Raised Beds

Raised Beds.

Before you go out and make a raised bed; read this warning first

Making a raised bed can take a lot of energy and time /money before you embark on the project it good to see just what you are letting yourself in for.


I know that you have been looking for some information on the subject of raised beds and in this article I will give you the good, the bad and the ugly; so that by the end of it you will know with certainty whether to go ahead or leave it lie.

Just what is a raised bed?

A structure containing soil that is above the level of the surrounding area, in which to grow crops of one kind or another.

Apparently, using a raised bed is a really good way to grow your vegetables.

Raised beds have beeb around for a long time and become popular again in the 70s after many years of not being so. Since then there has been a lot about them in the press, magazines, and no end of books.

The benefits of raised beds are many:


The idea behind raised beds is really quite simple. You can control and manage the area better then if it were just a patch of land.

In addition, it is much easy to improve the soil inside a raised bed rather then a whole plot.

The drainage is better in a raised bed.

For people who have a back problem and those in a wheel chair, the bed can made high enough to work in with ease.

The soil will warm up quicker in the spring

It is easy to protect crops in a raised ben.

The “ugly” bit about raised beds is:

They cost money…sometimes a lot if you are making them high as you would for wheel chair access.

Being “ off the ground” so to speak they are more prone to frost.

They are not good to grow root vegetable in, because soil that is just being put on the ground without depth is not good. A rasid bed is not a deep bed after all is said a and done. Deep beds are something different altogher.


The consensus of users seems to be:

That raised beds are worth doing if you have the land, time and money, because in the long run they make your garden vegetable growing easer to manage. While it is not a miracle solution, you still have to work but it will have a tangible effect on the ease of future verterable growing.