Raised Garden Beds

    Build your own raised bed for your vegetable and flower garden. Raised garden beds are an excellent way to grow your flowers and vegetables. You can prepare your raised beds by tilling the soil and adding amendments such as compost, manure, shredded leaves and soil moved from other areas of the garden. Any type of organic matter will work. You will want to raise the level of the bed up to a height of at least 4" - 8". You may want to contain the soil in the raised bed with some type of border. You can use concrete blocks, decorative blocks, creek rocks, landscaping ties or even regular lumber. The choice is yours. Your raised beds should be only wide enough where you do not have to walk on the soil in the bed when maintaining your plants. This will keep the soil in the bed from compacting, one of the chief reasons for growing plants in a raised garden bed.

Advantages of using Raised Garden Beds

• Soil in the bed is not compacted, making the soil very easy to work with
• Healthier plants
• Soil warms up quicker in the Spring so you can plant your flowers or vegetables in the garden bed earlier
• You don't have to bend over as far to tend the raised beds
• Added organic amendments draw the worms to your raised bed which help to aerate the soil
• Root crops will appreciate the loose, rich soil.
• Weeding is an easier task as the soil is loose enough to just pull the weeds right out
• You can sit down at your raised garden bed and work in a comfortable position