You don’t have to build or buy raised beds! There are various reasons for and against raised beds. Don’t think they are essential. You can grow very well straight into ground and many prefer it.
Many new food growers over-complicate things and make it harder for themselves than need be. Some never get started because they imagine they must need lots of fancy tools and materials and years of knowledge. Don’t be put off by thinking you need to buy or construct anything elaborate to grow your vegetables in, just get ’em in some soil!. Let’s take a look at some reasons for and against raised beds…
The most important thing you need is good quality soil, so spend your time and money on that before anything else. Only think about building or buying raised beds if you really want or need them. You can grow fruit, veg and herbs in any patch of ground that receives light and has decent soil. If your soil is looking a bit lifeless, you can add organic matter such as compost, and you want to be doing this annually.
Reasons for and against using Raised Beds
Reasons not to use a raised bed:
- You have to buy and move soil and materials
- They take time and skills to build and money if you decide to purchase them
- You need to be careful when choosing the materials to construct the raised bed so that they don’t leach dangerous chemicals into the soil
- They eventually need replacing
- Limited shapes and curves
- More permanent
- Soils cool down faster
- Soil dries out quicker in warm weather and so requires more watering
Reasons to use a raised bed:
- You can fill them with exactly the soil type you want
- You can create deep loose beds for large long root systems
- Because the soil is raised it warms quicker which helps things grow earlier
- The soil drains well from a raised bed which is useful if you have poor drainage
- Raised beds require less bending
- The height provides some defence against pests
- Stops grass spreading
- Less chance of people and pets walking on the beds and compacting them or damaging plants
- You can put a raised bed over areas that have very poor soil or no soil at all