Advantages and Installation Help for Raised Bed Gardens
A raised garden bed may well be a good idea if you have poor soil or unsuitable clay soil or find gardening difficult as a consequence of a physical problem. Even though it will take longer to assemble a raised bed, or at first cost more if you opt for a raised garden kit, it will more than pay for itself. Cedar raised garden kits are especially popular as they are resistant to water and very durable. A raised bed has various distinct advantages over regular gardening and will make your gardening a great deal easier, more pleasurable and more productive.
Advantages of Raised Gardening
- In a raised bed you will have complete control over the soil conditions so you can produce plants that may need particular pH’s and nutrients without difficulty
- The soil can be purchased free of weeds so you won’t have to waste time weeding.
- Plants in a raised garden are a lot easier to take care of and by and large develop better. The soil does not become compressed from people walking on it, so air and nutrients can get to the roots more easily.
- Raised gardens warm up quicker in the Spring so you can sow a lot earlier giving you a longer growing season.
- It is much easier to cultivate a raised garden than a regular garden as you can create the garden at a convenient height. For folks with physical problems, or are in wheelchairs this is often the only means that they can get pleasure from gardening.
- Raised beds are a lot kinder to knees and backs! You will not injure your knees or back from working in the garden.
- In a well prepared raised garden, drainage is superior to that of a conventional garden. You won’t have waterlogged soil and the plants will grow better.
Siting Your Raised Bed Garden
Before you settle on where to position a raised garden observe your garden for at least a complete day to check which areas get more sunlight or which are in shadow. Will you be growing sun loving plants or those which favor shade? Find a section where you can have space around the garden to make cultivation easier. It would also be a good idea to have paths surrounding the garden to make moving near it with a wheelbarrow etc easy. If you are building a raised garden for a person in a wheelchair you ought to take care that access is easy from every side and it is the correct height.
How to Fill Your Raised Garden
Once the raised garden is installed fill it with high-quality soil and compost. A mixture of half compost and half soil is usually recommended. Top soil is frequently available to buy in bulk but be careful of the quality as there are no standards set down. Top soil can fluctuate a greatly in composition. Garden centers also provide soil in bulk and you can be confident that it is good quality. You can use top soil from your own garden but you will need quite a lot and it may not have all the nutrients required. It will also without doubt have wild plant seeds and perhaps stones.
For economy you might need to combine garden soil with purchased soil but ensure you mix it thoroughly and if at all possible have a soil test to make sure the pH and nutrient levels are satisfactory. Whatever option you decide blend in a small amount of sand to improve drainage. You might also need to top up the soil intermittently as it becomes compacted and add some organic matter on a regular basis. An excellent suggestion is to raise some ground cover plants for the duration of the winter for protection which you can then dig in in the Spring to increase the level of nutrients.
In Conclusion
Raised gardening has a lot of distinctive advantages over traditional gardening for all of us but particularly for the elderly or individuals with physical problems. Whether you decide to put together your own raised garden bed or pick from one of the many raised garden kits accessible you can be confident you will have many years of pleasant gardening.
