Elevated vegetable bedsand herbal beds are an interesting way to develop the usable part of the garden. They greatly facilitate the care of plants and help to maintain order in the garden. They are very popular in Great Britain. However, can this method of growing vegetables and herbs also work in Poland and why do so few people use it here?
Elevated vegetable beds
Mentions and information about the cultivation of vegetables and herbs on elevated beds can be found more and more. Elevated vegetable bedsare recommended mainly by garden designers who had the opportunity to see what gardens with elevated beds and discounts look like in Great Britain, where such raised beds are referred to as raised beds. "
Advantages of raised beds
Inelevated bedsyou can grow vegetables, herbs and ornamental plants using the principles of coordinate cultivation. Certain flowers and herbs, when planted among vegetables, help deter pests and make it difficult for them to find their vegetable patches. You can also take advantage of the good vicinity of plants, i.e. the mutual beneficial influence of some plant species on each other. As a result, the elevated beds with flowers among the vegetables look very attractive. For an interesting ornamental effect, plants in raised beds are often planted in a geometric pattern and usually slightly denser than in traditional cultivation, which allows you to get a large yield from a small area.
Elevated vegetable beds - dog does not destroy vegetables
Thanks togrowing vegetables on elevated bedsa small backyard garden with no space for a decorative and functional part can fulfill both functions at the same time. Therefore,elevated vegetable patchesare often used in small town gardens where the garden is placed between house walls or fences. Raising the beds and the rebate allows you to create different levels of greenery and places to rest, and additional space savings are obtained when the raised bed on one side is limited by the wall of the building.
Raised flower beds not only look very aesthetic but also facilitate plant care. First of all, you don't have to bend so low when weeding and doing other care work.Each vegetable patch with a different type of crop is clearly separated from the other beds and the paths between them. Each of them may also have a completely different type of soil, with a different abundance of nutrients or a different pH of the soil, depending on the needs of the plants grown on a given plot. With this method of cultivation, we become completely independent of the quality of the soil in our entire garden, because elevated vegetable beds
This method of cultivation has also a huge advantage, noticed by owners of pets. Well,an elevated vegetable patchor a flower bed is a kind of barrier that discourages the dog from entering the plants, destroying them and urinating among them. It is easier to teach your dog that he only has to walk along paths between raised beds.
So much for the advantages of elevated beds. Before discussing their disadvantages and assessing the possibilities of their use in growing conditions in our climate, it is worth knowing the ways of their construction.
How to make raised beds
Raised bedsand flower beds are usually built to a height of 40-60 cm. They should not be wider than 1.0 to 1.2 m to allow access to the plants growing in the center from both sides. Those located next to the wall of the building should therefore not be wider than 60 cm to allow access to plants growing right next to the wall. Their length, however, is limited by the area we have and the strength of the material from which the edges of the raised bed are made.
Elevated vegetable patches from lawns
Edgesraised beds and the rebatecan be made of boards (the most common and the easiest solution to make), wooden or concrete palisades, bricks, or even vertical paving slabs. Paving slabs, although they do not look the most beautiful, can sometimes be obtained for free after the demolition of old pavements, which are replaced by paving stones.However, you should remember about the mass of soil that will press against the edge of the raised bed, especially in the case of wooden edges. Over time, the boards will distort under the pressure of the ground, so they should be thick enough, not too long or reinforced with a square timber bracket every 1 meter.
In order for the boards to withstand the test of time, they should also be impregnated or tarred on the inside. In the case of using an impregnation, remember that it should be non-toxic so that toxic compounds do not penetrate into the ground, which will be filled withraised bedOn the outside, the boards can be painted in any color, but probably the most natural in the garden will look unpainted.
" The bottom of the raised bed from the ground must be isolated with a perforated foil (it must let through the moisture) or geotextile. In addition, it is also worth placing a net with small meshes, which will prevent animals such as moles from passing. Even if you dig under the flowerbed and tear the foil insulating the bottom of the flowerbed, you will find a net that will not be able to break through.Then, just like filling a box or a large pot, place a drainage layer. You can use gravel, small pebbles or expanded clay here. For this, we provide land appropriate for a given type of crop. Some guides, which emphasize ecology and the use of permaculture principles, also recommend that you give ground organic material that will gradually decompose under the ground, or manure, thanks to which a large portion of heat will be released (a good solution when growing thermophilic vegetables and sowing seeds needed for rising temperatures). If someone wants to set up such eco-beds, it is worth looking for more information on this topic. "
The area of the garden betweenraised bedsshould be sprinkled with gravel or garden bark, which looks very aesthetic and prevents weeds from growing on the paths between the beds. Often the paths are also paved with paving slabs.
After getting acquainted with the above-mentioned advantages ofelevated vegetable beds , and their relatively simple structure, it remains to ask yourself why so few people in Poland have picked up on this idea and why the elevated vegetable beds are not as popular with us as in Great Britain?
Do raised beds make sense in our climate?
You don't need a lot of knowledge about the climate of Great Britain to notice that it rains much more often and winters are much milder. These climatic differences result in the main problems that we may encounter when deciding to grow vegetables and other plants onelevated beds
While it will be a great solution in areas with frequent flooding or with a very high level of groundwater, in gardens where the soil heats up quickly and dries up, it will be necessary to install an irrigation system or very frequent watering of plants on elevated beds. If we water ourselves, in order to keep the soil moist for longer and reduce the frequency of watering, it is worth mixing the soil intended for filling raised beds with a hydrogel.
In the increased rebates, compared to plants growing on a level with the ground, our vegetables and herbs will also be more susceptible to freezing.Especially if the rebate edges are made of boards. To prevent this from happening, you can make insulation, the same as for wooden boxes for balconies and terraces. For this purpose, 2-3 cm thick polystyrene is attached to the boards from the inside as an insulating layer against the cold, and then a foil that will isolate the polystyrene from the ground. Lining the bottom and sides of the rebate with foil will also minimize the possible risk of toxic substances from impregnations or varnishes covering the boards to the ground inside the raised rebate. I just remind you that the bottom of the foil must have holes that allow excess moisture to drain away.
It is also worth remembering that during the growing season the ground should be mulched onincreased beds . A layer of mulch will prevent weeds from growing and slow down the evaporation of water from the soil. For winter periods, perennial plants that are sensitive to frost should be covered with a thick layer of mulch, tunic or agrotextile. We can also avoid this problem by growing only annual plants on elevated beds.
Finally, it is worth discussingcosts of building raised bedsWell, in the case of cultivation on flat beds, at ground level, we use the soil as it is in the garden. Alternatively, it requires fertilization or enrichment with an organic substance. In the case of increased discounts, we have to fill them with fresh soil, which will most often be purchased. And this may turn out to be a cost discouraging most people from this type of cultivation.
To sum up - I recommend growing vegetables and herbs onelevated bedsmainly to owners of small urban gardens, where the visual effect and good use of a small area are important (and in a small area, the cost of filling the rebate with soil will not be so large), as well as in gardens where the soil is extremely heavy and compacted or excessively moist. Raising the crop to the height of the raised bed will keep the soil in a drier condition.
The construction ofelevated bedsshould also be considered in gardens located on an elevated ground in order to eliminate differences in levels, as well as when arranging a garden for a disabled person who uses a wheelchair.Maintaining the appropriate spacing between the flower beds and raising them to the appropriate height will allow you to comfortably move between the flower beds on a trolley and to care for the plants without bending down.
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