In this post, we’re going to learn how to start a raised bed garden for beginners. Whether you have a small or large area, It’s never too late to start your gardening journey.
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The thought of growing my own vegetables and herbs always been a goal of mine. Putting the energy and care it takes to provide fruits, veggies, and herbs is amazing.
Since I can remember, I’ve always been fascinated by the idea of having my very own garden. Going to nurseries and seeing the beautiful flowers and vegetable starters… I would rather learn how to start a raised bed garden than spending a fortune buying organic.
Instead of relying heavily on the grocery store, I could ensure that my family is getting natural and wholesome foods without the danger of harmful pesticides by doing it myself.
I also decided that whatever I did, I would make the raised bed garden bed beautiful. It might not be as perfect as you want it to be at first but, It will be great in the end. The point is to start growing in your garden so, let’s begin!
Tools for success:
My garden is 24 ft x 26 ft so, the tools used will reflect these measurements. Adjust according to your garden size and plans.
- 1- 4 ft x 100 ft galvanized wielded wire fence
- 16- 5 ft U-Post
- fence post driver
- landscaping staples
- landscaping fabric
- no dig edging
- anchoring spikes
- mallet or hammer
- rake
- zip ties
- wheel barrel
- raised garden beds
- pea gravel
- top soil
- compost
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get to it.
Where to start a raised garden?
- Choose a place in your garden that get’s full sun. You want to make sure that the garden can get at least 6 full hours of sunlight in order to grow to their full potential.
- What if the majority of the garden gets full sun while some places do not?
- If this is the case, It would be beneficial to plant herbs or vegetables that can deal with partial shade.
- What vegetables or herbs do well in partial shade?
- root vegetables
- carrots
- potatoes
- beets
- radishes
- lettuces
- spinach
- romaine
- arugula
- leafy greens
- collards
- kale
- swiss chard
- brassicas
- broccoli
- brussel sprouts
- cauliflower
- cabbage
- herbs
- parsley
- chives
- tarragon
- mint
- chives
- bee balm
- root vegetables
Why start a raised bed garden?
PROS:
- You don’t have to worry about digging up the soil
- Better drainage in the garden
- Fewer weeding issues
- Earlier sprouting of plants
- Crop rotation made easier
- It just looks great!
- Easier to amend the soil
- Makes mulching easier
- Longer growing season
CONS:
- Can be more costly upfront depending on materials used
- More watering needed so the beads don’t dry out
- Not all plants grow well in raised beds
How to start a raised bed garden
- First, I started by picking an area I wanted the garden to be placed at. Then my husband and I proceeded to shovel out the top layer of soil.
- I admit, It would’ve been easier to use a tiller and remove the top layer of soil and weeds but, we didn’t do that. Don’t do what we did.
- After we did that, we went ahead and put down the landscaping fabric.
- Make sure you overlap the landscaping fabric and secure with landscaping staples so you won’t have to deal with pesky weeds.
- Next, lay out the landscaping edging along the border of the landscaping fabric.
- Then, we used a fence post driver and placed all 16- 5ft U-Post into the ground.
- Originally I used 10 post but, that provided a fence that wasn’t sturdy enough to make me feel confident that bunnies wouldn’t invade my garden
- Now, wrap the 4 ft galvanized wire fencing around the perimeter of the garden and secure it with zip ties.
- I found this was an inexpensive alternative to having a wooden fence considering the price of wood these days. This did the trick!
- As you can see by the leaves on the ground that I set my garden up in the fall in order to get prepared for my first spring gardening season. It made the most sense at the time.
Time for the soil and pea gravel
- The next step of course is to place you prepared raised garden bed where you want them to be.
- I filled my raised beds with a topsoil and leaf compost mix I bought in bulk from my local nursery.
- This is the BEST way to save money on soil unless you can find a way to get the soil for free.
- I ordered 3 1/2 cubic yards of soil to go in my 8 raised garden beds.
- Honestly, I ended up ordering too much soil so I made 2 more raised beds outside of the garden. (shown in a later picture)
- I also ordered 3 cubic yards of pea gravel to go between the rows of the beds and may I say… It was such a good call. It’s so beautiful!
- You could also used soil, mulch, or turf in between the rows as well.
- Spread out the pea gravel with a rake.
- The pea gravel should be 2 inches thick.
- Don’t worry about being specific just make sure you can’t see any landscaping fabric underneath the pea gravel.
- Then plant your vegetables and flowers and begin starting your gardening journey!
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