Tips for Successful Raised Gardens
-
Start small. Start with a small raised garden to see if it works for you.
-
Keep any weeds down with a deep layer of mulch.
-
Start with easy seedlings like lettuce, parsley, and basil
-
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.
-
Make it as deep as you can. Shallow raised gardens are much harder to deal with than deep ones.
-
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.
-
Fertilize regularly. Use a good organic fertilizer, as often as the packaging says.
-
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.
-
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.