Raised Garden Beds

Raised garden beds give a strong design element to a garden providing a focal point but this aside, there are many advantages to using these when growing fruit and vegetables. Raised beds are suitable for a wide range of plants and where growing conditions are tricky. They are popular amongst novice gardeners, growing vegetables for the first time.

SPECIAL OFFER

Receive 10% discount from Harrod Horticultural on Allotment, Standard and Superior Raised Timber Beds, quoting offer code GWG.

ADVANTAGES OF RAISED BED GARDENING

Raised beds are easy to manage both for the sure of foot and those with restricted mobility. Plants can be reached from a sitting position making it easy to weed and given that the raised beds should be narrow enough, the whole bed is within easy reach. They should be no wider than 120cm (4ft) wide. Make sure that paths fit a wheelbarrow and be sure to avoid long beds, otherwise people will be tempted to step over them.

You can match the soil to a plant, enabling acid conditions to be created in a garden with alkaline soil. This type of gardening promotes root health as you can fill the bed with good topsoil, enriched with fertiliser and organic matter.

Raised beds need to be kept well watered as water drains more rapidly than soil in ordinary garden borders. They work well in wet climates, as you can keep the soil in top condition with  water draining away freely. However, be warned that in a drought, the raised beds will need to be kept well watered.

As soil is exposed above ground, it warms up earlier in the season, drains more readily and therefore can be sown earlier. Cloches, tunnels or frames can easily be erected over the beds, making a mini greenhouse or they can be covered with netting to keep pests out.

Raised beds can be made from a variety of materials including bricks, railway sleepers but the easiest of all is raised bed kits. They can be built throughout the year but the most popular time is the autumn and winter, providing the soil isn't too wet or frozen.

GOOD FOR KIDS

A raised garden bed is ideal to get children interested in gardening. Let them have one of their own so that they can grow vegetables, herbs and flowers. A raised corner bed is perfect for this and so much more productive than a sandpit.

At Harrod Horticultural Allotment timber raised beds start at £13 for the most basic, rising to its A-list Superior beds, which form a garden feature in themselves. The company has installed Superior beds at the RHS's gardens in Wisley and Harlow Carr.