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How to Plan a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

February 26, 2014 by Jeanne

You can learn how to plan a raised bed vegetable garden with my series on the topic. 

 raised bed vegetable garden
Planting a raised bed vegetable garden offers many benefits. For gardeners with poor soils, such as the soil I deal with here at Seven Oaks, a raised bed garden makes it easier to improve the soil and grow vegetables.Another advantage is that it tends to keep the weeds down; the beds are above grass level, and weed seeds don’t seem to “take” as well in the soil of my raised beds as they do among the flower beds.  I can add irrigation via soaker hoses to my raised beds too, saving water by directing the flow to the plant’s roots rather than spraying the whole yard, grass and all.

Raised bed vegetable gardens are one of the best ways I know of to grow organic vegetables.

In the next several weeks, I will share tips and how-to instructions with you to help you learn how to plant a raised bed vegetable garden. As always, my emphasis is on organic vegetable gardening, but you don’t have to grow your garden using entirely organic methods; you can pick and choose what you want in your garden. There’s a lot to learn, so let’s roll up our sleeves and dig right in, okay?
 

My vegetable garden in the spring.

 

How to Plan a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden
The First Consideration: Vegetable Garden Location
Whenever you’re planning a construction project, location is always the first decision you’ll have to make, and a vegetable garden is no different. Where should you locate your raised bed vegetable garden?

Take into consideration the following factors:

  • Light: All vegetable gardens need six or more hours of bright, direct, unobstructed sunshine each. That means that if you have a shed, a garage or a tall tree nearby and it blocks the light for a good part of the day, it’s probably not a good area for a vegetable garden. You can grow a few vegetables in partial shade (and I’ve done it before, back in Huntington, Long Island, when I had mature trees in the neighbor’s yard shading my garden) but you won’t be able to grow the wide variety of vegetables most gardeners crave.  So your first priority should be light.

 

 

  • Water:  Next, your new garden will need water, and plenty of it. Yes, rainwater will supply moisture, but during the summer months of periods of drought, you’ll need to supplement natural rainwater with additional water. Your vegetable garden needs to be near enough to a water source so that it’s not hard for you to turn on the hose or sprinkler and water your plants during the hot summer months. Don’t count on dragging a watering can around to your garden; trust me, that gets old, fast.  A watering can is fine for a pot of tomatoes on the deck or a window box full of herbs, but for a large-scale vegetable garden, you will need water close by.

 

 

  • Area:  How big will your garden be? It needs to be large enough so that you can plant a variety of vegetables, yet not so big that you’ll feel overwhelmed with tending it. I’ve found that a few raised beds go a long way for a small family. Leave enough space to add more if you feel so inclined later.

 

One thing I left out of my list is soil. With a raised bed, you’ll build your garden beds and then add soil to the raised vegetable garden boxes later. You won’t need the best soil for your vegetable garden area if you plan on building raised bed gardens since you will use garden soil purchased from a garden center, homemade compost, and other amendments. If you plant to use the soil in your yard for your vegetable garden, get a professional soil test done by your local County Cooperative Extension office. It costs a few dollars, but they will recommend the precise amount of nutrients to add to your soil so that you can grow healthy, vigorous vegetable plants.
Other posts you might like:
 

  • Designing a Raised Bed Garden
  • Soil for a Raised Bed Garden
  • Paths for a Raised Bed Garden

 

Get My Book on Raised Bed Vegetable Gardening

Amazonraisedbedcover

MY BOOK:  Plan and Build a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden

My new 42 page book shares with you step-by-step information on how to plan and build your very own raised bed vegetable garden. From pathways to soil considerations, I’ll share with you the tips, tricks and insights I’ve gained from building over a dozen raised beds in my vegetable garden.

Paperback: Plan and Build a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden ($7.99)

Ebook: Plan and Build a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden $2.99

 

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Jeanne
Jeanne

Jeanne Grunert is a certified Virginia Master Gardener and the author of several gardening books. Her garden articles, photographs, and interviews have been featured in The Herb Companion, Virginia Gardener, and Cultivate, the magazine of the National Farm Bureau. She is the founder of The Christian Herbalists group and a popular local lecturer on culinary herbs and herbs for health, raised bed gardening, and horticulture therapy.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Emme Luck

    May 21, 2015 at

    Thanks for the organic garden tips! Personal organic vegetable gardens are a great way to harvest sustainable and healthy snacks for your family and you show how simple they can be. – Emme @ Green Global Travel

  2. Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai

    August 18, 2015 at

    We’ve been tossing around the idea of making a raised bed. These will give us some great tips and ideas for doing the project. Thanks for sharing at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week. 🙂

    ~Lorelai
    Life With Lorelai

  3. Jamie

    January 29, 2016 at

    What great tips!! We live in the mountains and the soil is a hard clay. We had to do raised beds for our garden and it made a huge difference!! #HomeMattersParty

  4. Audrey

    January 31, 2016 at

    After several tries I “think” I am happy with where I have my raised beds this year. I won’t know for sure for months, though. It’s been great co-hosting the #HomeMattersParty with you.

  5. Rahul

    August 27, 2017 at

    Great gardening tips. Planning to plant seasonal vegetables with drip system. Will definitely give it a try!

Trackbacks

  1. How to Build a Vegetable Garden Using Raised Beds | Home and Garden Joy says:
    October 20, 2014 at

    […] How to Plan a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden […]

  2. Designing a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden | Home and Garden Joy says:
    October 20, 2014 at

    […] we talked about how to plan a raised bed vegetable garden. I shared with you some basic tips for choosing a location for your new garden. Today, let’s […]

  3. IBA | 6 Blogging Tips from a Sweet Home and Garden Blog says:
    February 13, 2015 at

    […] let’s get started with this week’s awesome blog. Drum roll, please…. How to Plan a Raised Bed Vegetable Garden By Jeanne at Home Garden […]

  4. Home Matters Linky Party #71 - Tidbits of Experience says:
    January 29, 2016 at

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  5. Home Matters Linky Party #71 - That Recipe · says:
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  6. Home Matters Linky Party #71 - Home and Garden Joy says:
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  7. Home Matters Linky Party #71 | Newman's Corner says:
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  9. Home Matters Linky Party #71 - TigerStrypes Blog says:
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writer Jeanne Grunert

Hi, I'm Jeanne Grunert, master gardener, gardening book author, herbalist, and writer. If you're new to gardening, welcome! I make it simple and easy for you to grow a gorgeous garden and cook with the fresh vegetables, fruits, and herbs that you grow.

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