Raised garden – Montgomery County MGs
Spring gardening is on the horizon, and you have a cornucopia of vegetables to choose from to plant mid-March from seed like cucumbers, summer squash and corn, or from transplant like eggplant and our beloved tomatoes. You must find a home for them, and if you have limited space available for gardening or challenging soil texture, it would be best to plant them in a raised bed. There are many benefits to gardening in a raised bed that include extending the growing season, improved soil and drainage, controlled maintenance and aesthetic appeal. A raised bed garden may be more manageable for you depending on your needs and lifestyle. Raised beds can be a simple rectangular bed framed with 2 x 6-inch boards and as low as 8-inches. Raised beds can also be elevated cedar boxes, a three-tiered circular raised bed made from flagstones and rock, or modular galvanized metal frames reaching almost 2 feet from the ground.
Identify the Right Kind of Bed for You
Tomato Research at The DIG
The best place to start in identifying the right kind of raised bed for you is with your intention. You may be gardening in a raised bed for veggie production or fruit tree curation, or possibly for ornamental plantings. Establish goals for this style of gardening and schedule benchmarks toward your vision. My garden is meant for growing vegetables and select herbs, a modular gem composed of galvanized metal and is 17-inches tall. The height of my bed is perfect for my stature; I stand at six-foot four and life experiences make me aware that it’s a long way to the ground. The height of my raised bed minimizes bending and is also tall enough to pull up my portable garden kneeler, turn upside down and have a bench to sit and work, improving accessibility.
Raised Bed Location for Success
As with any gardening venture, you will need to meet the plant’s basic requirements with 6 to 8 hours’ sun exposure, improved soil conditions, water accessibility and available nutrients. When locating the bed, identify the orientation of the cardinal directions and layout your bed on the north-south axis of the site to maximize sun exposure. Also account for proximity of a water source. For finished bed size, take into consideration the growth habit of individual plants and the spacing required to maximize use of the raised bed interior planting area. The average size for a raised bed is 3 x 6 feet. This area accommodates up to six modest-sized tomato plants spaced 2 feet apart and planted in two rows. You will also calculate the volume of the raised bed in cubic feet to estimate the soil needed to fill. To estimate the beds’ volume, multiply the length times width times depth. It will be more cost effective to purchase soil in bulk from a landscape supply company rather than individual 2 cubic foot bags from retail outlets. If you buy soil in bulk from a landscape supply company, you will be purchasing in cubic yards. Remember that there are 27 cubic feet in 1 cubic yard, so calculate for bulk accordingly.
Soil Choices – Buy in Bulk
When choosing a mix for an elevated or containerized raised bed, ensure to purchase garden soil that is generally a blend of 70-percent soil, a source of minerals and nutrients, and 30-percent finished compost, material made of decomposed organic matter. If you are planting in a shallow raised bed in native soil, make sure to commit a soil test to understand nutrient availability that exists in the soil profile. A soil test report will be a guide for any nutrient amendments you will need to apply. Calculate and mix 2-inches of finished composted organic matter into 6-inches of soil depth across the breadth of this planting area.
Raised herb beds in Houston
While maintenance watering can be committed by hand, the challenge with this method is it can be time consuming and negatively affect harvested produce due to its inconsistent nature. Consider installing drip irrigation for uniform water distribution. There are improvements in plastic irrigation piping that are solid poly tubing with uniformly spaced emitters. These products are more efficient than porous soaker hoses. I still enjoy digging directly in the soil and planting out ornamental and fruit trees around my yard, and I also appreciate the accessibility for veggie gardening in my raised bed. Remember that I host a vegetable planting chart on our Brazos County Master Gardener website for your spring veggie planning. I wish you garden success, and I always look forward to seeing you in the garden.
