Raised Beds 101

I've yakked incessantly in the past couple of years about home gardening and my evolving attitude toward food-growing and local consumption, and have been asked more than a few times about my gardening methods. So, I decided to post more on the subject for anyone who'd like to start raised-bed gardening but is not sure where or how to start. And what better time - we're enjoying spring-like temps here in January, and spring fever is really starting to tickle my toes. Get ready for a real blab-fest.

My official disclaimer: I'm not by any means an expert, nor do I want to appear know-it-all or egotistical...I'm simply attempting to answer quite a few questions and also trying to further something I feel strongly about - that everyone who's interested can and should have a backyard garden...you don't HAVE to be an expert. And like most activities in this world, there are endless, sometimes extremely strong opinions considering proper methods and materials, especially when it comes to gardening. In other words - if you have a better way or better idea, since I'm still learning myself I'd be very interested and receptive to new or differing opinions.

When I was first thinking about building my raised-bed garden utopia, I made the mistake of immediately diving head first into a LOT of research from all kinds of sources - books, the Internet, magazines, the library, and word of mouth. I heard and read that raised bed gardening was "so easy", but couldn't figure out why all the information was making it seem so incredibly complicated. The biggest problem is the sheer volume of easily-accessible information and opinions out there that makes it difficult to sift through and process it all. It's easy to get overwhelmed and start questioning whether it's worth the effort, and if it just might not be better to stick to the conventional gardening that you know...or just buy produce from someone else or the store.

After much aggravation, I took a step back and put into perspective what I was trying to do. Raised-bed gardening is really nothing more than building or buying a box, throwing in some dirt, and planting seeds or plants. It really can be that simple. I calmed down and started out with an Internet search on the materials and dimensions for raised-bed gardening, as well as consulting my Mother Earth News magazines.

(Side note - I've since cancelled my subscription to Mother Earth News. While it's a good magazine with lots of excellent information, I found it harder and harder to put up with the increasingly extreme eco-centric attitude. After one too many condescending and preachy articles on how we're horrible beings who are all going to cause everyone to die a slow painful death and implode the planet if we don't immediately start using "energy-efficient" light bulbs, and how we should all live in yurts made from hay bales, live on a government-mandated $4000/year salary and never eat meat, I'd had enough. While I agree we can do better in many areas to be more responsible with our resources, I do think it can be taken WAAAY overboard and I sure don't want it shoved down my throat.)

The first thing I had to figure out was what size to make my beds. I found out that the most common dimensions for a raised garden bed are 4' x 8'. It needs to be narrow enough to be able to sit down on the side and reach across to weed or gather produce. As far as the length - deciding that will depend on available space, personal preference, and the materials used. There are differing opinions on depth, but the general consensus seems to be least 12" deep, though I added a couple of quickly-built beds last year that were only 8", and they seemed to do just fine.

Materials can be pretty much anything you can build a box out of...it depends heavily on how much money a person wants to spend and what may be readily available. I found widely varying opinions on this and got pretty frustrated trying to figure out what to build my beds out of without breaking the bank. One of my mom's friends stacked concrete blocks, and they are apparently very functional. Another benefit of concrete blocks I can see would be that the beds would be less permanent than other structures. The drawback for me would be that I happen to think concrete blocks are a bit on the ugly side. But, if I had access to a bunch of free ones, I could sacrifice some aesthetics for practicality.

My folks used 2x12 treated boards, and have had very good luck. This is also pretty economical, and the current method I'm considering for my new beds at our new place, though the practice of using treated boards is a bit controversial in the eco-friendly world. Some people prefer to use un-treated lumber and treat them with boiled linseed oil. From what I've heard this does offer some protection from the elements, but isn't a really long-term solution, and a person can spend a small fortune on linseed oil if there are many boards to treat.

Railroad ties are another option many people use, though I've read that the creosote is a problem and can be harmful to soil and veggies. I avoided RR ties for that reason.

Commercially made beds are available, though they are very expensive. However, most are made out of plastic and are pretty darn durable, and look very nice to boot. If time is short and a person doesn't mind spending the money, that's a route to consider.

Other materials I've seen used include landscape timbers, landscaping blocks, stacked rocks - even logs put together log-cabin style. My point is - the possibilities are only limited by what works and imagination.

For my first beds here I got lucky when it came to building materials. While I was agonizing over the decision on what to make my beds out of, Marden was offered a whole truckload of free rough-cut cedar boards. Cedar is great because it's naturally rot-resistant. However, they turned out to be extremely difficult to build with because I had loads of boards with varying widths, thicknesses, and lengths - even in a single board. In addition, the wood split and cracked horribly, and I had to pre-drill every hole and use outdoor-quality screws. And, while I THOUGHT I was in a level area, I wasn't. To get the beds fairly level meant digging down into the ground and burying one side several inches, or just building one side higher.

As for looks...they turned out a little more redneck than I envisioned, but they work.

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When you're in the middle of all this hard labor, an aspiring gardener starts to wonder if the benefits are going to outweigh the effort. I say a big, fat YES. Benefits of raised beds over regular ground-level gardening are almost endless, but I'll name a few.

Dirt Management: It's much easier to manage your dirt by adding composted material, fertilizers, sand, etc, and have them stay put even in a flooding rain deluge. After a real toad-strangler it's terribly disheartening to see all your nice dirt end up at the neighbor's, or down the hill, which happens in conventional gardening more than you'd think.

Good Drainage: After one of those all-night gully-washers the carefully-tended plants aren't sitting in puddles, since drainage is so much improved from ground-level gardening.

No Rocks! If you live here in the Ozarks, like some other areas of the country, you're going to engage constantly in the Battle of the Rocks. No matter how many you pick up out of the ground, there are fifty for every rock removed. Unless you use rock-picking as a punishment for your children (as mine did...often...), not having rocks to pick out saves literally days and days of irritation.

Better yields. I had to see this to believe it, but it's definitely true. Plants are not only more productive when grown in managed raised garden beds, but grow bigger and fuller.

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They look pretty. This may be a moot point for many ultra-practical folks, but I like a nice-looking, neat and tidy garden. Even my redneck beds have a nice, ordered look to them, even in the summer months when gardens tend to get out of hand.

Best of all...Less work and more convenience - Building raised beds and filling them with dirt is a lot of work at first, but once the garden is established the work drops off dramatically. Say goodbye to back-aching crawling around on the ground and wallering in the dirt. No more "drive-by mouth lickings" from the dog while you are bent over at ground level weeding or planting. Weeds are more easily managed, and can be dealt with by simply sitting on the side of the garden bed.

While I feel I started my garden out pretty simple, every year I add something to my gardening goals to research and try. This year or the next I hope to improve my composting, devise a gravity-fed soaker system from a rain barrel, start a worm farm (yes, a worm farm), and build a hot box for cold-season crops out of an old sliding glass door I saved. I also want to start doing some research on beneficial veggie relationships - instead of planting a single veggie in one box, you can plant different certain plants together that mutually benefit each other. Finally, somewhere down the road I'd like a full-blown greenhouse, which will complete my green-thumb nerddom.

So in a very large nutshell, gardening decisions are going to rely heavily on personal preference, what's available, and where you live. Just don't stress out and remember, there are no Gardening Police going to come smack you upside the head with a fine if you decide to deviate from the "norm" or "gardening gospel." Fancy or simple, many or few beds - it really is your choice. And if I can do it...ANYBODY can.