by SanDee Winn

Created on: July 07, 2008

I have been gardening in containers and raised beds for years with much success. I have grown corn in a small raised bed and potatoes in garbage cans. One year I was able to grow enough in my small patio garden to bottle a half dozen pint jars of pickles without purchasing any of the ingredients needed except for the vinegar and sugar.

This is the first year I had a yard large enough to put a garden in the ground and was all excited, thinking I was going to finally have a "real" garden. After all the work getting the ground ready; pulling the hip high weeds, turning over all the dirt and then shaping the furrows, my back and I agree that raised beds are truly the way to garden. There are numerous advantages to gardening in raised beds, besides keeping a healthy back.

Healthy soil You can have any kind of soil you want. Just go to the nursery or hardware store and purchase any soil or add-ins you want. Pour it in, mix and Voila! Perfect soil for whatever you plan on growing. You can also purchase earthworms and know that they are exactly where you need them to be, keeping the soil nourished and soft.

Protection from pests If you live in an area like I do, it makes me wonder how come the whole neighborhood doesn't just disappear down a giant gopher hole. With raised beds you can line the sides and bottom with chicken wire before filling it with soil and those little devils can't get anywhere near your precious plants. It is also easier to spot any pests that might be crawling around and pluck them off. If you are like me and don't like to use pesticides directly on your plants, you can put the pellets, powder or repellent on the edge of the container or on the ground at its edge so the garden is not in direct contact with any chemicals.

Faster and longer growing season Raised beds help the soil warm up faster so that the sprouting happens faster. The beds stay warmer and the roots can take hold better than having to fight through frozen ground, so you have healthier roots and plants. Raised beds also drain better so rainy weather doesn't drowned fragile sprouts. If you live in an area with a short growing season, you can purchase or make covers that will fit over your beds so the snow, hail or rain won't damage fragile sprouts and flowers.

Better garden design and workability Having raised beds makes being creative with your plants easier and more workable. You can plant seeds and sprouts closer together, increasing yields and by having space between your beds, make it easier to work among the plants without stepping on anything. Raised beds also cut down on weeds and it is much easier to pull the ones that do show up.

As you can see, there are many benefits to gardening in raised beds and speaking from my own experience, a lot less pain in the back. No matter where you live, you can garden more successfully using raised beds.

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