What is the Point of a Raised Garden Bed in the Vegetable Garden?

What is the point of a raised garden bed in the vegetable garden? Now there is a good question and one which I’m asked fairly often when discussing design options for a vegetable garden with a client. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that this blog is about the advantages and disadvantages of raised vegetable beds!

What is a Raised Bed?

Raised garden beds may be structures but do not have to be. They may simply be ground level borders where the soil has been raised. This simple version may have come about when the garden soil has been improved by the addition of organic matter, compost. Or possibly where paths have been created and the top soil thrown onto the borders.

Where there is a structure in place, it may be made of wood, brick, metal or a composite material. The materials used may or may not be recycled but should be free of contaminants. For example, old railway sleepers will ‘ooze’ tar. Generally speaking, raised beds are built as squares or rectangles as this makes for simpler construction. However metal raised beds are available in cylindrical shapes as they are easily curved.

Straw bales are not strictly speaking raised beds as the term usually refers to a longer lasting structure. However, I do not personally see a problem with referring to them as a raised bed if you want to. Straw bale gardening is a growing method which I will be explaining in detail for you in a few weeks or so (in plenty of time for the beginning of the growing season!)

Is Raised Bed Gardening Relatively New?

No it isn’t. Gardeners and farmers have been using raised beds in one form or another for hundreds, probably thousands of years.

Thomas Hill in his ‘Directions for the Gardiner’ in the sixteenth century described raised beds as the best method of production. He based his advice on the Greek and Roman gardening treatises that had become available during the Renaissance.

He went on to describe that these raised beds should be no wider than a gardeners arm or reach. Unless they are accessible on two sides, in which case they could be twice as wide. This way the earth in the beds does not become compacted from having been walked upon. And the principle of not walking on the soil of a raised bed is fundamental, whatever the style.

What is the Point of a Raised Garden Bed?

Let’s first consider this question by looking at the advantages of raised bed gardening.

It allows you to have nutritious, free draining soil. If your soil is poor, then it is easier to create raised beds in the vegetable garden than importing new soil for the whole garden.
By not walking on the soil, it stays open and oxygenated, ie not compacted, which is good for plant roots.
You are able to grow acid loving plants, such as blueberries, in a garden which has an alkaline soil.
Where you have only a shallow depth of top soil, raised vegetable beds mean you can grow deeper rooted crops, carrots for example.
Pest control is easier if the raised bed vegetable garden has wooden, metal or brick raised planters rather then piled up soil. For example, copper taping can be placed around the structure to dissuade slugs and snails. Where rabbits are a problem, temporary fencing can be erected around individual raised beds rather than having to fence off the entire vegetable garden.
The soil in raised beds tends to warm up quicker in the spring then that in other borders. It is also easier to warm up just a small area of your vegetable garden by adding cloches which can be made to measure. Alternatively hessian or fleece can be laid on the soil surface.
A well thought out raised bed garden design can add an air of formality, turning a vegetable plot into a potager style kitchen garden. this could be a bonus if the area is in full view of the rest of the garden.
Raised bed vegetable gardening allows for more intensive growing methods to be used if desired. This is useful in small areas as productivity is increased, meaning you achieve a bigger harvest in restricted spaces.

Should you have a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden?

Now lets turn the question round and consider some of the disadvantages.

Both custom made raised beds and off the peg will be more expensive than simply raising the level of existing borders.
The material used will for building the raised vegetable beds will affect their lifespan. (There’s a blog planned on building raised beds where we’ll go into this in more detail).
Not everyone wants the designated vegetable garden or vegetable plot garden design.
Creating raised bed structures is generally considered as a permanent feature in the garden. This makes it less suitable for those who rent rather than own their garden or property. As an aside – some allotment rules require you to remove structures you built / added such as raised vegetable beds and sheds.
Soil to fill the raised vegetable beds is usually bought and brought in. You may have some homemade compost to add, but probably not enough. As an average requirement, a 4 foot square vegetable bed, 18 inches deep will need roughly 24 cubic feet of soil – or about one of those builders bulk bags that you’ve probably seen around.
Pests, diseases and weeds will not miraculously disappear just because you’re gardening in raised beds! It can be easy to reduce some of the problems, but this often depends on whether your raised beds are sitting on existing soil, a lawn or paving.
Shallow raised vegetable beds often require more watering because the soil is free draining. More so if they’re not in contact with soil below.

What is the Point of a Raised Garden Bed if its Expensive?

There’s no getting around it, raised beds cost more than traditional vegetable plots. Except, arguably if you gradually raise the level of vegetable beds by adding organic matter and possibly extra soil over a few years. Using homemade compost obviously keeps this cost to a minimum but will take longer.

Much depends on your current and expected needs.

For example, if you have a bad back, raised beds with an edge wide enough to sit on may be beneficial. Consider oak sleepers and brick as materials for the structure.

If you use wood then it will eventually need replacing so it’s important to work out the cost and how many years’ use you will get from the vegetable beds. But for a vegetable garden to last you 3 -8 years it can be an economical alternative. The longevity depends on the type of wood and how the beds are constructed.

An equally important question is what do you want to grow and do you know which growing methods or type of cultivation you want to use in the vegetable garden? See blog links below for more on how to grow vegetables by different means. For example, some people think you have to follow an intensive system such as square foot gardening with raised beds. You don’t. There is no reason why the vegetables cannot be grown in rows.

Do you like the neatness or formality of raised garden beds for your vegetables? They’re adaptable too, you could turn one into a cutting border for flowers for the house. Or if you have less time for growing one year, its easy to cover over the soil to prevent weeds and for the vegetable garden to still look respectable.

Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening for Beginners

What is the point of a raised garden bed if you are totally new to vegetable gardening? When you’re just starting out with growing your own vegetables raised beds can make it seem a less daunting task. For example, you could treat yourself to just one attractive raised bed kit.
Some raised bed vegetable garden ideas could be to grow –

lettuce, tomatoes, basil, thyme, rocket for tasty lunches
or try out the Three Sisters and grow sweet corn, squash and beans

There are raised bed planting ideas in various blogs in Plews Potting shed. Including shade loving vegetables if your garden is less than sunny, perennial crops and even fruit growing. For more help in getting started you may like our bespoke gardening courses – on edibles and for beginner gardeners.

Is a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden right for You?

The bottom line is that it is your decision after full discussion with your garden designer and / or gardening teacher. What is the point of a raised garden bed for vegetables or indeed for flowers and fruit if –

you don’t want to be out there gardening yourself
the vegetable garden isn’t visible from the ‘decorative’ areas of the garden or from the house so the formal neat look of raised beds is not an issue
you’re not going to be staying long in the current house (this may affect the type of raised vegetable beds more than their inclusion in a design)

However, whatever the size of your garden, if it is well designed, it will improve the look and increase the value of your property. There are some more specialist exceptions but this is the case for the majority of gardens. Therefore, if you do fancy raised beds in a small vegetable plot in one part of your garden then why not? The style should reflect both you, the garden and possibly the growing method/s you plan to use.

If you would like some help with creating a raised bed vegetable garden, orchard or flower garden do get in touch. Plews is able to offer you just the design or a full service.
For further inspiration check out Plews Potting Shed blogs, and find us on Instagram and Facebook