Raised vegetable beds - a higher form of gardening!

I only discovered the joys and advantages of raised beds for my vegetables recently - and now I don't think I would grow them any other way.

Raised beds are fantastic for veg and the soil will warm up a lot quicker and therefore your growing season is longer and earlier.

Also, if you are particular about allowing weeds into your veg patch - the raised beds are great as they give specific boundaries and is a lot easier to manage.

Generally I would recommend that beds are not wider than 3 ft if you can only access from 1 side or 4 ft if you can access from both sides. Otherwise they are too wide and you will have to stand on the soil which is a complete no no!!! You don't want to compress the soil if you can help it.

If you are thinking of designing some raised beds here is some inspiration.

These beds are about 2ft high - an awful lot easier on your back and the paving around them makes them accessible at all times - even when you are wearing your Sunday best!!

Personally, I wouldn't be too keen on these ones. The space between them is really small and would be hard to get around them and impossible to bring a barrow around them etc..

There are raised beds.... and there are raised beds!! These look fantastic!

Of course, you don't have to use sleepers or timber planks for the edges. Logs or cement blocks can be equally effective.









If you are thinking of building a raised bed then you should definitely check out Gary Pilarchik's video.