As nice as the idea of growing your own tomatoes and cucumbers is, the gardening that goes with it means one thing above all: hard work. From sowing the numerous seeds to caring for the growing plants to harvesting the cultivated crops, it is a long journey – which involves a lot of time, patience and back problems. It’s hardly surprising why raised beds are enjoying growing popularity: not only do they require less space, but they are also particularly easy on the back.
Tip: The width of the raised bed should not be more than 120 centimeters depending on your height – otherwise it will be difficult to work in the middle of the growing area.
If you choose a raised bed made of wood, particularly durable boards (approx. 2.5 to 5 centimeters thick) are recommended for the side walls – for example made of larch, robinia or Douglas fir. Make sure that the type of wood is untreated and free of pesticides.
Otherwise you will need these materials:
Once you have all the materials together, the wooden boards and posts must first be painted with the glaze. Once the side walls have dried, you can continue with the construction of the raised bed.
Tip: If you don’t have your own garden, you can also create a mobile raised bed on stilts on the balcony or terrace. You can get the complete kit here, for example.
Filling the raised bed correctly is crucial for successful planting. For this reason, the following components should be stacked in the correct order at least three feet high:
First, place coarse material such as tree or hedge cuttings (twigs and branches) on the bottom of the raised bed; it serves as a kind of drainage. On top of this, layer a thick layer (approx. 20 centimeters) of chopped wood such as branches or bark mulch. Then pour your garden waste on top, such as grass clippings and leaves – you can also use the previously dug sod here. Now layer semi-ripe compost on top (approx. 15 to 20 centimeters) and last but not least, the planting layer follows. It consists of humus-rich soil mixed with mature compost. Now you can plant the raised bed. Here too you should choose the seeds carefully.
Tip: In the first year, heavy feeders – plants that extract nutrients from the soil as they grow – are particularly suitable for sowing. These include, in particular, peppers, leeks, potatoes, cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini and celery. After three years, however, other plants are already available, such as spinach, lettuce and radishes or even strawberries.
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