How to Create a Raised Bed for Organics

For some people, the space on their lawn isn't large enough to accommodate a full-fledged garden, flushed with flora and fauna that will make any passersby give a second look. But you shouldn't despair when that seems out of reach. You can make a raised bed not only to help the gardener inch closer to the garden of their dreams. And the fact that making one is absolutely easy simply adds more points to consider creating a raised bed for their organic garden.

With all that said, read on to know about the nuts ands bolts behind creating a raised bed for your organic garden.

First Phase

First and foremost, you should visualize and do the layout of the raised bed first. Think of the dimensions of it so as you'll have a good estimate when you purchase the materials are necessary when building it.

When you have a good idea of what you want your garden to look like, you should build a box with an open top and bottom so as it will look like fence. Think of it as a platform on which you will put soil on. So the gardener should build the box so its high enough that you can put sufficient soil in it and low enough to it doesn't look ugly in a distance.

The fence can be of any material you want. You can use lumber, synthetic wood, plastic or even bricks and/or rocks. Once you bought the necessary materials for your raised bed, pile up the blocks or cut the lumber to around 24 inches in height. That should be sufficient. If you are using lumber and considering a square or rectangular bed, then you should opt for four equal sized posts, around 4” x 4” in length and width so as they'll provide firm foundation for your bed. It will ensure further that the soil stays where it should be.

Second Phase

With the foundation built, you may now move on to the second phase of building your own raised bed. To make a footprint of the raised bed, put a large piece of gardening plastic or weed mat on the location you're planning to put your raised bed. With this set, you have enough protection against weeds that may hinder your plants growth.

When you have established the footprint, you may now place the raised bed on it. This may require some extra help if the bed is too large for the strength of one person. Make sure that you place the raised bed in a location that gets sufficient light from the sun. If you don't do that, your plants won't grow and you've wasted substantial time trying to create a raised bed.

Now with the footprint, raised bed and location in place, you now have to put soil in it for obvious reasons. Don't forget to place some compost or some composted manure on the bottom of the bed then add the layer of soil on it. A good compost/soil ratio is 1:3 or 2:5 for sufficient minerals and leeway for your plant to grow to its fullest.

Final Touches

You may also add some organic matter here and there like wood ash, bones and other biodegradable whatnot to give your plant a little edge. From here, you have finally finished your raised bed and you may now get down and dirty and choose your favorite flower or plant and start doing the nitty-gritty gardening part. The options are virtually limitless for you, so enjoy your time and congratulations on building your first raised bed!

Conclusion

With your raised bed comes with a lot of advantages. The soil in these types of gardens are more customizable; meaning, you can put your own soil mix into it to ensure that you have the best possible growth for your beloved plants. Also, a raised bed gives you a good start when planting because the soil in raised beds gets warmer faster, thus the nutrients from the soil (and sun) get held on for much longer and it will prepare itself for some plants. And lastly, there are a lot of conveniences when gardening with a raised bed because the gardener won't get splashed by mud when the rainy season comes. With that said, not only will a raised bed add some few modern touches to your once droll lawn, it definitely helps the plants a whole lot.