Once you take the plunge and start using raised beds, you won't be able to stop. Here is a list of some of the massive benefits to using raised beds to plant anything and everything from vegetables to prize-winning primroses.
If, like me before the great conversion, you've never planted anything in raised beds before it's highly unlikely that you will be able to grasp just how beneficial they are; you're likely set in your ways of planting the same daffodils in September, awaiting their birth in Spring, in that same spot by the garden wall that you've been using for over 16 years. Well, hopefully, after reading this you will be filled with inspiration and make it your days objective to get out there and begin to use the revelation which is the raised garden bed. But just why are they so good? Read on to find out.
LESS WEEDS
Weeds - the bain of all gardeners; if we could get rid of them forever no doubt we would. But, a saviour is the raised bed because weeds just don't like them. The very simple fact that what you've planted has been raised off the ground makes the spreading and growth of weeds nigh on impossible. Weeds appear when they have easy access to something, so when you put an obstacle in their way they're very unlikely to be able to overcome it.
BETTER DRAINAGE
When it rains (and rains, and rains, and rains...) our flower beds/veggie patches can become water-logged. Well, much like our 11 year olds football match being cancelled due to a water-logged pitch, our attempts at gardening may as well be cancelled if this occurs to us. Water is the lifeblood of successful planting, but it can also be the nemesis, so ensuring that you have good drainage is essential; and guess what, raised beds offer superb levels of drainage. The fact that they are off the ground means that water saturation is less of a problem and they have a greater opportunity for surface run-off given the proximity to the ground.
NO HUMAN INTERFERENCE
Other than the person planting the produce, the bed itself should have no human interference whatsoever, meaning that ground compaction should not be an issue. Typically, with traditional beds, interference is made when we tread our way through, messing up and, in some cases, destroying the good work we've done when planting. The fact this feels like a seperate entity to the rest of your garden eliminates any desire to walk over it, besides we wouldn't fel the urge to stomp over our garden furniture or BBQ, would we?
WARMER SOIL
Warm soil equals better produce - simple. Raised beds do a wonderful job of maintaining high temperatures in the soil, due to the fact they are not at ground level. In the winter months the ground regular hits sub-zero temperatures; the very simple fact that raised beds are not at the same level means that temperatures can rise by as much as 15%. Not only are temperatures higher, but temperatures are also prolonged meaning you are fooling your produce into thinking it is still summer when we are deep into September and the Autumnal slog.
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