Building a Garden Bed

Garden beds are great for gardeners who have poor soil. The idea is that instead of fighting poor soil conditions, you build above the ground where you have better control over the soil texture adn ingredients. You can chose to include the native soil or not, depending on the condition of it. It can also be contained with wood or rocks, or left free standing in its own mound of soil.

Advantages:

- Can tailor the soil for your raised bed to the plants you wish to grow.
- Require less maintenance than conventional gardens after teh initial construction process.
- Soil in the rasied bed doesn't get compacted.
- Warm more quickly in the spring so you can work the soil and plant earlier.
- Drain better.

Once you have selected your site and determined the size and shape of your garden bed, its time to get it all put together. Keep in mind that the depth should be at least six inches if you are growing vegetables. If you use wood, make sure it is rot resistant lumber such as cedar or newer composite lumbers. Two by six lumber is perfect. Cut your pieces to the desired size then attach them together to make a simple frame. You can attach them in several different ways. You can make a simple butt joint at least corner, pre-drilling, and then screwing the corners together with galvanized screws. Or you can use a small piece of wood in the corner and attach each side to it.

Use a level to ensure that your frame is level in all directions. If it is not level, you will have water run off one part of the garden and sits in another. Now you are ready fill your bed with topsoil, compost, and rotted manure. Once they're filled and raked level, you are ready to plant or sow seeds.

To maintain your raised garden, each spring or fall its good to top dress your bed with fresh compost and manure. Mulching the top of the soil will help retain moisture and keep weeds down. Moisture retention is important since raised bed tend to drain faster than conventional beds.