Raised bed gardening is whenever you garden in soil that is above the surrounding terrain. So a raised bed garden can be a container, it can be a box built out of wood and filled with soil, it can be built using rocks, landscape timbers, landscape blocks, or just about anything you can think of that will raise the soil up above the surrounding level. It can even be just a row of soil piled up higher than the surrounding ground.
Things to consider when building a raised bed garden are the materials you use it should be something long lasting. If you are going to build it out of wood you should choose a wood that will last such as cedar or redwood, treated lumber works as well but you might want to consider what chemicals could seep out of the wood into the soil if you are raising a food crop in it. You will want to make sure to remove any grass or weeds that are growing inside where you are placing your raised bed.
You will want to place a weed barrier on the bottom of the raised bed to prevent any weeds from growing up through the soil you add. Just be sure the barrier you use allows for good drainage. Landscape fiber works but I personally use about 3 – 4 sheets of newspaper the fibers are denser and it makes a better barrier in my opinion while it still allows for good drainage. Since the newspaper is covered with soil it doesn’t get exposed to the sun or to oxygen it will last a very long time.
If you don’t want the sides of the bed to be too high above the ground you may need to dig the inside of the bed lower so the added soil is at least 6 – 8 inches deep, preferably 8 inches. This should be deep enough for most plants but it is important to consider what you will be planting in the bed and adjust the depth accordingly. Potatoes for example would need at least 12 inches.
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