Making a raised veggie bed for your garden

Making a raised veggie bed for your garden The winter means that you spend less time in your garden. However, it doesn’t have to mean that you think less about how to make the most of your outdoor space. In fact, the cold weather can mean that you take on… Read More

Making a raised veggie bed for your garden

The winter means that you spend less time in your garden. However, it doesn’t have to mean that you think less about how to make the most of your outdoor space. In fact, the cold weather can mean that you take on some DIY projects that will be a big helping hand when the warmer days start to come in.

A great idea for a DIY project this winter is a raised veggie bed. Raised beds are not only the perfect way to create a well-drained plot, but they are also ideal when you want to bring a different type of soil to your garden.

It may seem like a tricky project, but ultimately building a raised veggie bed is relatively easy to do. All you need is some tools and the time to dig and clear the ground.

The steps to make a raised veggie bed

First of all, you need to decide exactly where you are going to pop your veggie bed. It is a good idea to go for an open part of the garden that not only gets some sunshine, but also gets shade too. Try to avoid parts of the garden that have trees or tall shrubs, as they are likely to block out the sunlight that the plants will need to thrive.

Once you know where you want to put your veggie bed, mark out the edges. You need to be able to reach the bed just by leaning over as you will not want to walk on it once it is planted. Clear away any plants that are currently calling the space their home.

Now you need to pop some stakes into the ground, marking the corners of the plot. These should sink around 30-45cm into the ground, and need to have enough above the ground to match the height of the boards that you plan to use.

Next it is time to line up the boards that will form the edges of the bed. It is a good idea to use boards that have been pre-treated as these will be more resistant to wet and rot. Once these boards in place and flush to the ground, you will need to fix them to the stakes. Use screws rather than nails or this as there is less risk that they will split the boards.

The final step is filling up the raised bed with topsoil, it is a good idea to choose one that is rich with organic matter. Simple as that, your bed is ready to go. Now all you need to do is decide what veggies you want to grow in there!

 

raised veggie bed