Raised bed gardening is a modern adaptation that has taken on popularity like a storm. They offer gardening to be more accessible and easier while allowing gardeners to grow a full garden. With these attributes, anyone can see why beginner vegetable gardeners are interested.

But is using raised beds in your garden right for you? And did you know there are three ways to do it, including an old technique?

Here we discuss What Raised Bed Gardening is, Pros and Cons, and How to Get Started.

Let’s Dive In…

What is Raised Bed Gardening?

There are three ways to achieve to use raised bed gardening:

• Traditional Raised Beds
• Container Gardening
• Hügelkultur Hills

Simply put, raised bed gardening is where the working surface (where you directly plant your seeds) of garden beds are elevated off ground level.

So instead of planting directly into the existing soil, one creates a new way to bring that surface level up via a wooden box or some other form of container.

Traditional Raised Beds

Traditional raised beds are made of wood or metal and are a popular form of raised beds in gardens today.

Typically, they are beds that are about 2 feet tall and are in a rectangle shape while holding soil.

Traditional raised beds give the gardener plenty of space to grow full sized plants, while raising the work surface up to a comfortable height.

These are easy to find in kits online or in stores, with some gardeners creating their own.

Container Gardening

This is a less traditional thought of raised bed gardening, but container gardening still elevates the ground level up.

This is simply just using pots, grow bags, wall planters, etc, to achieve this raised bed functionality in the garden.

Some gardeners will layer their containers on their patio, deck or balcony.

Container gardening is much easier to achieve than traditional raised beds since there is less physical labor into building and less soil needed to fill.

Although, container gardening usually gives the gardener a smaller space to grow plants in, which is the only pull back.

Hügelkultur Hills

Hügelkultur is a common term used in raised bed gardening.

It is where layers and layers of natural materials are used to fill the beds, with materials that decompose longer at the bottom and regular compost layered on top.

But that is not the traditional form of Hügelkultur.

Hügelkultur hills or mounding in the garden is speculated to start in Germany and has been common practice in gardening for hundreds of years.

It is traditionally formed by layering materials into a hill or mound without set borders or containers or any sort.

Some mounds can be several feet tall to where one can stand and garden.

You can also find these mounds formed into a long market-style rows.

I would argue that today’s modern take on raised garden beds is just a short-cut way of practicing this old technique of Hügelkultur Hills.

Best part is that this style of gardening is still practical in today’s modern world.

There’s no need for wood or other materials to make solid structured borders which makes these mounds inexpensive, easy to make, and potentially offer a greater opportunity for growing.

Pros and Cons

Pros

Ease of gardening. Bringing your working surface up is a huge attraction. People who cannot or don’t want to bend down all season can easily make gardeing easier by using raised beds.

Easy to amend soil. Some gardeners have bad soil. In a raised bed you can easily create a good growing medium by controlling what you put in the bed.

Easy to set up. Raised beds are now available in easy to assemble kits. Homemade raised beds are also easy to create.

Burden of Weeds is usually less. Not gone but less because you start with fresh soil that should be free of weed seeds in traditional container raised beds. You can easily start with a layer of cardboard on the bottom of your Hügelkultur mound to lessen weeds.

Aesthetically pleasing. The symmetry a garden full of raised beds can give is a look many find pleasing.

Cons

Expense. With the exception of Hügelkultur Hills, raised beds are investment pieces.

Have to be careful on materials used. When building your own be careful on wood that won’t rot quickly and metal that won’t rust quickly.

Limited space. Although raised beds can grow a large amount of vegetable or flowers, you are still limited to the size of your container.

Permanence. Despite them being marketed as temporary, once raised beds are installed it’s very difficult to move them. They are more permeant than they appear.

How to Get Started

After you decided that raised bed gardening is right for you the first step is to decide on what method you wish to use.

From there you can look into containers, methods to fill the beds, and best plants for a raised garden.

Deciding on where to grow your garden is important too. Most vegetables and flowers need sun, so finding a spot with sun most of the day is ideal.

Then, figure out how you want to fill your beds. It is common to fill the base with sticks and twigs or even fallen leaves in the fall before you fill with topsoil and compost.

Be sure to aim for a balanced, nutrient dense soil mixture since growing vegetables in a small space is taxing on the soil.

Build your beds and plant your plants. Once a raised garden bed is built and filled it can immediately be used.

That’s It!

Raised Bed gardening methods are attainable, and practical way to garden.

Most pieces are investments, however worthwhile in terms of durability and longevity.

Look for my coupon code below for 10 percent off durable, colorful, metal raised beds.

Enjoy!

• What to Plant After the Garlic Harvest | Polyculture Vegetable Gardens
• Strawberry Rhubarb with Lemon Jam | Small Batch, Water Bath Canning
• Upside Down Yogurt Cake, Using any Seasonal Fruit Toppings
• Chive Blossom Vinegar
• Canning Plain Pumpkin (& how to purée it later) | Pressure Canning Recipe & Video

Happy Gardening!

-Chelsea, The Cottage Vegetable

Use coupon code COTTAGEVEG10 for 10% off your purchase site wide at OLLE GARDENS

12-IN 1 Metal Raised bed in Barn Red, featured in my own personal garden

The Cottage Vegetable

Gardening & Preserving for a Practical Kitchen

Coupon Codes, Disclaimers, Disclosures Here

• Facebook
• YouTube
• Instagram