What is the Best Way to Create a Raised Garden Bed?
What Is a Raised Garden Bed?
A raised garden bed is a garden placed above the ground in your landscape. Most raised garden beds are placed in a box. Some boxes are placed on the ground, while others are built with feet that elevate them a few inches to a few feet off the ground. These boxes can be built or purchased in a kit.
What is the Appeal of a Raised Garden?
People opt for a raised garden bed to help them create more ideal soil conditions. Often, homeowners will place vegetable and some fruit plants in a raised garden bed as a means of mitigating weeds and pests that can harm or choke out delicate vegetable plants.
With a raised garden bed, the condition of the soil in your yard also does not impact the garden. If you have a particularly soggy yard, which can be common at certain times of the year in the Pacific Northwest, a raised garden bed is a great option for gardening success.
Bed Height is Important
The height of the raised garden bed is important. Beds that do not touch the ground will be exposed to colder temperatures as compared to beds set on top of the ground. Making sure your plants have the proper temperature for success is important.
You also want to consider aesthetics and how the beds look with the rest of your landscape design.
Choosing a Location
The best spot for a raised garden bed depends on what you plan to plant in it. If you plan to plant a vegetable garden, you will want a spot with great sun exposure. Vegetables like to be in the sun at least six hours a day. A southern exposure is ideal for homes in the Pacific Northwest to get as many sunlight hours as possible.
Watering
The most convenient way to get water to your raised beds is to place them near a water source. The ultimate water setup for a raised bed is a drip irrigation system that automatically waters your vegetables at a consistent and steady pace.
Depth
If you plan to place your raised garden bed where only one side is accessible, you want to consider the depth of the bed from side to side. You want to ensure you are able to access the back portion of the garden bed.
Spacing Out Garden Beds
If you have plans to create more than one raised garden, be sure to consider the spacing between the beds. You want to ensure you are able to comfortably operate around the garden beds to maintain them. You want enough room to be able to weed, water, prune, add soil, and more without bumping into other boxes.
Know what plants are going to survive and thrive
One of the best and always most important considerations for planting any garden, raised or not, is to know what plants are going to thrive in your area. For example, growing a pineapple is not the best idea for this area. Make sure you know how much sunshine your particular raised garden spot is going to receive and average temperatures throughout the year. You don’t want to plant tomatoes in the winter; they’re not going to grow well. Making sure you have the right plants in your raised garden will help to eliminate a lot of frustration and waste of time.
Hiring some help
The ultimate way to build the best-designed raised garden bed is to employ the help of a landscape design artist. They can help you to design the garden bed so that it looks like it fits seamlessly into your landscape and increases the aesthetic of your landscape design. Additionally, they can help you to find the best plants and the best location for your garden boxes, as well as advise you on the best maintenance plan for your raised garden. Whether you just want a decorative box full of gorgeous plants or you want a functional and helpful vegetable garden.
If you want to take your yard from great to amazing while involving your family in the process, contact the landscape designers at First Fruits Landscaping. Let’s get started turning your yard into a work of art that not only looks great but also functions well for your lifestyle. We provide landscaping services in Snohomish County and King County.