55% of American households engage in some kind of gardening activity. You may want to join them. However, you may be held back by the fact that you don’t have the appropriate natural terrain necessary at home.
One of the many advantages of raised garden beds is that you can make and use them even if your backyard is all concrete. And that isn’t the only way you can benefit from this garden bed style. Read on to learn about ten of the benefits of raised garden beds.
Ten Benefits of Raised Garden Beds
When people research how to choose a garden bed, they’ll find they have two main choices. They need to compare in-ground vs raised garden beds. They may find that raised garden beds are the best garden beds for their situation.
What makes in-ground beds different from raised garden beds? It has to do with location. Raised garden beds, in contrast to in-ground, are not directly connected with natural ground soil.
Rather, raised garden beds are isolated boxes of soil. Gardeners usually construct these above the ground level (hence why they’re called ‘raised’). The frames for these beds can be made of brick, concrete, lumber, and many more materials.
1. Better Soil Control
The natural soil conditions of your hometown are not always ideal for the plants you want to grow. It might not have the right pH, nutrients, and so on. In addition, some ground soil contains toxic materials, which can make it dangerous for both you and your plants.
Overall, if the ground soil quality is poor, you’ll find it very difficult to grow and maintain your garden. With a raised garden bed, however, you have far more control over your garden’s soil.
The Soil Is Isolated
Again, all types of raised garden beds are isolated from the natural ground. Whatever you put in the raised garden box will be your plants’ sole source of nutrition. This can make it easier for you to provide your plants with exactly what they need.
Expensive Soil
One downside of this is that buying enough nutritious soil to fill a raised garden box can get expensive. However, many gardeners easily overcome this barrier by adding compost to the soil.
2. Less Weeds
Weeds are an uncommon component of raised garden beds. This happens mostly because of the way that gardeners prepare their raised beds and the way they’re shaped.
Tilling
In-ground garden gardeners often have to till their soil. This means that they have to add fertilizer and fresh soil to their ground garden soil and then mix it up. It’s a great technique, but the problem is that weeds love it as well.
The process of mixing soil pushes weed seeds deeper into the soil. Once they’re there, they can get the nutrition they need and stop growing. This is less likely to happen with raised garden beds as gardeners are not required to till them.
Protected
Weeds shouldn’t be able to penetrate the frame of a raised garden bed easily. In addition, gardeners often place the plants in a raised garden bed closer together. This can make it harder for wind-traveling weed seeds to land on the soil and/or get the sunlight they need.
3. Longer Growing Season
Not only can you control the nutrition levels in raised garden soil, but also the conditions. The soil in a raised garden bed will stay wetter and warmer than in-ground garden soil. These conditions can help you have a longer growing season.
Plant Early
Most gardeners will hold off planting seeds until later in the spring. Soil conditions at this time are usually ideally dry and warm.
The soil in a raised bed, however, becomes drier and warmer earlier. These conditions allow gardeners to plant in early spring.
Keep Growing Late
Since raised garden bed soil doesn’t get cold easily, it won’t be as affected by the autumn changes in temperature. Gardeners can thus keep their plants in propagation far past the cut-off point for in-ground garden plants.
4. Safer From Invaders
The height and isolated nature of raised garden beds can be a great pest deterrent. For many pests, it will be hard if not impossible to get over and/or through the walls of the raised garden frame. For others, you can easily add special attachments that will keep your plants safe.
Crawling Creatures
Crawling creatures like slugs and caterpillars can climb, but it takes time and effort. The walls of your raised garden bed can prove an obstacle too extreme for them. There are also plenty of additions you can add to your garden box walls to stop them in their tracks.
Larger and Flying Creatures
As for mammals like squirrels and rabbits, these critters shouldn’t be able to access your plants if the walls are tall enough. There are also special barriers you can purchase to keep them out. These can also work for birds, deer, and even flying insects.
5. Easier to Keep Neat
One problem with in-ground gardens is that it can be difficult to keep them neat. A lot of what’s in an in-ground flower bed can invade the spaces beyond what should be its barrier. With a raised garden bed, everything mostly stays in place.
Dirt
Weather conditions like wind and rain can cause the soil in your garden to shift. It can then end up spilling onto the nearby pathway where it isn’t wanted. You’ll then have to keep sweeping the dirt back into the garden.
With a raised garden, the dirt should mostly stay within the box.
6. Movable
Are you a person that likes to often change the arrangement of your backyard? Raised garden beds can be a great asset if you have this desire. Unlike in-ground beds, you can easily move raised garden beds around.
This ability can also be a great benefit if you live in a temporary housing situation. Landlords may turn down your garden because it’s more permanent. They’re less likely to do the same if you ask to put in a raised garden bed.
Beyond that, if or when you need to move, you don’t need to leave your precious plants behind. You can easily put them in the back of a truck and haul them to your new home.
7. More Accessible
In-ground beds are usually much lower than raised garden beds. Because they’re in this state, gardeners usually have to bend down and/or kneel to tend to them. This isn’t difficult for an able-bodied person to do, but this isn’t so for a disabled and/or elderly person.
When a gardener has a raised garden bed, they don’t need to adjust their height as much. It’s also possible to set a shorter raised garden bed on a table, shelf, etc. to make it even more accessible. This can make it much easier for the elderly and/or disabled to enjoy the pleasures of gardening without any stress.
8. Protection Against Flooding
In areas prone to flooding, a particularly rainy season can be what finishes a garden project for the year. Water can easily uproot plants and/or drown them. Raised garden beds, on the other hand, have protection against flooded conditions.
Not all types of raised garden beds are tall enough to withstand a flood. However, you can easily make a garden box tall enough or place it higher. Doing so should keep the plants from washing away.
9. Enhance Backyard Decor
A raised garden bed can grant you a new way to add to your backyard decor. There are so many options for materials you can use for a raised garden bed. As long as you ensure that the material is well-protected against moisture, you can choose pretty much anything.
Use a metal frame for a more rustic look. Use a wooden frame to match a beach or boho look. You can even decorate the frame with signs, fairy lights, etc.
10. Beginner Friendly
An in-ground garden requires tilling, pest control, weed control, soil balance, and so many more processes. With a raised garden bed, you can prepare the soil, plant the seeds, and water the plants once in a while. The simplicity of the raised bed gardening process makes it so easy for beginners to jump in and get great results.
Spend Your Spare Time Learning Something Cool
In sum, the benefits of raised garden beds are that they’re beautiful, easier to maintain, and can provide better yields than in-ground gardens in many cases. So what are you waiting for? Get started on this fun activity and build a raised garden bed today.
And while you’re waiting for those flowers to grow, check out all of the other awesome articles on our site. We’ve got articles on health, relationships, pets, real estate, and more. With enough searching around, you’re sure to find something that you’ll enjoy.
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