by Effie Moore Salem

Created on: July 09, 2008   Last Updated: April 06, 2009

Raised garden beds are far superior over row gardening. Thoseof us who can no longer garden see raised garden beds as a good way to garden but see, in our gardening dreams, raised gardening bed raised to the height where we can garden without injuring ourselves in the meantime. After all, just how many knees can and aching joints can you wear out? What I am proposing is a garden full of constructed garden beds where older gardeners can walk upright and tends to their flower beds and their vegetables to their hearts content. These beds will have all the attributes of the kind of raised garden beds that the topic speaks of, but will be user friendlier.

Now that the dreamtime is over, what are the special advantages of raised garden beds over those that are planted flush with the surrounding soil? The fertile soil is not wasted by being walked on and patted down by gardeners who walk among the garden while tending; there will be no pools of water that will stand during rainy seasons that could possibly cause fragile roots to rot. The slightly sloping sides of the raised beds will encourage drainage; or even discourage it when more water is needed by building up the side walls slightly higher in these raised beds. Conversely, water will only be needed to water the plants and will not be wasted on soil that is designed only as paths.

A traditional garden uses all the garden soil and that means each season the area of the garden will have to be redone by plowing and refurbishing. While this has been a tried and true method of gardening over centuries and is well known to all gardeners, modern gardeners have less space to use and must make use of every bit of their garden, therefore making sure that the only areas designated for the plants to grow is reworked each season makes good sense to todays busy gardeners. Too, incorporating raised beds into your garden designs allows city dwellers to garden neatly and with an eye toward enhancing their landscape as opposed to possibly ruining its effect by an unsightly and sprawling vegetable garden.

The dream is returning: Why not both kinds of raised beds? The raised lowered raised beds for the sturdier gardener and a waist high wall, possibly tiered that will add a welcome to a visiting grandmother who only likes to get her hands dirty once in a while. I can see it now: A three tiered garden area as an entry way into a well cared for garden that has sensible raised beds that are well kept and has well defined walking areas set off with attractive stepping stones; or for larger gardens hay spread out on the walkways. This idea just in: The three tiered waist high built in garden for grandmother could serve as protected plant starters in early spring.

Yet, no doubt the best advantage is to the vegetable and herbs and flowers that are grown. There will be no wasted effort should one decide to use only organic fertilizers. While much of this free since when one who gardens seriously has ways and means of recycling much garden reuse into a viable soil by some means, organic fertilizers when purchased is expensive and every bit will be used in raised bed.

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