Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [raised-beds]

Gardening based around plant beds which are raised above the surrounding soil.

Raised beds are a popular forming of gardening - especially for vegetables and other food annuals. A raised bed is a raised area typically between 6in and waist height above the surrounding soil. Various materials are used to keep the bed in place, although timber is probably the most popular. The soil usually contains a large proportion of compost - especially as a bed has to be filled with external material (this makes it easy to mix large amounts of compost in with little additional effort).

Raised beds are an excellent solution to poor top soil, they also avoid compaction due to walking on the soil. If planted correctly, they can also reduce weeds and help control moisture loss (although excessive drainage may require more watering) if designed properly. The raised nature of the beds can also make them ideal if bending over is a problem: Waist-high beds are particularly popular with the elderly.

Raised bed gardening is often combined with the square foot gardening and companion planting concepts.

Use this tag for all questions specific to raised bedding: Eg. how to build a raised bed, how to water, etc.

241 questions
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Raised bed on tile floor, covered veranda?

We live in an apartment with a huge veranda. I'd like to build a simple raised bed out there to grow some herbs and a few veggies (tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers). If I put in a layer of gravel at the bottom, I believe drainage will not be an issue,…
first time grower
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Do soil nutrients travel to the surface?

I've built four additional raised beds for my garden, and put a lot of tree branches and cow manure at the bottom. The problem is, the beds are two feet deep (24" sides, I mean), and I had intended on filling them to within 4 inches of the top with…
Jamin Grey
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Cleaning homegrown vegetables prior to consumption

I grow vegetables and fruit in my backyard. Everything is grown organically so I don't have any concerns with pesticide or chemicals on my edible fruits and vegetables. However, they do get exposed to insects and other animals (squirrels). I am…
JStorage
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Best time to harvesting blue vates kale

I am growing kale and this is the first year. It is the blue vates variety. My question is when and how to harvest. Days to maturity is 65 days (and it has been 65 days since I started the seeds indoors) but I don't think the plant has matured. I…
JStorage
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Raised bed on concrete that is sloping the wrong way and thus there will be a drainage problem

I am planning on putting raised beds on a concrete pad. However the concrete slab is sloped so the runoff will end up in the wrong area. Does anyone know how to put a bottom on a raised bed that will not rot too quickly and will counteract a…
Elaine
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How to level an area that was once a vegetable garden?

I have a leveled yard, all except for one area of the yard which was a vegetable garden many years ago. The area is built up with cinder blocks and filled with dirt. How do I remove both to level the area like the rest of the yard?
Keisha
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Right time to move vegetable plants outdoors

I have started germinating seeds indoors and they are starting to sprout. Once they have their true leaves I am planning to move them to 4" pots and still keep them indoors. I am growing different types of vegetables ranging from kale, lettuce,…
JStorage
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Should there be a bottom on a raised flower bed?

I am wondering if people usually fill a raised bed completely with soil, or make a "bottom" for the soil to sit on? If a bottom is made, is it treated wood to avoid mold and deterioration? And if drainage is necessary, how do I create that?
Adriana
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Two-dimensional plant spacing

I'm new to vegetable gardening and am just beginning to plant a few seeds into raised beds. On every seed packet, and in almost every other guide or reference I've found, on- and off-line, instructions are given on the correct spacing in two…
stovroz
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What products should I fill raised garden beds with?

I've built a raised garden bed and would like to know what types of soil or mix I should use to fill it with? Should it be a mixture of top soil and compost? I'm looking for an affordable option. I'm in Birmingham, Alabama and the bed is 3' x 6' x…
Papa Burgundy
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How do I avoid overfilling raised beds if I'm adding substantial manure annually?

I've got some freshly constructed raised beds and I've filled them with a lovely load of well rotted horse manure. The manure is so nice to work with, so rich and friable and easy to weed, that next year and the year after I'm going to want to…
Tea Drinker
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Is it safe to use pressure-treated wood for raised beds that have been lined with plastic?

I have been advised not to use pressure treated lumber to build raised beds, but I just read your idea of lining them with pool plastic. If you did that, could you then use pressure treated lumber, which would at least stop the exterior of the beds…
Karin
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Is it possible to use terracotta pots as wicking chambers for self-watering planter boxes?

I'd like to build a self-watering planter from wood made watertight with something like a rubber pond liner. This would be larger than just a self-watering pot, with dimensions around 2' by 4' and a planting area maybe 2' deep. The type of…
jwezorek
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Is there any reason not to build super-tall raised beds?

I didn't find anything Googling or in my John Seymour books: Question: Is there any reason not to build super-tall raised beds? The reason: Having the ground level at chest-height could make tending the plants much much easier on my back. So I'm…
themirror
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Are asphalt roofing panels suitable for raised garden bed walls?

I'm planning out my garden build and I'm trying to figure out the most economical way of doing so. I'd like to build my beds out of something rot resistant, chemical free, and affordable. My garden will have four 5'x3' boxes and two 1'x8' boxes. To…
DannyM
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