The 5 Things That Make Raised Bed Gardening Easier

I have had many raised beds over the years, using what I had on hand or could get for free/low cost. Those gardens worked fine.

Yet I knew that if I put more into it, we could have a raised bed garden that would work so much better.

#1: The Prep Of The Garden

For years, I laid down cardboard thickly to kill weeds and grass. Yes, it worked. For about 1-2 years. Then you’d slowly notice grass popping up. At first, it wouldn’t be much. But by the end of year 3, the bed would be a mess. I would have to scoop out the soil into our gorilla cart, and rebuild the bed, laying down new cardboard. As I age, I find I don’t want to do this all the time. Yes, it is “greener”, but everything has a price.

In our current garden, I laid down farm fabric as a barrier between the soil and the beds. This stops the weed and grass intrusion (now, then, it could fail, of course, but the chances are high it won’t).

You will need the farm/weed barrier fabric and also the staples that hold it down. A rubber mallet helps pound them in quickly. We use a dedicated pair of garden scissors for cutting it, as well as a long tape measure to measure before cutting. I overlap the fabric by a few inches to reduce the risk of weeds pushing through.

#2: The Raised Beds

I have made raised beds of every sort, often using recycled materials. They work by holding the soil in. Some are better than others. An example was using felled trees. While it worked, I found the logs were great for slugs and snails to hide their eggs in along the edges. Frustratedm I tore those beds out after a couple of years.

As I noted, I decided to make this garden look fancier, with curb-side appeal. I bought metal raised beds and went for aesthetics. By shopping carefully, I kept the cost lower. If you buy raised beds that are “brand name,” you will pay a fortune. There are so many options on Amazon that will fit most budgets. One thing is that the metal beds are easier to handle than using heavy concrete bricks, and as I get older, that is appreciated.

We have used the 8×4 foot ones, the oval 4×2 ones, and the very large twin beds with a trellis.

#3: A Pop-Up Greenhouse

I had an actual greenhouse for nearly 10 years. Even moved it from one property to the next. But I had to leave it behind in Washington State when we moved. I will have another. Eventually. But there is an in-the-middle option: a pop-up greenhouse. You must prep them so the wind doesn’t take it down, but it allows you to grow seedlings outside, in a protected way. It gives you a place to tuck plants away safely if you buy them too early to plant outside. This is the model I have used for the past few years, and I have owned 3 of them. They are durable and affordable.

And it is a nice warm place to pop into in February/March/April while I am working outside. I use our oldest one as a shed, to keep things like trays, pots and decorations dry.

#4: Grow Tunnel Hoops

I have made plenty of these out of PVC pipes over the years, but when it was time to move, I left all of them behind for others to use. Instead, I took the simple poles to set up for putting on frost fabric. They are tiny and lightweight, but handle winter well. Honestly? They are more affordable and store in a fraction of the space. But also, it’s so much easier to set up; I don’t need a helper to do it.

#5 Appropriately Sized Tools

You might ask what I mean by that. Well, when you grow in the ground, you find yourself with a vast collection of hoes, shovels, rakes, and more that are full-sized. You might even have a tiller on hand.

Once you go to raised beds, most of it isn’t needed. What you do need are small, well-made hand tools. You will need a shovel at the start, but once the beds are done, you might see it covered in dust in your garden shed. Instead, you will reach for hand shovels, a hand rake to rough up soil, and a weed popper. Add in a knee pad as well.

We had a waterproof, heavy-duty cabinet we found in our garage, and Kirk was going to toss it. I took it and put it in the garden, so that I had a place to store my hand tools and other small items. It has worked well, even through the winter.

I put a paver brick on top to weigh it, and one in front of the doors. It has a shelf, so plenty of storage. (Btw, I put bricks on the lower part for weight as well, and just put items on top – I did that in case rain got in as well. So far, no rain has breached it.)

To keep things clean, in the fall I put everything in gallon zip-top freezer bags. Dry and clean gloves are appreciated! As are non-rusty tools in our humid environment. Now I do not need to leave the garden and walk around to the lower part of our house to get items I use often.

PS: While your tools shouldn’t cost a fortune, buy quality. For example, Fiskars makes great plastic ones. I even own a number of those. I also use metal ones. Look at them carefully, at how they are assembled. Ones that are welded can break apart; check them carefully.