Raised Bed Gardening

Raised Bed Gardening is justifiably popular as it has benefits of allowing vegetable growing in previously unsuitable soil or location, together with improved drainage and soil structure and high yields of crops.
Raised bed gardening is a method of intensive vegetable growing that makes the best of every square inch of your garden. and even your patio or decking. The beds can be of any shape, although they are usually rectangular; the aim is to create deep, rich fertile soil into which you can add plants at a higher density than normal. The idea may seem contrary to anything we have believed about growing effectively: that plants need space for the roots to spread to take in nutrients and water. In raised bed gardening the roots are encouraged to grow deep down instead of spreading out widely just below the surface, as they will do in more compacted earth. Plants can be encouraged to grow early by using cloches made to cover the raised bed.

 
Wooden Raised Bed

Maintenance in Raised Bed Gardening
Raised bed gardening does require feeding and watering at more frequent intervals than other vegetable patches because there are a lot of plants in a small area with a consequent high demand for the available moisture. But a huge advantage with raised bed gardening is that dealing with pests becomes easier: it is now more realistic to employ pest-proof netting or copper strips to deter slugs and snails and for this reason raised bed gardening is very suited to organic growing.

Tomatoes are also suited to raised bed gardening as you can access them easily to remove unwanted side-shoots and leaves when the fruit has set.  Check out this guide to growing exceptional tomatoes: Click Here!

 		 wooden raised beds

The new Thompson & Morgan timber frame raised bed makes an attractive addition to any garden or patio, providing an easily maintained and manageable 1m x 1m area in which to grow a good selection of vegetables. You can work at a comfortable height and planting your vegetables close together in the bed will create a micro-climate - leading to healthy plants and bigger crops. The Extension Kit increases the length of the timber raised bed by 120cm.

 
Preparing for Raised Bed Gardening

This is a job for winter when the ground is empty; with a little planning and effort you will be ready for the start of the growing season in spring.
The first job is to mark out the area: the most important dimension is the width of the plot since you need to be able to reach into the middle without stepping on the soil. If the area you want to devote to this form of gardening is large, create several narrow beds separated by gravel or paved paths.

Fork the beds over to lighten up the soil, removing weeds and any stones or rubble as you go, and add plenty of organic matter from the compost tip; if you want to grow brassicas, which prefer firm, compacted soil, remove all weeds and spread the compost on the surface instead. The edges to the beds can be constructed from wooden planks 30cm (1 foot) wide treated on both sides and on the edges with a non-toxic wood preservative. The finished boards can then be attached to 2in x 2in wooden posts which have been driven into the earth at the corners of the plots and at 900 cm (3 ft) intervals along the length of the boards. The corner posts can be made a feature of the garden by using corner posts 6in taller than the boards and topping them with wooden knobs or finials and the boards and posts can all be painted in one of the colourful wood preservative paints that are readily available.
Using kits makes the job much easier and is a must if the raised bed is to be sited on a hard surface such as a patio.

Fill each area with 50:50 mix of good topsoil and well-rotted compost or manure and you are all ready to go for successful raised bed gardening.



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