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How to Prepare Raised Garden Beds
How to Prepare Raised Garden Beds. Growing plants in a raised garden bed has a variety of benefits. An organic vegetable garden can be planted in a raised bed even if the soil in the garden has levels of pesticides in it. When poor drainage prevents planting shrubs and perennials, a raised bed creates drainage around the root systems. A raised bed...
Growing plants in a raised garden bed has a variety of benefits. An organic vegetable garden can be planted in a raised bed even if the soil in the garden has levels of pesticides in it. When poor drainage prevents planting shrubs and perennials, a raised bed creates drainage around the root systems. A raised bed extends the growing season by a few weeks in the spring as the soil above the ground warms up more quickly than the ground soil.
Things You'll Need
Soil
Compost or manure
Shovel
Rake
Select a level site to build the raised bed that is also based on the crop or plants that you will be planting. Many vegetables require full sun, while shrubs and perennials often tolerate or require some shade. Look up the planting specifications for the intended plants.
Assemble the raised bed. Premade raised beds or kits for simple vegetable gardens are available from home and garden centers. These kits come in plastic, wood, and metal materials. See the instructions that accompany the kits for construction methods and requirements. For instructions on how to build a more complicated construction consisting of curves and large areas, see the resource section.
Fill the raised bed with soil. Use an organic soil mix for an organic vegetable garden. Mix the soil with half again as much well-seasoned organic manure or decomposed compost to add nutrients to the soil. Tropical and semitropical shrubs and perennials require a sandy, well-draining mix, composed of potting soil, sand and peat, perlite or vermiculite. Delicate shrubs, such as rhododendrons, require a light mix consisting of leaf mold, sand, and compost or manure.
Fill the raised bed with the soil mix to 1 inch below the edge of the bed. Mix all the soil materials together before filling the bed for even distribution. Using a rake, smooth out the soil in the raised bed. The best time to fill and prepare a raised bed is in the spring just before planting time. When the plants are ready to go in the ground, the soil will be fresh, well aerated and free of weeds.
Map out the space to prepare for planting. Divide the bed into sections for different vegetable crops to determine how many seedlings will fit in the allotted area. For a shrub bed, measure out the planting sites so that each shrub has the appropriate light access and growing room.
