6-01-2012 Benefits of raised beds

Raised Bed Gardening in Arkansas

6-01-2012  Subject:  Benefits of raised beds

     Gardening is a little different for each person that enters into the game.  There are just about as many different reasons for having a garden as there are types of people who have a garden.  Some prefer to have a long row garden, some use a wide row technique, some have a big one and some have a little one … some just like to grow flowers or herbs.  In this post, I will try to show some of the benefits of a raised bed garden and how they compare to a traditional row garden.

     In a bed garden the compaction of the soil is drastically reduced.  Other than settlement by rain and watering, there is nothing else that packs it down … you never walk on it so the soil will stay looser.

*  This allows for better drainage and better penetration of water to plant roots.
*  It allows for a better mix of water, air, and nutrients to plant roots.
*  It allows for any weeds that crop up to more easily be eliminated by pulling and increases the likelihood that the root will come out with the weed.

     In a bed garden, a permanent path between beds generates a much more easily maintained travel space.

*  If a stone or brick path is desired, having permanent beds allows this to be a possibility.
*  I let the grass grow between beds because green grass tends to keep the soil and air close to the ground cooler in the hot summer.  I just keep it mowed with a mulcher blade and no discharge.  Since I never water the path, the grass grows slowly and keeps the surface compact.
*  Whatever type of path you choose, it will keep most mud and muck from developing in the travel space because there is no need to break up the soil in the path.

     Beds tend to be more orderly and can be fashioned in a vast array of styles and shapes that are pleasing to the eye.

*  I have experimented with several shapes and styles, but I ended up with rectangular and square beds that are arrayed in rows that make it easier to pull a hose around, move soil and compost around, mow around … etc.
*  I have made star shaped beds using plastic buckets with the bottoms cut out, moon shaped beds using rose quartz as the bedding side, diamond shapes out of sections of plastic chemical barrels, rectangular and square beds using landscape timbers, and long beds made with railroad ties for the sides.

     Beds tend to allows for easy accessibility to plants for maintenance, weeding, picking, de-bugging … etc.

     Permanent beds make it easier to drag a hose to where you need it because it gives you something to drag around without pulling it across the plants themselves.

     Beds generally saves on water consumption.

*  You only have to water where the plants are and not the path too.
*  On a bed that is inactive, you don’t have to water it.
*  On a bed that you are allowing the plants to dry out to harvest the root, you can single out that bed and save on water.
*  It makes it easier to apply water where it is needed and not where it is not needed.
*  It makes it easier to apply water to a given depth for fresh planting, plants that need more or less water, at specific times during a plants’ cycle … etc.

     Plant types can be isolated within a bed separate from other plant types.

*  Some plants do not do well together because of nutrient needs from the soil.
*  Some plants do not do well together because of pest problems that bleed over onto other types of plant.
*  Some plants do not do well together because the water needs of some plants are much different than others.
*  Some plants do not do well together because of growth rate and size of a mature plant.

     Beds make it easier to grow more plants in a smaller space (bigger yield per square foot).

*  Plant spacing is generally given in most guides based on the needs of a plant in a row garden.  With more access to water, nutrients, commonality of spirit  J, shade … etc, it allows for a much denser planting.
*  The denser the spacing between plants the less weeds can gain a foothold.
*  Denser plantings tend to assist in the plants reinforcing each other for stability.
*  Denser plantings tend to allow for better and more even distribution of pollen between species.
*  Denser plantings tend to allow for better shading of the soil so that less moisture is given up to evaporation from both the soil and the plant leaves.

     Beds make it easier to maintain soil concentrations of fertilizer/nutrients, ph levels, and soil types for specific types of plants.

     Beds make it easier to use succession planting techniques.

*  When a bed is done with a certain plant, bust it up … re-compost (if needed) … and replant with what you want there.
*  You tend to work with a smaller area at a time, so the task doesn’t seem so insurmountable.
*  Each bed is segregated from others so a certain type of pest, disease, or nutritional requirement is more easily controlled.

     Soil and nutrients do not wash away even with a hard rain.

*  The sides of a bed keep water from washing across (like it does in a row garden) to help maintain each bed separately.
*  The sides of a bed tend to hold the soil better in a controlled area.

     Beds make it easier to cover plants for frost, expected hail, or to add shade when needed.

     Permanent beds make it easier to change from a hot bed, to a protected bed for starting the season earlier and extending it in the fall.

     Now, these are not all the reasons that I think make beds better than a row garden … and there are a few things that make a row garden better in some areas than a bed garden.  But for the most part … The versatility, ease of access, stability of soil, stability of control measures, water constraints, and ability to protect beds from inclement weather all tend to make a bed garden (in my opinion) better for the home gardener than a row garden.

… Duane