Pros and Cons of Raised Bed Gardens

You've seen them around the neighborhood. Small board-sided rectangles in back yards used for growing flowers and vegetables. All of your gardens are just ground level. So what are the advantages of having a raised bed garden, and what are the negatives?

The concept is certainly not new. In fact, some cultures have been using raised bed gardens for centuries to grow home and cash crops. But raised bed gardens have become more popular in this country in the past several years. They do offer some advantages with regard to having a healthy garden, although they do come at a slightly larger initial cost than just plowing up an area in the yard and poking in some green bean seeds. The amateur gardener may want to decide for himself if this type of garden is really what he wants in the back yard.

At the risk of insulting anyone's intelligence, I should probably define what is meant by the raised bed garden. It is as simple as it sounds. Rectangular or square frames of wood, either edge-stacked 2 x 8's or timber-type boards, hold in a fertilized soil mixture that, hopefully, is devoid of weeds, grasses, or other creatures that might present a hazard to our preferred crops. The height of the garden is set at the discretion of the gardener, and can be anywhere from 8 inches to waist high, depending on his/her preferences. While this may seem like a lot of initial work just to grow a few flowers or a few rows of radishes, the finished product may provide years and years of improved gardening.

Obviously, there are costs to be considered when building the garden. Rot-resistant wood (not creosote treated), such as cedar, or composite-type timbers will need to be used to form the frame wall. The bottom (ground-level) floor of the frame should be lined with a hardware fabric to help prevent pests like moles and voles to invite themselves into your root systems. Depending on the type of soil that is eventually introduced to the bed, and the types of plants you intend to grow, a dedicated watering system may also have to be installed. And the cost of the soil itself is another consideration. If you are going to the trouble to build a new unit, you will want to make sure that you are putting in good garden soil that is free of grass and weed seedlings.

Still, there are terrific advantages that cannot be overlooked.

a) Since soil is generally added to this garden, rather than just roto-tilling what is already in the yard, the gardener has the opportunity to build a rich fertile growing medium, specifically set for the type of plants that he/she intends to grow. If you need for it to be more acidic or less acidic, just make the appropriate adjustments as you compost and fertilize.

b) You can guarantee good drainage, to avoid having plants with "wet feet." Line the bottom section of the garden with a layer of sand and rock, and your drainage concerns are over.

c) The raised level makes it harder for creeping grasses weeds to make their way into your garden area. Don't worry about having to constantly cut back that Bermuda grass, before it strangles out your strawberries. And by the way, you can run the mower and the trimmer right up next to the frame, keeping things as neat as a pin.

d) How about the ease of gardening? If you plan the shape well, and keep the garden no more than two to three feet across by eight to twelve feet in length, reaching across to plant, fertilize, and eventually harvest your crops will seem easy, especially if it is built high enough that you don't have to bend over. This can be a great advantage to folks who aren't quite as flexible as they used to be, and to gardeners that may be in wheelchairs.

e) Then finally, some plants can actually be started earlier in the season than if they were planted at ground level. The raised beds tend to warm up quicker than just plowed ground, and those seeds will respond in a good way.

Obviously, the gardener needs to determine if his/her interest in the hobby warrants the additional expenses that go along with building a raised bed garden for his flowers or vegetables. After the initial costs, however, the crop yields and quality of plants is obviously going to make it more enjoyable to plant, fertilize, maintain, and harvest those backyard crops. The interested garden enthusiast can design and construct his own raised bed, appropriate for the area he wants to fill, or he can find ready-made kits for raised bed gardens at many of the major home improvement chain stores across the country.