Things You'll Need:
- Material for beds: bricks, rocks, concrete, recycled plastic, lumber
- Fertilizer
- Compost
- Bone meal
- Vegetable and herb seeds or seedlings
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Step 1
Start planning early. Sketch the space you have to work with and plot where you want to place your raised beds. Be sure to consider what you will be growing and what conditions are required, such as sun exposure and space required by plants. Plan paths and edging. Decide how many raised beds you will build. You want to create a pleasing order and geometry to your garden.
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Step 2
Choose what you want to grow. Know your produce and plan accordingly. Research the growing season, space needs, sun requirements. According to raisedbedgardeningtips.com, most herbs, flowers, and some vegetables require a soil depth of 8 to 9 inches. Fruits, shrubs, and deep-rooted vegetables will need even more depth. If you are working with raised beds because of poor soil conditions, build the edging taller for deep roots.
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Step 3
Build your raised garden beds using bricks, rocks, concrete, recycled plastic, or lumber. You can also purchase raised bed kits, which usually come with cedar edging or polyethylene blocks (mock stone walls). Use materials that are resistant to bugs, mold, and rot to offer the best growing environment for your garden.
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Step 4
Fertilize and prepare the soil you'll use to fill the beds. Use a compost style of soil and add organic nutrients and plant feed like bone meal. According to raised-garden-beds.com, some of the benefits of raised beds are that the soil warms up earlier in the spring and remains productive later in the fall. The height of the beds also allows for better drainage, which allows the roots to breath and prevents mold and rot. Continue to maintain the soil as your garden grows; add nutrients, water well and weed often. Healthy soil will grow healthy plants.
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Step 5
Plant vegetables seasonally and start early. Root vegetables--radishes, beets, and carrots--can be picked in May or June, which allows room for late-season fruits and vegetables--melons, eggplants, pumpkins, and potatoes. Allow ample space for those vegetables that grow all season long, such as tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, onions, squash, cucumbers, and beans.
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Step 6
Reserve a small bed for your herb garden. Common herbs include rosemary, thyme, basil, parsley, oregano, cilantro, sage, tarragon, chive, lemon balm, and mint. These produce from mid-June through early fall, depending on your climate, weather, and upkeep.
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Step 7
Maintain your raised garden beds through the winter. Top with mulch, compost, hay, newspaper, or any other home remedy to prevent frost and snow from penetrating your soil. Next season, your earth will be rich with nutrients, and the soil can just be hand-tilled.
