5 Tips for Building Your First Raised Garden Bed!
Food dependency and access to fresh produce have become a major concern as of late and as a result, I have noticed a major uptick in the number of people who are interested in home gardening – and I LOVE it! As an avid gardener, nature lover, and health enthusiast I cant even begin to explain the value my organic garden has brought to my life. I am SUPER passionate about organic gardening which has lead me to accrue endless hours of research and hands on experience that I cant wait to share with you! So what should you be thinking about before making your raised bed investment?
1. Why do I want garden beds? The first question to ask is; do I really need to have raised beds? Raised beds can be pretty costly, especially if you are going with untreated, sustainably sourced hard wood like cedar, so you want to be clear on exactly why you want raised beds, how much you’re willing to spend, if you want to have an organic garden and why. Some reasons you may want to build beds include:
You have poor soil and don’t plan on spending time improving your soil quality, which can take years.
You like the look of a raised bed garden
You have contaminated soil, this is the case on my property, our property used to be a gas station so I went with beds because I didn’t want to risk any food contamination.
You have a space with plants you want to keep but you do not want to disturb the roots of. In this case, building a bed may be a nice option. Just be aware, those plant roots WILL find your nice garden bed soil and creep into your beds so placement of the beds becomes important as well.
You want to have better ergonomics and make gardening easier on your body – a raised bed can help you limit bending and kneeling.
So you want to build raised beds…whats next?
2. Assess your space: Once these beds are built and filled, they aren’t so easy to just move around so having a plan is a great idea and that plan should include observation of your land, sunlight, wind and water patterns. Obviously you want your garden to produce top yield and be easy to maintain and this means great soil, adequate light, air flow and water – if any of these things are out of balance you may be setting yourself up for a total headache. So get outside on those sunny, windy and rainy days and see how the elements are traveling through your property, where does the most sun hit, are any areas super exposed and will your plants need support, are any areas super wet/dry etc. You may need to do some light land work to adjust the pitch of your property, improve drainage/water retention, and improve sun.
Tip: NEVER ADD GRAVEL TO THE BOTTOM OF YOUR BEDS- IT DOESN’T IMPROVE DRAINAGE, THIS IS NOT A SOLUTION!
3. Plan your Materials: There are a lot of ways to build garden beds but you really want to think about the materials you are using. I prefer untreated, sustainably sourced hard wood, specifically cedar wood for a couple of reasons. First, untreated wood will not leach chemicals into your soil that could contaminate your crop. Second, a hard wood will hold up better than a softer wood over time. Third, wood provides a nice insulation for your soil from cold and heat, I actually prefer the look of galvanized metal garden beds but the metal will get very cold and very hot with fluctuating temperatures offering little protection for venerable roots within the bed. You’ll also need soil! I like to use high quality certified organic top soil, compost and mulch in my beds – so don’t forget to include those costs!
4. Build Smart: Before you start building your beds measure out your space and walk through the space. Will you have enough space between your beds to walk? Will you be able to comfortably reach the whole bed to weed or harvest? This is an area I have seen A LOT of rookie mistakes! We’re so excited to grow and we think, bigger = more food = better… not necessarily! I prefer to keep my beds no wider than three feet across because at that size I can comfortably reach the whole bed to plant, weed, inspect my plants, etc. I even like to keep it a little smaller if I will only be able to access the bed from one side because it’s up against a barrier. In my yard I have several 2.5’x 8’ beds rather than a couple of GIANT beds which allows me better access and mobility in the garden. Do yourself a favor and don’t make gardening even harder on yourself!
Tip: If you know your dimensions and the supplies you need, most wood suppliers will cut the wood to order, all you have to do is assemble it!
5. Bring in the Reinforcement: Your garden bed walls will experience significant pressure once they are filled with soil, if you want to prevent your wood from bowing you may want to think about thicker wood or reinforcing the wood. Similarly, if you will be building with rocks, stones, concrete blocks you may want to consider taking the time to anchor the material by using mortar or re-bar.
PS. If this all sounds too intimidating (and expensive) – start small! Containers or straw bails are also a great, low cost way to get started! These options are easy to move and smaller scale! For containers, the same principles apply, find the right space, make sure the container has a drainage hole, fill it with the right stuff and plant away! For straw bails do the same except plant your seedlings right into the straw (maybe with a little bit of soil/compost). This year to expand my planting space and yield, I’ll be using these methods!
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