Tips for Successful Raised Gardens
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Start small. Start with a small raised garden to see if it works for you.
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Keep any weeds down with a deep layer of mulch.
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Start with easy seedlings like lettuce, parsley, and basil
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Make sure you use great soil. Good soil is important in any garden, but it is essential in a raised garden. There’s not a lot of room for error here, so get the best soil you can afford.
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Make it as deep as you can. Shallow raised gardens are much harder to deal with than deep ones.
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Add trellises to grow vegetables up and save space. One zucchini left to its own will take up a huge amount of space, for example. Train it up so you can grow low-growing vegetables in front. Here are 15 sturdy trellis ideas.
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Fertilize regularly. Use a good organic fertilizer, as often as the packaging says.
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Start a compost pile so you have a ready supply of goodness to add to your raised garden. Remember, raised gardens do not “make” their own nutrient like an in-ground garden might. You’ll have to feed it everything it needs.
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Plan for a cover. Raised gardens are even more susceptible to bugs and animals than in-ground gardens. It’s a good idea to plan for an animal-proof cover if the need arises. Could be anything from a simple net cover to a complete roof.