7 REASONS TO GROW VEGETABLES IN A RAISED BED

Elevated garden saves space, helps with soil preparation, keeps critters away A raised garden bed is a planting bed that sits on top of soil that’s already in the ground. Some are just a few inches high while others can reach your waist. Even if the soil quality of your garden is poor, when you set up a raised bed, you can adjust the composition so that it’s fluffy, light, and drains well — essential if you want to grow vegetables all summer long. Check out seven reasons why a raised bed is an excellent way to grow vegetables:

1. You can grow just about any vegetable you want

From asparagus to zucchini, many vegetables grow well in a raised bed; the most popular are tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, squash and onions. If you need inspiration on what to plant, consult the 2021 Burpee Garden cast (burpee.com/gardencast), a gardening trends forecast where you’ll learn things like which vegetables to plant for an immunity garden and which eggplant variety tastes the most like meat.

2. You can create a really great soil that plants will thrive in

“The best soil composition for a raised bed is two-thirds high-quality top soil and

one-third compost,” said Venelin Dimitrov, horticulturalist and senior product manager at Burpee.

Make your own compost by tossing onion peels, apple cores and other kitchen scraps, along with dried leaves, grass clippings and green garden trimmings in a compost pile. “When you recycle your own yard waste and kitchen trimmings in a compost heap, it keeps the materials out of local landfills,” he said, “and they decompose and become a rich soil amendment.”

3. You don’t need a huge plot of land

A popular frame size is 2-by-4 feet, perfect for a small backyard. Some gardeners with patios set up raised beds that are elevated — on legs — rather than in the ground, which makes it more like container gardening. Wherever you put your bed, make sure it gets six to eight hours of sun every day.

4. It won’t make your back ache

Get an elevated raised bed and you’ll never have to bend low to pick tomatoes off the vine again.

5. Weeds won’t be much of a problem

When you plant a raised bed, you can set plants closer together so you get to have more plants in the square footage. This denser spacing doesn’t give weeds as much opportunities to grow. For best results, weed early in the season when weed sprouts are flourishing.

6. The frames are easy to assemble

You don’t need much more than wood and screws to build a raised bed. But if you want to make this DIY project even easier, you could buy a raised bed kit, which come in a variety of materials including cedar, composite and metal.

7. You can protect your garden from wild animals

It’s frustrating to see your hard work being nibbled on by squirrels and other small but persistent animals. Since your raised garden is contained, unlike a vast in-ground garden, Dimitrov recommended surrounding the bed with 8to-10-inch-high wire-mesh walls. Bury the walls a foot deep to keep rabbits and other animal from burrowing and gaining access.

GETTY IMAGES Crops will thrive in well-prepared soil, which should be two-thirds top soil and one-third compost, said Venelin Dimitrov, a horticulturalist at Burpee.

GETTY IMAGES Raised vegetable gardens that are elevated on legs are great for patios and are also easy on the back. Creating a raised bed is a fairly easy DIY project.