Planning a Raised Bed Garden

A vegetable garden is a fairly permanent establishment. When raised beds are added it adds a new level of permanence. A regular garden will be in the same place every year. The rows may not be. With raised beds the rows (beds) will stay where they are. This has advantages and disadvantages. Some crops have very specific needs and the beds used for them may not work well in crop rotation. Most of the beds in my garden are 3’ wide. This is optimum for reaching the center from anywhere. The squash beds need to be 4’ wide. That may not be enough.

There is always something growing in our garden; so the spot where things are growing may have to wait for beds. The picture from Thursday’s article shows greens planted in a row with beds on both sides. Those greens will last until well into spring, I hope. Space had to be left for a bed between the other beds. That really doesn’t matter this time of year; but it could cause a problem next spring.

Some things grow vertically. This can complicate planning. Normally I like the tallest crops in the west of the garden with a north/south orientation. This lets everything get maximum sun without being blocked by other plants. In a raised bed plants are mixed up more to take advantage of the tighter planning requirements. This could put tall plants and short plants together, requiring heightened awareness of available and needed sunlight.

David Segrest is an International REALTOR in Charlotte, NC. His email is david@segrestrealty.com , His webpage is http://www.segrestrealty.com , and his international real estate blog is http://dointernationalrealestate.blogspot.com/