Raised Garden Beds – Pros & Cons

I garden in raised beds.

They are not for everyone.  As we are planning, designing and getting ready to construct another raised garden for our homestead I have found myself pondering the whole project.  Is it really worth it?

To tell you the truth, building a large, raised garden is quite an undertaking.

• You have to decide what you are going to build it with.
• You have to get all the materials.
• You have to get them to your home or homestead.
• You have to erect the dag-gum thing.
• You have to fill all those empty boxes with fabulous compost in the right formula so your plants will become superheros.
• You have to go get even more of whatever you filled the boxes with because you didn’t get enough.
• You have to cover your paths so they don’t turn into jungles.
• Don’t even mention the fence – Ugh.

I’m here to tell you – it’s a lot.

We are lucky.  We have the soil.  We have the compost (thanks to the cows).  We have the materials (thanks to all the old barns falling down around here).

But someone still has to build the thing.

It’s a good thing that I turn into Wonder Woman in spring – because we’re gonna need her.  If you’ve never heard me talk about my alter ego…. It’s just that spring does something miraculous in me.  I take on, attempt and accomplish things in spring that I would laugh at any other time of year.  I have unheard of energy.  I have wicked determinism.  It’s truly interesting.  Spring turns me into a super hero.

As I have been considering and looking for free wood, I’ve been thinking about this new garden and if it’s worth what I’m about to go through.

My answer:  Yes.

I decided to weigh the pros & cons on the entire thing.  I’m sure there are some I have not thought of.  Here’s my short list of why I’m about to bust my butt to build more raised beds.

Why You Should Build Raised Garden Beds:

1. Save Your Back (in the long run) by building higher beds
2. Less Work – with raised beds you only maintain the beds themselves instead of a huge garden plot
3. Easy to reach – most beds are constructed so that the gardener can easily work the entire bed
4. Pathways – designated paths make working in the garden simple and clean.  Rain or shine – you can get in your garden.
5. Less Weeding – you only weed the beds
6. Extends your growing season (soil warms up faster in raised beds in spring)
7. Cleaner (you and your children won’t be covered in dirt after working in a raised garden)
8. Cool looking – They can be a beautiful, decorative feature to your yard or homestead
9. You’ll never have to till them
10. Soil problems fixed – just fill the beds with the perfect growing soil
11. Short on space?  Raised beds grow more food in less space
12. No wasted compost – all your composted chicken manure & kitchen scraps will be used directly where you need it
13. Higher yields from plants – intensive gardening practices used in raised beds can produce 4 – 10 times greater harvest – source
14. More accessible – easy to get to, easy to work in makes gardening simpler
15. Better drainage – better soil, less compaction = drainage
16. More fun – Because raised beds are easier to maintain and less work they are usually seen as a “pleasant hobby” rather than a “dreaded chore”

If you think it’s too good to be true – you’re probably right, most things are.

Here’s some reasons NOT to use raised beds:

1. Work – erecting and building the beds is a lot of work
2. Materials – frames, tools, etc for creating raised beds- you’ll need to find it, buy it, use it
3. Money – if you can’t find free materials for your raised beds & paths, you’ll be spending money
4. Time – it takes some time to build the beds & get them filled
5. Hot weather – depending on how high your beds are raised, those beds may get really hot in the summer months and harm plants
6. Watering – if your beds do not contain the right balance of compost, they could require more watering

Whether you chose a conventional row garden or raised beds you can have a beautiful, bountiful garden.  The choice is personal.  Not everyone has the time, energy or resources to construct a raised garden.

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XO,

Candi