You can save money by building your own
raised garden bed. These can be used for flowers and even for
vegetables. They are gaining in popularity because
they are easy and inexpensive to build, making them practical
parts
of the landscape. Additionally, they are fairy easy to plant
and maintain. They are even relatively easy to weed. In addition
to being convenient and practical in maintenance, they also
drain sooner as well as warm up faster. This means that you
can plant earlier in the season, resulting in the possibility
of multiple harvests if you use your raised gardens for vegetables.
You can make your garden a temporary bed or a permanent bed,
and reap the benefits of a simple way to enjoy your landscape
more and even dress it up a little bit.
The
first thing you need to do is make sure that you have all
of the necessary tools and materials. You can make your
beds out of rocks, concrete blocks, bricks, naturally rot-resistant
wood (cypress is very slow to decompose), or wood treated with
a safe preservative. It is important to make sure that treated
wood does not have anything harmful in it that could leach
into the soil and thus be absorbed by the plants. This is especially
important if you plan to eat whatever you are growing in your
raised bed. Other things that you will need include optional
wood preservative (like sealant) or sheet plastic, spading
fork, shovel, iron rake, hammer and nails, measuring tape,
compost, and topsoil. All of things are necessary for creating
a successful raised garden bed.
When
making a permanent garden bed, you should make sure to
use more permanent materials. If you plan to use your bed for
flowers as a prominent part of your landscape, bricks make
very nice beds, as they are attractive and often complement
most traditional landscape designs and plants. The bed can
be as long as you would like it to be, but it should be at
least one foot deep and no more than four feet wide. Wider
beds can make it difficult to reach the middle of the bed to
take care of things like weeding and fertilizing. If you have
the bed against a house or fence, wide beds make it difficult
to reach the backside of the bed as well.
Temporary
beds, unlike permanent beds, allow you to change the design
every year. If you like the idea of being able to
make small changes to your landscape each growing season, then
temporary beds can help you achieve this. Additionally, they
are easier and less expensive to remove if you decide that
you would like to take them out. Wood is best for these types
of beds, as the wood can easily be taken apart. Choosing attractive
woods can add to the look of your landscape design. You can
also decorate the wood with non-toxic paint if you would like
to have a little different look. As with permanent beds, make
sure that you build them at least with a foot of depth and
not very wide.
When
planting your beds, whether permanent or temporary, you
should begin by preparing the bed. Remove rocks, sticks, and
debris from the beds and make sure that they are prepared for
plantings. Be sure to allow for drainage. You can build your
bed on a patio or on soil, but either way you should ensure
that there are adequate pathways for excess moisture to escape.
When using brick or concrete blocks, they can be stacked in
a staggered fashion to allow water out of the bed. When building
on top of soil, loosen the bottom soil with a shovel or spading
fork. The bed should be filled from bottom to top with a compost
and topsoil mixture. After this is done, rake the top of the
bed so that it is smooth.
Once
the bed is prepared, you can plant flowers, herbs, or vegetables
inside the bed. Tall plants should be put in against
a fence or wall, or on the bed’s northern side. Make sure that
you take proper care of your plants in your bed, and remember
that raised beds can dry out faster. They may need a little
more water. Avoid stepping on the bed as much as possible to
prevent soil compaction, and follow up your planting with a
proper application of mulch.
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