Raised bed gardens make growing a bounty of vegetables, herbs, flowers and outdoor plants easier and more convenient.
In their most basic form, raised beds are large, framed planting boxes filled with a mixture of garden soil and compost. As the name suggests, these garden beds sit on top of the soil, above ground level.
Raised bed gardens have become quite popular in Northern Utah, thanks to our typically poor soil conditions. Local gardeners often construct multiple raised planting boxes in their gardens, separated by attractive and functional garden paths. This planting approach is the ultimate problem=solver for novice and green-thumb gardeners alike.
Raised Bed Gardens Create Ideal Growing Conditions
Growing plants in the native Utah soils can be a challenge. Raised garden beds are the perfect answer to our less-than-desirable growing conditions.
Because you fill them yourself, you can choose the perfect planting mix for your garden boxes. The raised bed soil mixture will be loose and fertile, the ideal growing conditions for flowers, vegetables and herbs. Raised garden beds also offer superb drainage, as the soil mixture hasn’t compacted for decades like the native dirt in your yard has.
In addition, the frame construction serves as an effective barrier to garden pests like slugs, snails, gophers and moles. Weeds and diseases are also much less of a problem in these planting boxes.
Raised Bed Gardens Can Extend the Growing Season
The cold winter months can’t pass quickly enough for most Utah gardeners. We are all itching to start our gardens long before the frosty weather has ended.
Raised bed gardening can give you a jump on the spring season, giving you more time to grow your favorite flowers, herbs and vegetables. Soil that is loosely compacted and above grade level will warm up sooner than the long-frozen ground. This means you can start preparing and even planting earlier in the season.
And, if you use season extenders like cold frames or cloches, you can keep the growing environment warm and inviting long into next fall and winter.
Raised Bed Gardening Reduce Knee and Back Strain
Gardening is not always the easiest work, and it can wreak havoc on the body. Bending and kneeling to plant, prune, weed and harvest can leave you with knee and back pain.
One of the biggest advantages of raised beds is that the height of the planting boxes reduces the stress on your back and knees.
Simply build your raised planting boxes tall enough to allow you to work while sitting on the frame edge or a nearby stool. Older gardeners and those with back problems find this feature to be especially helpful, but any avid gardener will appreciate how planting boxes can reduce aches and pains.
If you want to try your hand at this novel approach to gardening, it’s time to get started. Stop in and see the expert staff at Millcreek Gardens in Salt Lake City. We can offer advice on the best plants, soil mixtures and tools to help your raised bed gardens thrive.