How To Start a Raised Bed Garden in 9 Steps

Raised beds provide garden solutions to several site challenges, including gardening in small spaces, poor soils, inadequate drainage, and spots with no soil at all. They offer a streamlined way to grow fruits, vegetables, herbs, and showy ornamentals.

Raised beds provide accessible options for above-ground gardening, harvesting, and seasonal rotations. They make weed control more manageable and create functional growing spaces in any location, from sun to shade.

Raised gardens, like oversized containers, let us showcase detailed plant characteristics, grow productive food and culinary selections, cut flowers, and create themed arrangements like sensory experiences.

Starting a raised planting requires simple planning, but the process is fun and straightforward as you curate a new garden zone. With a bit of preparation, the beds will be showy and productive in no time.

Select Your Garden Location

Often, available space drives our garden styles and planting options. Whether your space is limited or vast, two primary factors to consider when choosing a location are light conditions and access to a water source. Partnering plants with similar cultural requirements sets up the arrangement for success.

Many herbs, vegetables, and flowering plants prefer full sun, with at least six hours of daily sunlight for best growth. Morning sun is ideal, and, depending on your climate, light afternoon shade or dappled light may help protect plants from scorching in direct afternoon rays.

Raised plantings in the shade are just as viable as sunny ones with the right plants suited to the bed’s exposure. Herbs, vegetables, and ornamentals all grow in shade, depending on the selection and depth of shade.

Access to water is paramount, as the beds dry out more quickly than ground soil. Managing moisture is advantageous in extending the growing season to early spring and late fall. Soils are workable earlier in the season, warming faster and without prolonged saturation. 

Many plants prefer regular water and consistent moisture, while others prefer drying out slightly between sessions. How you choose to water may depend on the size of your garden. Whether using a hose to hand water or relying on installed raised bed irrigation, connecting to an accessible water source is key.

Another consideration for placement is sheltering plants from strong winds, which can topple taller stems and cause plants to dry out more quickly. Also, plan how you’ll move about the space if you incorporate more than one bed. Preparing the ground, leveling the site, and allowing sufficient pathways make accessing the beds and hauling materials easier.

Choose Your Material

Raised bed types and materials are highly versatile and as creative as the garden style. Galvanized steel beds are durable and long-lasting, making them sustainable options. A food-safe coating protects the metal and allows food and ornamental plants to be grown safely. Galvanized steel options like Birdies Raised Beds offer streamlined installation and a variety of configurations for your setup.

Wood beds are another sustainable option, whether DIY or purchased as a kit. For natural, untreated options, use cedar planks. Cedar naturally repels water and insects, making it more long-lasting than other woods.

The creativity of other materials is nearly limitless. As long as they’re well-draining and accessible to fill and maintain, the sky’s the limit with architecture and functionality. With beds assembled, the next step is filling them with nutrient-rich soils.

Add Soil and Amendments

Key components for growing raised bed gardens are soil depth, organic richness, and good drainage. Since beds vary widely in depth and height, fill and plant materials alter based on size. Annual flowers need a soil depth of at least 8 to 12 inches for root growth, while vegetables, perennials, and larger plants need more space to thrive.

With a level site and the bed in place, layer the bottom with a quarter to a half inch of gravel. A shallow gravel layer promotes good drainage, suppresses weed encroachment, and helps with leveling. Fill the planters with a high-quality soil blend to aid nutrition, moisture retention, aeration, and drainage. Topdress with compost and mix at planting time. Starting with fertile soil sets a foundation for healthy roots.

If your planter is deep, several regenerative fill methods exist to build soil over time. One technique is the Hugelkultur method, where layered decaying logs, sticks, and organic material fill the base. These components break down over time, adding nutrients and new soil to the mix. Using aged material is best, as fresh wood can leach nitrogen from the soil. 

“Lasagna” gardening methods also fill beds by layering cardboard and organic matter that decompose as plants grow. Weed-free straw provides a base layer to add soil enrichment over time. 

Select the Plants

Choosing plants is the best part of creating a new planter – a blank canvas ready for bursts of floral color and softly cascading foliage. Flowering annuals grow quickly in a single season with a fast flush of blooms and repeat flowering. Some perennials grow well in raised beds with dynamic flowers and foliage, while fruits, vegetables, and herbs are especially well-suited for these productive spaces.

Opt for plants with the same cultural conditions and those that fit your bed’s sun exposure. Then, consider different textures, heights, and forms to maximize aesthetics and growing area. Think of focal and statement plants, mounding fillers, and accents.

Create the Plant Layout

Depending on your style and uses, layouts can be highly organized or have a more informal, naturalized appeal. If the purpose is to harvest vegetables or blooms, it may be most straightforward to use wide rows of a single species for visibility, cultural controls, and accessible harvests. 

Layering or “stacking” rows by plant height from lowest to tallest ensures smaller plants don’t get lost among larger ones. Taller plants also help shade low-growers from direct sun (but make sure there is not too much shade based on your bed’s orientation and plant selection).

Organized rows are less important if your garden goal is a lovely display or herbs and flowers for casual clipping. Think containerized cottage garden, mini meadow, or shady oasis with a looser, intermingled approach.

Plant the Beds

Planting raised beds is fun and simple. To get the flower beds going, opt for seeds, plugs, or potted plants. Use plant spacing guidelines as you would in an in-ground garden bed to allow room for growth and air circulation for the best plant health. 

For cutting and vegetable gardens, scatter seeds according to packet directions in looser planting arrangements and weed out excess seedlings to provide accurate spacing. Strategically place certain larger plants as anchor specimens. Plan for successional harvests by seeding at different times throughout the season, ensuring plants are in flower for continual harvest.

For nursery-grown annuals and perennials, beds are ready for planting as soon as seasonal conditions meet your plant selection. Enjoy seeing what thrives and curate your scheme based on plant successes.

Establish Water Needs

Watering depends on several factors, including seasonal conditions like rainfall, climate, and species requirements. Since container plantings (even big ones) dry out more quickly than in-ground plantings, it’s best to do a regular touch test to check soil moisture. If the soil is dry to an inch below the surface, it’s time to water. Wet soils indicate over-saturation and a need to reduce watering.

Many plants benefit from increased water in high summer heat and during dry spells to maintain evenly moist soils for active growth. Overly wet conditions lead to pest and fungus issues. A well-draining soil mixture formulated for raised beds holds appropriate materials for aeration. Still, over time, it may be necessary to refresh with a fresh mixture and improve drainage.

Depending on your handy water source, drip irrigation, and ground-level watering are ideal. In all cases, water plants deeply rather than frequently to establish robust root systems. 

The best time to water is in the morning when plants uptake moisture before evaporation in the sun. If relying on overhead sprays, damp leaves have time to dry during the day to reduce susceptibility to fungal diseases.

Tend and Maintain

Healthy soils with compost provide an essential foundation for vigorous plants. A balanced organic fertilizer at planting time helps boost root and foliage growth and flower and fruit production. Floriferous plants and annual vegetables appreciate nutrients as they grow and produce throughout the growing season. 

Herbs, vegetables, and flowers often benefit from harvesting, clipping, pinching, and deadheading to promote fresh growth and more flowers and fruiting. Raised beds make this easy, keeping plants accessible and within arm’s reach as you stroll past.

Scouting for pests and diseases is part of regular maintenance. Remove a plant from the mix if it shows signs of decline, severe pest infestation, or disease. Replenish soil and replant with a thriving alternative. A diversity of plants encourages biodiversity in the garden and attracts beneficial insects like lacewings and ladybugs, while wildlife like frogs and birds offers natural pest control.

Add a top layer of mulch or weed-free straw to regulate soil temperatures, help with moisture retention, and suppress weeds. The mulch adds nutrients to the soil as it breaks down. Remove any excess with the following seasonal planting and refresh.

During seasonal turnover, remove spent plants and debris, add compost and soil to refill beds, and plant for the next season. 

Maximize the Seasons

Raised beds make planting changeouts easy for multi-season appeal and production. Their ease of turnover and rotation prepares them for seasonal crops year-round in moderate climates. 

In cold climates, row covers or hoops for insulation extend the growing season in early spring and late fall. Consider a winter cover crop when the beds aren’t actively growing.

When it comes to perennials and blooming arrangements, planning for multi-season beauty brings lasting interest with evergreen or colorful foliage, dried seed pods, berries, and blooms.