4 Reasons Why You Should Build Raised Garden Beds

As food prices continue to increase and food security becomes an issue for more and more families, gardening and vegetable growing has seen a rise in popularity in the UK and more and more gardeners are looking into ways to maximise their growing within their available space. One of the best ways to do this is with a raised garden bed. Let’s look at four reasons why you should invest in a raised garden bed.

You Can Garden in Small Spaces

With many properties in the UK being fairly small and having an outdoor space dominated by concrete, London gardeners are finding space to be a premium. However, raised garden beds offer a number of advantages for small-plot gardening with the number one reason they are great being that they can be used for the popular “square foot gardening” technique.

This gardening practice, developed by a retired engineer and backyard gardener who was looking at a better way to grow vegetables, involves the careful planning of small, orderly and highly productive vegetable gardens that fit into one square foot of space. By dividing the raised bed into equal portions and planning out your crops carefully, you can maximise on the efficiency of this small space.

They Eliminate Some Common Gardening Issues

While gardening will always come with its fair share of challenges, raised garden beds eliminate a number of the common causes of complaint among gardeners with pest control being near the top of the list. Thanks to your raised bed being separate from the soil outside, not only do you have fewer weeds cropping up but pests also find it more difficult to reach your plants. Slugs and snails have a hard time getting to your leafy greens and larger pests like mice and other rodents won’t be able to have direct access to your roots and tubers.

They are Beginner Friendly

Aside from raised beds diminishing the impact of pests, they also assist new gardeners in breaking through the barrier to self-sufficiency, as they give the beginner gardener a good basis to start their garden in a controllable environment. Provided your raised bed is built correctly, and you’ve put the right ingredients into the box, you will find it pretty difficult not to grow something in your first year.

You Can Build Them Yourself and On Most Surfaces

So, the last reason a raised garden bed is the way to go is because of their very nature. Being raised above the ground means you can position your garden on most surfaces, including on grass, soil, tile or on concrete. They can also be made out of a variety of materials and are fairly easy to build yourself with some of the most popular materials being wood and concrete.

Gardening in a small space can be challenging but building your own raised bed could help you on your road to self-sufficiency in just a few steps, so get growing today.