Plan and Construct a Raised Bed
Solves Soil Problems Increases Yield & Looks Great in Landscape
Raised planting beds or planters offer many benefits and are easy to build. Learn how to plan and construct your own raised garden bed to enhance your landscape.
Building a raised planting bed for growing flowers, vegetables or other plants is a rewarding garden construction and planting project. There are many different options for building and growing in raised beds ranging from very elaborate to very simple and low cost or free. How to construct the planter bed depends on why you want or need to plant in a raised bed and on your taste and preferences. This planning guide will help you plan, design and construct a raised garden bed that’s right for you.
Why Use a Raised Bed?
Raised garden beds make garden maintenance easier. A raised bed can help overcome soil drainage or compaction problems or weed issues; provide specialized growing conditions for specific plants; or enhance accessibility for gardeners who find bending difficult or for disabled gardeners. You can use a raised planting bed to create a design feature, adding visual interest to an overly flat landscape or for increased seating along a patio, for example. Green gardeners will note that intensive gardening methods using raised beds greatly increases yields in limited space while conserving resources.
How High Should a Raised Bed Be? How Deep?
To improve drainage conditions, your soil may need to be raised up just a few inches. If you want to provide special soil conditions such as acidic soil for acid-loving plants, your bed needs to be deeper to accommodate good root systems. A raised bed for annual flowers can be relatively shallow, six to twelve inches. For information about the special soil used in raised planting beds, see Soil to Fill A Raised Bed.
What Size Raised Bed?
How large or small to make the bed depends on several factors:
- How many plants you want to grow
- How much space you have available
- How much clearance you need around or between the beds
- How far you can reach across to tend the plants
- How it will look. It should integrate smoothly into your overall landscape
The specific dimensions of your raised bed should also consider:
- If you prefer a formal or informal shape, a rectilinear or curved outline
- The standard sizes or dimensions of material you plan to use (such as lumber)
- The watering method or irrigation system you plan to use – and you probably will use one because raised beds dry out relatively quickly
Edging Material for Raised Beds
You have many choices of materials for the sides of a raised bed. It can be elaborate or simple. Typically, raised beds are edged with weather resistant or rot resistant materials:
- Wood such as cypress, cedar, redwood
- Metal edging
- Bender board
- Stone
- Brick
- Concrete blocks
- Landscape timbers
- Railroad ties
- New plastic composite materials (e.g. Trex)
From a design standpoint, use a material that complements other materials used either on your home or in the landscape. For instance, a brick edging would coordinate with a brick house. For an elaborate project, your landscape architect can design the layout and construction details. Otherwise, consider using a raised bed kit. If you are handy, design your own.
On a Budget: Inexpensive Edging Materials
To reduce costs, use free materials found on site such as stones or tree branches. Or, recycle broken concrete, used bricks, used cedar shakes or old roof slates as free or cheap materials. I have seen raised garden beds edged with found items such as large clam shells, glass bottles and even straw bales, so be creative and use what you have available.
Fast, Free and Easy Raised Bed Method
The simplest form of raised bed is to rake the soil into a mound several inches higher than the surrounding area. This requires no formal constructed edging at all, but you will need to tidy the sides periodically.
Raised bed gardening can be very rewarding and solves many different gardening problems. I hope this helps you understand the benefits of using raised garden beds and encourages you to get started on planning and constructing your own raised planting bed project. For details about filling the raised bed with soil and compost such as what kind to use and how much you will need, see Soil for Raised Garden Beds.
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