How to use raised beds in your garden

WHY USE THEM?
Raised beds are simply areas of soil at a higher level then the surrounding soil. The easiest way to do this is to erect wooden or plastic edges to keep the soil contained at the higher level.

There are many advantages to raised bed gardening, the key ones are listed below.

1.	You have greater control over the type of soil in a raised bed. A good mixture is half normal potting compost and half John Innes Number 3. The addition of John Innes to the normal potting compost gives the soil some "body" because John Innes is loam based.
2.	You are able to water more accurately and with greater effect. The soil mixture above will result in a soil which is water-retentive. But because the soil is in a raised bed it will not become water-logged. This combination of a moisture retaining and free draining soil gives the ideal conditions for many vegetables and top fruit.
3.	Feeding of the plants is more accurate for their needs. Most plants will thrive on a fortnightly feed of general purpose liquid fertiliser diluted as recommended on the packaging. But some plants such as tomatoes and strawberries do better when fed with liquid tomato fertiliser. The use of raised beds will ensure that the feed is contained within a specific area.
4.	The solid edges of a raised bed give an excellent opportunity to erect netting to protect your valuable crop from insects, birds and wild animals. Be aware though that fruit and vegetables which produce flowers normally need insects to pollinate them. Without insects, you may end up up with no crop. Choose netting with the correct width of mesh if you want insects to gain access to the flowers. Click here for a good range of netting for different purposes. Remember to enter Garden Action at their checkout if you want a 10% discount!
5.	Raised beds require far less digging, and their height above ground level makes gardening easier for less agile gardeners.

	The Standard raised bed made from timber which has been treated with plant safe preservative to ensure a long life. The height of the raised bed can be increased by buying additional tiers. Click here for more details on buying this raised bed. Remember to enter Garden Action at their checkout if you want a 10% discount!
	The Superior raised bed does the same job as the standard version but has timber corner posts and chunkier wooden panels. Ideal for use where good looks are important. Click here for more details on buying this raised bed. Remember to enter Garden Action at their checkout if you want a 10% discount!

Build A Raised Bed
We have created a dedicated site to raised bed gardens, it can be found here. Check out the picture gallery on that site for lots of inspiring ideas. Especially view the pictures of the "ultimate" raised bed provided by Euilleam Ross.

Sourcing the timber (lumber) for a raised bed is one of the problems you will face. We searched the internet and found Finer Fencing. They supplied the wood for our raised bed on time, exactly to order and at an excellent price. Check them out. We have negotiated a 10% discount from them for our customers. Simply enter GACTION at the checkout.

BACK TO TECHNIQUES INDEX PAGE

Name: Emily
E-mail: Private
Date posted: September 04, 2010 - 09:23 am
Message: Hi,
I recently bought a raised bed garden for my husband. We are eager to start planting vegetables, but are not sure what we can plant at this time of year. Is there something you recommend starting with for September?

Name: Mike Underwood
E-mail: Private
Date posted: August 18, 2010 - 04:17 pm
Message: Great website. I use comfrey tea that I brew as a plant feed for my veg patch. Since I have taken root cuttings from the one plant I now have five comfrey plants that I can use comstantly during the growing season, using two old wastebins to keep the tea on the go constantly. Seems to work pretty good and no need to spend money on compost at the garden centre - since we make compost ourselves too.