Getting The Most Out Of Your Raised Garden Bed
Sunday, September 19th, 2010Modern gardeners like to grow a variety of beautiful plants and flowers as well as vegetables to save some money. Unfortunately many of us live in areas where the soil conditions are less than suitable for growing either of these sorts of plants. Years of compression on the soil from people walking and building on it often leave it too compacted down and it takes a lot of work to rectify this. You can avoid these problems with raised garden beds that will give your garden a fresh lease of life.
A raised bed can be useful in many ways as it is basically an elevated container that holds soil. The great advantage to a raised bed is that they can be so flexible as they come in a range of different sizes. You could also have a raised garden bed that is built into your garden using wooden fancing or bricks. The other option is to have one that you can move at different times of the year or if you fancy a change.
Raised beds are good for growing all sorts of plants whether it is vegetables and herbs or simply flowers. The reason that they are better for growing is because the soil is less compacted and therefore allows more water and minerals through. You will see some fantastic results if you’re growing flowers in a bed as they will be up to the same standard as those you get from garden centers or a local flowershop.
When growing your own vegetables in a raised bed you will benefit from the composition of the soil. your home grown vegetables will benefit from the mixture of top soil and compost combined with excellent drainage through the bed. The amount of control that a raised bed allows in terms of growing environment makes growing your own vegetables so much easier. Small weeds are easy to spot and remove before they become a problem and planting companion herbs and vegetables will help to attract the right sort of insects to your vegetables.
Should you make the decision to build or install a raised bed in your garden then you need to take a few things into account in order to get the best results. Your raised garden bed is going to need to be positioned somewhere where it can get plenty of sunshine. Placing it in an area that doesn’t get a lot of shade and faces north will allow the maximum amount of sunlight. They can also become dried out easily so it is important to monitor the moisture level of the soil. Moisture levels can often be controlled by making sure you water the bed during the morning and in the evening. Another good idea is to create a channel between a row of vegetables that will help the areas around the vegetables from becoming flooded by rainfall.