Raised Bed Primer (Day 3)
Today I went to a DIY Urban Agriculture workshop on Alternative Planting Bed Construction. For this post, let’s look at the purposes of raised planting beds. As previously reviewed, good soil gives your plants the right nutrients. But what happens when your soil is malnourished? As with humans, giving your soil proper nutrients does not produce immediate results, it happens over time.
Raised beds are one way to give your garden a “do over.” Rather than making changes to the land (or perhaps coupled with that), you can “build up” by bringing in a planter and filling it with high-quality soil.
Advantages of raised beds:
- provide a soil “do over”- start with high quality soil and easily add compost and organic matter
- prevent soil compaction (you aren’t compacting the soil by walking on it)
- allow for better sun, air circulation, and drainage
- extend the harvest season by warming up earlier and staying warmer longer
- are easier to maintain due to elevation(especially for gardeners with bad backs or pains)
- are good place to grow invasive plants
- serve as barrier to pests and bugs
Raised bed designs:
Tire Bed (picture found on this adorable blog)
Raised Beds featured in Gardenweb.com
Cold Frame Raised Bed available at Hawthorns
Tiered Raised Bed from mastergardenproducts.com
More to come on:
What kind of soil and matter to use
How to build a raised bed from recycled materials
