10/17/2021 / By Divina Ramirez
Raised garden beds are above-ground structures designed for growing plants. Often made from wood or stone, raised beds are both practical and economical. For starters, they allow you to grow more food in less space, tailor the soil exactly to your needs and control weed growth, all while reducing the need to stoop down.
The practice of using raised beds is known as raised bed gardening, and it’s typically favored by gardeners who are working with limited space, such as those living in urban areas.
Read on to learn about the benefits of raised bed gardening, as well as tips on how to start one. (h/t to CommonSenseHome.com)
If you’ve ever tried gardening, then you know that it can be tedious and grueling. Gardening involves weeding, tilling and watering, among other monotonous tasks. There’s also the task of prepping the soil before growing anything, which can be extremely difficult in itself.
Many gardeners are switching to raised bed gardening, mainly because it works even if your soil is hard or has poor drainage. Working in raised garden beds also means you only really need to add mulch, compost or fertilizer where you need them. The soil in raised beds also dries out and warms up quickly in the spring, meaning you can sow seeds earlier in the growing season. There’s also less soil erosion in raised beds.
With raised garden beds, you don’t have to worry about compacting the soil with your feet. Tending your garden is also easier on your back if you have raised beds because you won’t have to bend down as much. (Related: The many health benefits of gardening.)
While there are pros to raised bed gardening, there are also some cons. For instance, the soil in raised beds could dry out too quickly in hot weather. This means you’d have to water your plants more frequently in the summer than you would if you had an in-ground garden. Reaching plants at the very center of raised garden beds could also be difficult if you have very large beds.
However, you can easily avoid these drawbacks with proper planning.
On that note, here are five tips for starting your very own raised bed garden:
When done properly, raised bed gardening can be a fulfilling endeavor. Just follow the tips shared above to get started.
Go to HomeGardeningNews.com for more tips on how to cultivate a raised bed garden.
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Tagged Under: food independence, food supply, gardening, green living, harvest, home gardening, homesteading, how-to, off grid, off grid food, prepper, prepping, raised beds, raised-bed gardening, self sufficiency, sustainable living, tips
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