Raised Garden Beds Give Vegetable Growing A Lift



Raised garden beds are exactly what it says in the name. The raised beds can be made any height you like - so long as they are made sturdy enough. This may help someone to enjoy some vegetable growing who is having health issues such as bending over. Raised garden beds are also a perfect solution for the keen vegetable gardener who has limited space for planting.

This system of vegetable growing is a simple way of improving the health and productivity of your vegetable garden while bringing the soil up to a comfortable level to work at. Raised beds have the added benefit of good soil structure and drainage - because you need not walk on or dig it, which enables the soil to warm up earlier in the season, giving you a head start on spring.

This system is especially handy for people who live in areas with poor or shallow soil. Making your soil a better medium to plant your vegetables into is very important and is much easier to control in a raised garden bed. Gardening and especially vegetable gardening needs the regular adding of organic matter such as composted manure or garden waste compost to ensure a constant supply of nutrients and trace elements to the bed.

My own beds (see photo below) are 1.2M(4ft) wide, 2.7M(9ft) long and 30cm(12″) deep. This is the maximum width to be able to reach to the centre of the raised bed from both sides easily, and to be able to walk around the beds without walking to far. The depth can be anything from 15cm(6″) upwards as long as the side structures can cope.




I dug over the ground first before erecting the sides and then topped them up with compost bought in bulk from our local rubbish collecting company. This company composts all the waste it removes from households - all waste that can be composted of course. The picture below shows one of my raised garden beds thriving with last years crops, which were happily eaten throughout the late summer and autumn/fall. Don`t forget to leave a comment or relate your own experience. Happy vegetable growing. Click here to visit my vegetable garden guide website.

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