What is the advantage of a raised bed garden?

I'm a wantabe gardener. My neighbors all have raised bed gardens. Why have a raised bed garden? If I decide to have a raised bed garden, how do I go about making it. I'm fine with the wood part of it, it's the organic side I don't understand. Do I remove the grass from the spot? What do I fill it with - sand, soil, rocks for drainage?

  8 answers
  • Ken Ken on Dec 28, 2017

    1) You use all soil that you brought in so you avoid poor soil or contaminated soil issues. 2) Weeds don't spread into your garden. 3) You control moisture rather than have a too-wet season waterlog your plants. 4) You don't walk in it and compact the soil so no tilling. 5) You can make it a comfortable work height.


    There are lots and lots of instructions out there on how to build the box. Here's one:

    https://www.lowes.com/projects/gardening-and-outdoor/how-to-build-a-raised-garden-bed/project ;

  • Ifixstuff Ifixstuff on Dec 28, 2017

    Raised beds make it easier to till the soil, plant and inspect crops, walk around the beds, and often prevent rabbits and other low-in-height critters from devouring your crops. Deer are another story. Just do not use pressure treated wood.

  • Janice Furtado Janice Furtado on Dec 28, 2017

    The top 2 reasons for me would be. 1. Far less strain on your knees & back. 2. Control over the mix & health of the soil (organic)


  • Mary lu Mary lu on Dec 28, 2017

    some use a raised bed if their soil is really bad--can fill the bed with good soil, or best part is that you don't have to lean over so far to weed, etc.

  • Dianacirce70 Dianacirce70 on Dec 28, 2017

    Raised beds are nice in small areas, they are usually easier to keep weeded, and no kneeling or bending over, so not as hard on the back. You can get kits, tho they are kind of pricey for what they are, in my opinion. I have a friend that has raised beds that are taller, about 2.5-3 feet, she didn't remove grass, and did put a layer of rocks a couple inches deep for drainage, then she layered compostable materials like newspapers (no color ink ads) and cardboard for a few inches. I'm not sure where she gets her soil, butif you look on local Facebook and Craigslist ads you can usually find someone giving topsoil away, or selling for cheap. If you go that route, just make sure the soil has a nice, rich color and doesn't smell bad, like it came from around a septic tank, if you know what I mean.

  • All good suggestions... Also go the route of growing plants that you can eat ..