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The
advantages of a raised bed or no-dig vegetable garden are numerous.
The
raised bed garden provides soil that is less compacted and less
susceptible to compacting as time goes on because you don't walk
on it.
It drains more easily and provides more control
over your moisture levels.
Your gardens will look nicely
organized, and depending on what material you use, will actually
compliment your landscaping.
Raised bed gardens are
great for people who suffer from less than optimal quality growing
soil in their yards as more optimum quality soil can be added
right on top of the original.
The soil in your garden
will warm up faster in the spring in a raised bed garden as it's
not fighting ground frost as hard as a regular garden.
Raised bed gardens are easier to work on throughout the growing
season as the height brings everything just a little closer to
you.
Raised bed gardens can be converted easily to a cold
frame in the spring and opened up to a normal garden in the
growing season.
Raised bed gardening is easily adapted to
and compliments square foot
gardening.
With a little planning, raised beds are virtually weed free due
to the shading out of weeds before they can germinate,
eliminating one of the more tedious chores of gardening.
Raised garden beds are the fastest way to get rich organic soil
for growing a good sized vegetable garden. The garden composts
materials while feeding your plants.
Raised garden beds are often called no-till or no-dig gardens
for good reason – so you can put that shovel away and let nature
perform the cultivation process with microbes, worms and
insects.
A raised bed garden can be constructed on just
about any surface. Your results will be much improved if you
construct yours over soil that has been at least lightly turned
over before you add your growing soil.
Building a raised
bed garden shouldn't take more than an hour or two once you have
the materials bought and ready to go. The wood should last
between ten and twenty years and is easy to restore when the
time comes.
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