Raising the bar.

For centuries, people have been organic gardening in raised beds. Since these are merely garden beds where the soil level is higher than that on the paths around them, it may not be obvious what advantages they offer — except to gardeners with bad backs, that is, who don’t have to stoop as far to tend plants. Actually, though, raised bed gardening improves drainage, uses space more efficiently, increases yield, and simplifies the control of weeds and pests. These are things that benefit all gardeners, including those whose backs are in excellent condition.

Advantages of Raised Beds

Improved Soil
The soil in raised beds is usually superior to that in row gardens in part because it never gets stepped on (much less subjected to the weight of machines) and therefore does not get compacted. Beyond that, filling beds usually becomes an opportunity to get high-quality soil and to fine-tune the mix of fertiliser and amendments. This is a more affordable (and therefore attractive) prospect than it might at first seem since none of these additions get wasted on or in paths: all the good stuff goes into the beds themselves.

Improved Drainage
Raised garden beds are made to order for those whose native soil drains either too quickly or too slowly. The mere fact of being raised improves drainage in clay soils, but the real kicker is that you can mix the soil to your own specifications, creating a fine loam even where clay or sandy soil prevails.

Increased Yield
A raised bed warms up more quickly than does the surrounding soil in spring, so it’s possible to plant in them earlier than in a flat bed. The light soil improves the movement of both water and air, and roots can spread out in search of nutrients more easily than in compacted dirt. It’s therefore possible to plant a raised bed more densely than one would the same amount of space in a traditional garden, which translates into higher yields.

Yields increase also because more of the garden can be planted than in conventional gardens. A traditional garden laid out in narrow rows devotes over half its space to paths. Raised beds require either wide rows or enclosed beds, both of which can cut the amount of space used by paths by a third to a half. As a result, more of the garden can actually be used to grow things, rather than to walk around them.

Simplified Weed & Pest Control
The dense planting in a raised garden makes weeding difficult, so it’s a good thing that it also crowds weeds out. The walls of most raised beds create at least a partial block to many blowing seeds and to most rhizomous plants. Where aggressive weeds are a problem, raised beds can be established on top of a layer of weed cloth, blocking roots out completely. When sequential planting and cover crops are used, ensuring that there is no bare dirt for weeds to colonise, weed problems drop off to almost nothing.
Other pests can also be more easily controlled in a raised bed. Rodents can often be blocked-out below with metal screens, and birds from above with netting or row covers. Of course, any garden can be covered, but since raised beds are usually small and intensively planted, doing so is easier than in a large, conventional garden. Snails and slugs can’t easily find their way into raised beds, and are more easily located and removed once they do make it.

Easy Access
Even those who don’t have back problems can appreciate stooping less or not at all when they garden. For those who do have back problems, (or knee problems, or any of a dozen other physical limitations) the raised bed can make the difference between gardening and not gardening. Permanent enclosed beds, built to the correct height and width (usually about two feet high and three wide) make it possible to garden from a wheelchair. Large timbers provide room to sit down right next to the growing space, without kneeling or squatting, saving wear and tear on knees and other joints.

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