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For the Weather and Sustainability Enthusiast
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For the Weather and Sustainability Enthusiast
Garden Sustainability-How To's

7 Unique Benefits Of Raised Beds Gardening

JG Wall
5 Mins read

Last updated on April 24th, 2022 at 04:22 am

Many are not aware of these 7 unique benefits of raised beds gardening. Raised beds gardening is an excellent choice for almost every garden environment, especially if you have limited space. Raised beds are more effective than ground-level beds because the soil is less compacted, has better drainage, and heats up earlier in the spring.

It allows plants to start growing early. Raised beds are also easier to manage, especially for restricted mobility and lower perennial weed pressure.

The most significant drawbacks are that they require more regular watering and have a high initial construction cost. Aside from those limitations, raised beds are a terrific option for practically everyone interested in gardening.

Basket of tomato's is just a few of the benefits of raised beds gardening.

Figure 1 Image Source: Srl Raised bed of lettuce, tomatoes, 6 different types of basil, marigolds, zinnias, garlic chives, zucchini. An American flag and a solar-powered light are also in the garden.

The best materials for raised bed frames include wood, stone, or other composites. Raised beds come in various sizes, depending on their location and the materials used to build them.

Raised beds are typically 6 to 8 inches high, 3 to 6 feet wide, and 6 to 8 feet long. To assist those who have difficulty bending or stooping, try raising the beds higher off the ground.

wood frame for benefits of raised beds

Construction

There are no hard and fast rules when it comes to building raised beds. Many gardeners choose to buy kits from garden supply stores, while others prefer to make their own from scratch.

Raised beds should ideally be no wider than four feet wide, allowing you to reach the center of the bed without having to stand on the soil. After all, one of the primary benefits of raised beds is that they enhance soil structure and minimize soil compaction. Beds can be of any shape or length as long as they are of appropriate width.

The raised beds also have to be tall enough to allow plant roots to have enough soil. Make beds that are at least six inches high. Many vegetable crops thrive when their root systems have at least a foot of soil under them.

You have a lot of options when it comes to construction materials for your raised beds. If you must use wood, use non-treated, rot-resistant wood, as treated wood can leach heavy metals into the soil, which plants would absorb.

Benefits of Raised Beds Gardening

Easy to Maintain and Less Weeding

Compared to planting in the ground, raised garden beds offer a significant advantage in terms of ease of management and maintenance; this helps avoid weed issues. Raised beds’ increased height is advantageous to individuals who find it difficult to bend down and care for their plants, such as the elderly and those with physical limitations or injuries. Compaction is essentially non-existent after the soil in a raised bed has settled; thus, seasonal tilling is unnecessary. In a well-maintained and mulched raised bed, weed populations decline with time.

Better Drainage and Water Retention for Plants

The railway sleeper raised bed kit acts as a garden wall, allowing the soil to absorb water entirely. Raised beds help plants grow faster by enabling them to absorb water and nutrients more efficiently. As opposed to an in-ground garden, a well-prepared raised bed allows the soil to drain more easily.

Be sure and check out my article on ways to reuse water to use in your raised bed garden for sustainability.

Soil Requirements

Although most vegetables will grow well in a soilless potting mix, it is often pricey to fill an entire raised bed with it. Instead, most gardeners fill their raised beds with a mixture of excellent garden soil and compost. Try purchasing from a mulch yard or mixing soil from your yard and combine with compost yourself. In either scenario, you should aim for no more than 50% organic ingredients. In an ideal circumstance, compost should account for 10-20% of total soil volume. Similarly, to grow in the ground, having the soil analyzed to ensure appropriate nutrients are provided is always a smart idea.

Longer Growing Season

Raised beds warm up faster and drain better in the spring, providing for a longer growing season and better-growing conditions. A well-constructed raised bed helps plant roots to breathe, which is especially important in the South. Raised beds heat up faster in the spring and provide better drainage for your plants’ roots than in-ground gardening. As a result, the growing season begins earlier and lasts longer, giving you more time to harvest.

You Can Grow More Plants and Vegetables

Raised beds are a practical technique to plant effectively in a limited space. Raised beds allow plants to be spaced closer together within the bed, allowing for more plants in a small vegetable patch. This maximizes the use of your garden space by allowing you to grow more of your favorite plants in the same area as an in-ground bed.

Accessible to Everyone

When built to the correct height, raised beds can make gardening easier for wheelchair users or gardeners who have trouble stooping over. Raised beds easily delineate borders and avoid unintended trampling in gardens when plots are leased for the year.

Improves Mental Health

Gardening can provide many benefits to improve mental health and an overall sense of well-being. It’s an extremely gratifying activity that is linked to improved mental health.   Decreased stress, anxiety, and lower levels of depression are all attributed to gardening activities. As long as common sense precaution is observed it can be an excellent source of physical exercise tending to the garden.

Summary

Like any other vegetable garden, raised beds should be placed in a location that receives at least six hours of direct sunlight each day.

It’s also a good idea to put the beds near the home, or at the very least close to a water supply, to make watering easier. If you’re going to create more than one raised bed, make sure there’s enough space between them for easy access, harvesting, and maintenance.

Raised beds make it simple for beginners to start. They need a little more upfront expenditure, but they almost always guarantee success. Raised beds provide several benefits, but they also have some drawbacks. Raised beds also require soil filling and necessitate a thorough understanding of soils and soil amendments.

benefits of raise beds raise bed gardening wheelchair gardening
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Written by

JG Wall

Jim is an avid weather enthusiast and Amateur Radio operator. Attends Skywarn Storm Spotter training conducted by the National Weather Service. Jim and his wife are committed to preserving open space for water quality and conservation. Essential for the environment and sustainability for future generations. He also enjoys traveling, reading, writing, and spending time with his family outdoors.

2 Comments
  1. Alejandra

    June 17, 2021 11:41 pm

    As I’m new to gardening, I found your article helped me to learn more about gardening in raised beds, my husband made one a couple of years ago, as a try out to see if that works better than the regular garden, what I noticed about it, when watering the water gets out through the wood, do you have any recommendations to keep the water in? Last year I planted a few strawberries plants and it looks they are doing good, and is so easy to pick the strawberries 🍓 

    Reply
    1. jim

      June 18, 2021 12:35 am

      Hello Alejandra,

      I am glad you found my article helpful. I mix a little sandy loam at the bottom of the bed to provide drainage and hold moisture. In addition, you could try straw or hay to retain moisture in raised beds. Raise beds can be similar to gardening in pots. They tend to dry out quickly in the summer months. I harvest rainwater in spring to water in summer, it gets hot here in Texas. I do enjoy the ease of harvesting. thanks for stopping by. 

      Reply
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