Raise The Roots

More and more of us are growing our vegetables in raised beds. Check out these 12 top tips to make sure a raised vegetable patch is right for your garden.

- Carol Bucknell

1 At ease

You can’t beat raised vegetable beds for convenience. They’re much easier on your back than in-ground beds and their elevated height means weeds won’t spread so quickly from lawns and other areas. You can also build them anywhere, even over existing concrete, and they’re ideal for sloping sites. If you’re a newbie gardener, they’re more manageable than in-ground beds because you don’t have to worry about testing the pH or improving the quality of your existing soil. Just fill your raised bed with the good stuff that's specially mixed for growing veges, which you can buy at any garden centre or landscape supply company.

2 Better crops

Raised beds are a great way to improve productivity in the vege patch as your crops will benefit from growing in a top-notch garden mix with perfect drainage. The soil will be warmer, too, which means you can plant earlier and have a longer growing season. A raised garden is a great solution if the soil on your site is of poor quality, rocky, weedy, pest- and disease-infested, or compacted.

3 Built in

When built well, raised vege beds add smart structure to the garden, which is important when space is tight and your vege patch is close to outdoor living areas. If you use similar materials or colours, the beds can be integrated beautifully with existing built elements. You can also use them for seating by using a wide capping on the tops.

4 Position, position