Homesfornh.com – A DIY raised bed is a large container to grow plants in the garden. Most gardeners use some raised beds in their garden and start growing vegetables, fruits, and herbs. It is a useful container that offers a large space to grow plants in one area. Thus, the garden is neat and you can classify the plants. You can make one group plant and easier to care for them. Some plants need different fertilizers, pest control, and soil nutrients. It is better to grow them in a group and give them good maintenance.
Doing a gardening activity is easier when you start using a raised bed. Make a DIY raised bed at home and manage your garden layout. Also, some tools that you need to make a DIY raised bed for plants are 4 boards (per one raised bed), some screws, and a drill machine. Here, we are gonna share with you how to make a DIY raised bed for plants!
How to Make a DIY Raised Bed for Plants
The first topic we discuss in this article is the various ways you can create a DIY raised bed for your plants. You can use a variety of these methods for the garden you create. Let’s discuss!
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Draw Your Garden Layout on a Canvas
You have to make a concept first. Draw your garden on a canvas, draw some raised beds if you want to create more than one raised bed. Concepting your garden is important to get an image of how your garden will look like. You can use this layout to guide you when resembling the boards for a raised bed and put a nice location for plants. As long as your plants get enough sunlight, they will grow well, thus, a sunny location is a recommendation for you.
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Mark the Location
Let’s go to your garden and find the best location to grow plants. Once you find this location, then remove the grass in this area, clean it thoroughly. It is an important step to get a good environment for plants. The grass will damage the plants’ roots in a raised bed when they are mature. They can absorb minerals and nutrients in your raised bed. Thus, clean them all from your garden before resembling the raised bed.
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Cut the Woods Based on the Size of Raised Bed
Determine the size of your raised bed. You can make a large raised bed or prefer the smaller ones. Measure the board before you resemble the raised bed. It depends on your need to create a raised bed with a certain shape such as rectangular, triangle, or square.
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Resemble the Boards
Take the boards and other tools to your garden. Resemble the board upon the chosen location. It is not difficult to resemble the boards. You need to make four holes to merge the boards on each corner by using a drill machine. We recommend you use screws rather than nails. Nails can damage the boards and screws are better to merge the boards.
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Add Soil
Put some cardboard to cover the bottom side of your raised bed. Cardboard is easy to decay rather than using plastic. Fill the raised bed with garden soil. Add compost, regular potting soil, manure, and mix them well. Make a loose texture that gives well drainage for the plant roots. Let it for 1-2 days till the raised bed is ready to use. Watering the soil every evening. Two days are enough to give soil adequate sunlight and water.
Some Plants that Grow Well in a Raised Bed
The next topic is a variety of plants that you can grow well with a raised bed. You can choose the plants you want from vegetables, fruits, and herbs. With the right plants, you can get effective in growing plants in raised beds. If you have no idea to grow plants in a raised, here are some recommendations for you:
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Vegetable
The first plants you can choose are vegetables. Vegetables are a healthy food ingredient for you to grow in your home garden. By having a vegetable garden, you can save your shopping budget and also start living every day.
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Lettuce
Lettuce is a leafy plant that you can consume every day. This vegetable has a rounded shape when it is mature. Growing lettuce in a raised bed is the best home for them to develop their crop. Plant some lettuces with a distance of at least 4-6 inches between the plant. You can put some marks on the soil and give some lines to plant lettuces.
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Broccoli
A Broccoli is a vegetable native to the eastern Mediterranean. Broccoli has a dark green flower-head, some broccoli has a purplish green flower. The centerpiece of broccoli is delicious to add to a soup. You can grow this vegetable in any season, especially in the winter season because they are frost resistant.
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Spinach
Spinach is an easy-growing vegetable. You can grow this crop everywhere in the garden. Spinach can grow by seeds and cutting roots. Plant them directly in your raised bed and manage their growth by watering regularly during the first growing season. Planting them in a raised bed provides a nice environment to develop their roots.
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Fruits
The next plant that you can plant is fruit. You can plant a variety of small fruits according to your wishes and the size of your home garden. Thus, you can get an orchard that matches the size of the house you have.
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Strawberry
Strawberry is a delicious fruit that has sweet and sour tastes. Many species of strawberry that you can grow in the garden. This plant is easy to grow by transplanting seeds and cutting roots. You can plant them in the raised bed because it is easy to maintain their growth in one group. Strawberry plants like to crawl and spread their runners, you can plant them or simply cut the runners.
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Watermelon
Watermelon is another fruit to plant in the raised bed. This plant gives you the challenge to manage their vines. The watermelon vines are growing fast in the fertile soil. You can give a trellis in the raised bed for their vines because it will support them during the growing season.
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Tomato Cherries
Do you like to eat tomato cherries? If you are a cherry fan, you can plant them in a raised bed. Make a cherry garden in your area and care for them to produce more delicious cherries. This plant has a small woody stem with a bunch of cherries. Growing cherries in a raised bed can put them in a group and looks simple.
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Herbs
In addition to growing vegetables and fruits, you can also grow a variety of herbs in your garden. By using a raised bed, the various herbs that you grow can live healthy and fresh for your needs at any time.
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Rosemary
Rosemary has small leaves and a spicy flavor. This herb is a condiment for tea and some dishes. You will find it easy to grow rosemary in your raised bed. Rosemary plants will not take lots of space if you grow some rosemary. If your raised bed is too big for rosemary, you can grow other herbs as a companion plant. Make a room for each species by growing them in a different line.
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Basil
Basil is a perennial plant to add fresh and spicy flavor to dishes. Some people grow basil in a small pot and put them near the window in the kitchen area. This herb is multifunctional for dishes, beverages, and traditional medicine. Grow basil in your raised bed to give fresh air and exposure to sunlight.
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Garlic
Garlic can grow in some places such as in a water container, potting soil, and garden soil. It needs fertile soil and adequate water to grow well. You can transplant garlic seedlings into the raised bed, it gives them more space to develop. Moreover, the raised bed has a different soil mixture than the garden soil. This container will keep soil nutrients inside the raised bed. Thus, you can add garlic to your raised bed.
Conclusion
Thus our discussion of Easy Ways to Make a DIY Raised Bed for Your Plants. A raised bed is a beneficial container to grow plants in the garden. It contains more than one plant in a group. Thus, you can classify the plants based on their species. Make a vegetable garden in a raised bed will make it easy to manage their growth. It is easy to resemble a raised bed in your garden. Hopefully, you will have neat and healthy plants. Happy gardening!