If you’ve never planted a vegetable garden before, it can be intimidating. But you don’t have to be concerned about it any longer. We’ll have our own vegetable garden up and growing in no time.
Raised bed gardening is the most beginner-friendly option. It is one of the most modern types of gardening available. There are numerous advantages to growing vegetables in a raised bed. For example, you can easily amend and control your soil, and you won’t have to dig or till it every year.
Let’s learn raised bed vegetable gardening for beginners like you!
How do you start a raised garden bed for beginners?
The following are the steps to creating a raised bed vegetable garden. You may have to spend some money if you follow these methods, but it will be worth it when you eat a vegetable you grew yourself.
- Choose a location for your raised bed that receives at least 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight. The greater the number, the better. These considerations should be made before deciding on a location for your raised bed.
If you live in a cold climate, 6-8 hours of sunlight or more is preferable. If you live in a hot region, you’ll need some shade to keep your plants safe from the scorching summer sun. As a result, choose a location that is appropriate for the climate in your area.
- Now that you’ve chosen a location for your garden, it’s time to tidy it up. If your location has a lot of grass and weeds, this is a must-do phase. Grass and weeds can grow through your raised bed dirt, and weeds and your plants will compete for space, water, sunlight, and nutrients.
To begin, remove all of the grass and weeds from your location. Otherwise, you can dig the place with a shovel and then remove all weeds from the soil.
- To construct your bed, you will need to spend some money and purchase some lumber. You can either buy ready-made raised beds or buy inexpensive lumber and install it yourself with your equipment. As a newbie, a raised bed measuring 4 feet by 4 feet or 4 feet by 8 feet is ideal.
If you don’t have the funds to purchase lumber or a raised bed, you can construct one out of bricks or cement blocks, or out of old large tires and plastic milk crates.
- Play around with the soil and see which soil recipe you prefer. Choosing the ideal soil recipe can be difficult for beginners. You can grow four times more veggies in your raised bed if you choose the appropriate soil mix.
You may buy compost or build your own and combine it with potting soil to make a fantastic bed mix. You can also use compost and topsoil, but this is not as effective as potting soil.
What vegetables can I grow in a raised bed?
Growing vegetables in a raised bed is simple and enjoyable. As a beginner, you can plant these vegetables and gain the motivation to grow many.
- Kale – It is one of the simplest and most nutritious vegetables to cultivate on a raised bed.
- Swiss Chard – Both Swiss chard and kale are tough plants that can grow as companion plants in your raised bed.
- Carrots – The soil in raised beds is ideal for growing carrots. Choose a short carrot variety for a raised bed with legs.
- Tomatoes – You can grow a wide variety of tomatoes on your raised garden bed.
- Lettuce – It’s simple to grow, and lettuce plants in a raised bed look lovely.
You might enjoy these posts:
What should I fill my raised garden bed with?
Filling your beds with a simple soil mixture is the first choice. As you might expect, this is the easiest path. Fill your bed with a 1:1 mixture of topsoil and compost mix, then rake or shovel softly to mix.
What do I need to start a raised vegetable garden?
Because you’re merely making a box, similar to a sandbox, very basic DIY skills are required. Here’s what you’ll need!
- Screwdriver, drill/driver, and bits
- If you’re cutting the planks yourself (rather than buying them from a store), you’ll need a handsaw and a tape measure.
- Get three 8-foot long 2″x6″ pieces of lumber for a 4×8 foot bed. Even better if they have 2″x8″ or 2″x10″ lumber. Get two pieces of lumber for a 4×4 bed.
- If you don’t have a saw, have the lumberyard guys cut the pieces in half for you. Cut one of the pieces in half for the 4×8 foot bed, giving you two 4 foot lengths to use for the ends. Cut both pieces in half for the 4×4 bed.
- Screws for the deck or exterior
- Instead of nailing or screwing into the end grain of the board, use a piece of 2X4 or 4X4 in the corners to give you something secure to nail or screw into.
