What Parts Do You Need for a Bed?

A garden's bounty

Garden beds can be anything from a small bed tailored for apartment patios to multiple large beds on open lawns. Practicality and creativity determine what you will need to make a garden bed.

Support material- small areas

For small areas, such as patios, you will need to determine what your space will allow. Some manufacturers create garden beds on stilts. These beds are typically made of wood or composite material.

Larger Areas

If you are not confined by space, then creativity and safety will determine how you will border your garden bed. Gardeners have used hay bales, decorative rocks, lumber, concrete blocks and manufactured plastic borders for their garden beds. Just make sure that the material is nontoxic.

Hardware Cloth

If the bed is placed in a yard, hardware cloth or some other type of material can be placed at the bottom of the bed to deter pests from digging into the bed from below.

Soil

Choose a good soil with plenty of organic material.

Water

You will need easy access to water. For large garden beds you might even want to install a drip irrigation system.

Plants

What you grow is up to you. If you love flowers, plant flowers. Plant tomatoes, peppers and cilantro for salsa or plant a collection of herbs for your pantry. The bigger the bed, the wider the variety of plants you can grow.

References

• "How to Build and Install Raised Garden Beds", by Fiona Gilsenan, Popular MechanicsApril 2009
• The Green Line, Spring 2003, University of Illinois Extension