lives only one season) or vegetables then the size of your container is 12” to 18” of soil. The size of your bed depends on the source of your materials, if a large amount of material is available then you can make a tall raised bed otherwise you have the option of average size.
Because filling a raised bed is also a challenge. You have calculated the volume of your box, so it will save you time and money. You can adopt different methods of filling the box with available material and quality soil.
Type of Materials available to build a raised garden bed
After making a decision about the dimension, now you have to decide from which material you want to make your beds. There are different types of material available in the markets, you can choose them according to your design, style, and needs.
Stone
If you want a permanent bed, then the stone is a good choice for it. If your garden has a patio or flagstone path, the appropriate material for your raised bed is, stone.
Metal
If we talk about the trend, the metal, which has a long life, become the choice of most of the gardener. It is good for the urban environment and corrugated stock tanks make already-made raised beds.
Steel
It has also long life because the surface of sides because it has rusted finish and it creates a protective coating over the interior of the material. Tight spaces provided to the raised beds, as the size of the footprint of steel is smaller than that of stone and wood.
Concrete
If you want to make a bed from concrete, first of all, you have to level the soil and then set the concrete blocks on it. But you have to fix the blocks very rightly. This material gives a traditional look.
Wood
The life of the wood is five years as compared to other materials, but it depends on your climate. If you use pressure-treated wood then the life of the wood increase but the chemical is not good for plants and especially for the vegetables. You can use plastic inside the wood if you have a problem with the durability of wood.
How to build a raised garden bed out of wood
You have to level the ground with tractor’s loader or with a grader blade. Leave at least 3 feet between the beds for pathway. If you want to expand your beds in the future then you should make a better plan for your yard or garden.
Before making the raised garden bed, you have to buy a “raised garden bed kit” from a hardware store or garden center. If you have any design in your mind for making a bed then it is good for you to build raised beds from scratch.
A cheap, reasonable, traditional, and easy to get started bed is, cedar bed raised. The standard size of this bed is 4 feet wide, 6 feet long, and 2 feet tall. The method of construction of this bed is as follows:
Which material is used to make a wooden raised garden bed
You can easily adjust the size, according to your preferences or wish. Just an idea is given to you to understand the size and length of a wooden raised garden bed.
*(4) 4×4 posts cut to the desired height of your garden bed
*(6) 4 feet long 2×8 piece of limber
*(6) 6 feet long 2×8 piece of lumber
*3 inches deck screws
Note:
Lumber( a type of wood that has been processed into beam and planks) should be untreated if you are using it for vegetables. But if you are using it for flowers and decorative plants then treated lumber is good to use. Treated wood is with preservative chemicals which is not good for vegetables because it will affect our health.
Construction
(1) You have to cut the board according to the measurement mention above. You can use a drill to drive screws.
(2) You can attach the frame of 4 feet long 2×8 piece of lumber with 3 inches deck screws to the sides of two of 4×4 posts. You will repeat the same process again with the other 4 feet. 2×8 and two 4×4 posts. In the next step attach the two ends with the 6 feet long 2×8s.
(3) Now attach the rest of the boards. Repeat the step mentioned above two more times, stacking 2×8s vertically.
(4) The last step is to fill the bed with high-quality soil. You can fill the bottom with different materials like wood chips, hay, manure, and other debris you have. Above that mix the soil with compost and spread it above the material you fill in the underneath.
What type of soil you should use
- The most common choice is a well-drained and weed-free topsoil. This can be easily available in the market. You can buy bags of soil according to your requirements. You can buy in bulk from a local landscaping company and having it delivered may be more cost-efficient if it is convenient for you. Screened topsoil should be preferred, if you use unscreened soil, it has large chunks which make you’re digging hard.
Also Read: How to Fill Your Tall Raised Beds?
- Always mix garden soil with compost. It can become a cheap option if you make compost at home, contrary, if you buy then it will not cost you too much. All these things depend on your budget. If you have easy access to organic matter, for example, manure from a local farm. Don’t hesitate, for asking material from the farm, it will mitigate your expense.
Now your bed is ready for planting. Now you have to choose which type of plant or vegetable you want to grow in your beds. The selection of your plants depends on the size of beds. So be careful for choosing, because it will affect your production.
Your raised beds are just like a garden, don’t forget to the trellis (architectural structure) or cage vegetables that require support. It is not a problem to plant more densely in these beds since you can easily weed or thin. It is possible to attach an irrigation system to your beds, this will make your work as a gardener easy.
