Gardening in raised beds:
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- Allows gardeners to water, weed, and harvest vegetables where they are growing without stepping onto the soil.
- Helps overcome the problem of poor soil.
- Allows for better aeration and drainage.
- Drains better during the winter rains and warms faster in spring, resulting in an earlier, more abundant and healthier crop.
- Allows more room for crop roots.
- Is aesthetically pleasing and lends an architectural element to the garden.
- Requires less stooping when you water, weed, plant, and cultivate.
Borders made of wood, rocks, bricks or cinder blocks keep soil from eroding and create a tidier looking raised bed garden. If you build frames from wood, use naturally rot-resistant woods such as cedar or redwood. Avoid commercially pressure-treated woods, which contain copper compounds. Railroad ties may ooze creosote which is harmful to plants and humans. Raised beds can be built as low as 12 inches or as high as 28 inches. Consider a bed 24 to 28 inches high for students in wheelchairs.
Once built, raised beds are never walked on; plants are tended from adjacent pathways to prevent soil compaction. In addition, organic amendments and fertilizer used to improve the soil go farther because they are applied only where plants will be growing.
With raised beds, ample pathways are a must. To discourage weeds, underlay paths with heavy weed-block fabric before adding mulch, wood chips or bark.
Building Garden Beds with Lumber
Select 2 x 6 or 2 x 12 inch construction grade redwood or cedar boards. Fasten one above the other to 4 x 4 posts to make the bed 18 to 28 inches high and whatever length desired. Use lag screws or brass deck screws 3 ½ or 4 inches long to secure the boards to posts. Place posts at each end of the longest board and at a mid-way point if needed. This design will let you install a wide cap for seating on each side of the bed.
If gophers inhabit your area, set ½-inch galvanized hardware cloth at the bottom of the framed bed before filling it with amended soil. Set bed frames with their tops level. Place the frame in a shallow trench for more secure positioning. Fill the boxes with amended soil, and irrigate the beds to settle the soil. To deter rabbits, consider raising beds on legs or including an overhanging cap.
See examples of raised beds in the Presentation section of our website, Raised Beds.
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