Building raised garden beds has many benefits that homeowners love. They are easy to maintain, get good soil drainage and are generally a lot cheaper then mowing the lawn in the spring. They’re also nice to look at and add a homey touch to your home. The main reason why they get benefits that homeowners love them is because they do what the landscaper trained they should do.
Raised garden beds are essentially a large shallow box that is cut higher in the front and lowered in the back.It has slats or rounded sections made of wood that hold mulch or small rocks in place and can be found in raised bed kits, wood planters or even in ready made raised bed structures. They can range in height from 5 feet down to Zel’s that are only a few inches high. Their heights can be anywhere from 2 feet down to 1 1/2 feet. Some people make them into a shape they can roll around in to make a miniature hills. Raised garden beds are a great do-it-yourself project that homeowners love.
The first benefit of raised bed gardening is that you do not have to worry about weeds or crab grass attacking your tender seedlings and young plants. Weeds can be a nightmare even for the most skilled gardener and with these beds, your plants are protected.
The soil in a raised bed will not dry out as fast because of its higher level. This also means that you will not have to water your plants as often as you would plants that are planted in the ground. Plants are placed closer together in a raised bed because the soil has more protection from critters.
Raised garden beds are a great do-it-yourself project. You can build them out of almost anything that has depth and will work well for what you need. Some things that you might want to consider are cedar, used lumber or pressure treated recycled metal.
The first step of building a raised bed is to find two posts that are at least 8 feet long and at least 2×2 in size. Use a hammer and drive the two posts together and securely, forming a square and thus making it strong enough to hold the soil you will be putting on it.
The next step is to find some length metal rods that are strong and large enough to make the sides of the bed. rods that are less than 8ft tend to weak and break easily so not to use them.
After you put the metal rods in the ground, you will want to take stakes out of the ground. Place the stakes at the corners of the bed and staple them into the ground. This is so you will know where the bed is at. With the stakes, you can now mark the location of every plant.
At the same time you are dealing with the dirt and the dirt, you should be cutting and ragging the edges of the bed to even it out. This keeps everything even and your little plants don’t get too crowded in the dirt.
It is now time to put everything together. You will want your two by fours to be shorter than the sides of your bed and yoursemble frame will be filled halfway up with the moistened dirt. Since you have the stakes at the corners, you cannot put the frame right up against them, so you will have to arrange things a bit differently. You will want to have the wooden blocks on the outside of your frame and the filling up of the bed takes place inside of the frame.
You will also want to pull some string to tie your plants. Once everything is put together, you could cover your frame and leave it alone until the weather warms up and the plants can hold their own. You would then need to move the bed, so it is best to do this at the beginning of the spring.
When you are working in the garden, it is a good idea to keep a water hose nearby in order to make sure that the grass stays damp. You may want to water it every day or two, depending on the amount of rain you’ve received lately.
A raised garden is easier to maintain and once you get the hang of it, you will find that it is much easier to care for your plants. These gardens hold their shape quite well and it makes for a very easy gardening project. So if you want to try out raised bed gardening, go for it.
