Skip to main content

Why do gardeners use raised beds? Here are reasons why you should grow crops and flowers in raised gardens

From allowing you to control soil to helping reduce weeds, raised garden beds can come in handy

Ask any seasoned gardener why they use raised beds, and the reason likely boils down to control. Raised beds allow you to control what goes into your crops while giving you the luxury of ample space to work with. Control, of course, can mean a wide variety of things. Here are the main reasons you should consider growing your fruits and veggies in raised beds.

Person holding soil
Zoe schaeffer/Unsplash

1. Raised beds allow you to control your soil conditions

When you grow your plants in a raised bed, you have the power to control the soil that holds your plants. If you’re raising edible crops, this means you can choose an organic growing medium for peace of mind. It’s also easier to amend the soil to exactly what you need it be, whether you’d like it to be more well draining or acidic.

You ultimately won’t have to do a lot of tilling to break up compact soil. Plus, soil also tends to warm up faster in beds during the springtime, so you don’t have to wait for the ground to warm up before you start planting.

Gardener pulling weed
Effective Stock Photos/Shutterstock

2. Raised beds keep out weeds and pests

Because raised beds allow you to close off a certain area of your garden, they help you keep out unwanted weeds and pests. And even if you do encounter any pesky invaders, you can at least keep them limited to that area of your garden and manage them there.

To keep weeds and pests at a minimum, make sure your raised bed has a bottom, but remember to give it drainage so your plant roots don’t rot. It’s also helpful to top-dress your soil with mulch, too.

Raised garden bed
Image used with permission by copyright holder

3. Raised beds keep foot traffic away from fragile plants

As their name implies, raised beds are elevated from the ground. Even if you simply have a wooden border around your plants, your plants will be separated from the ground so little ones (and perhaps absent-minded adults) won’t step on sensitive seedlings just getting rooted or make soil super compact.

Beds that are elevated to waist level also give you the bonus advantage of being ergonomic — you won’t have to kneel or bend over as much to tend to your crops!

Raised garden bed close-up
Image used with permission by copyright holder

4. Raised beds give your plants more space than containers

Most round containers usually fall between 6 and 12 inches in diameter, though you may have instances of bigger ones. But these measurements still pale in comparison with raised beds that are usually around 3 to 4 feet by 6 to 8 feet.

Simply put, raised plants offer more growing space, so you can have more plants as well as stronger plants that you don’t need to thin out as often. That said, you can find or create raised beds in all kinds of sizes. If you have a smaller space to work with (such as on a patio or balcony), you can still enjoy bountiful harvests with limited room.

Watering a raised garden bed with a watering can
alexkich/Shutterstock

5. Raised beds help with water retention

Indoors, overwatering can be a menace that swiftly kills plants with root rot. Outdoors, especially on those warmer days, it can feel like you need to water every day. When inside small containers and exposed to heat and wind outside, soil can dry out quickly.

In a raised garden bed, soil holds onto water for a long time, especially if you have compost and peat mixed into your soil. Ultimately, this means less work for you — you can even fix up a drip irrigation system to make watering a breeze.

Raised bed garden
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Plants that do best in raised beds

You can pretty much grow anything inside of raised beds, which are most commonly used for edible crops. It can actually be tempting to stuff all of your plants into one space, but you want to give your green babies breathing room, so be prudent as you budget out your space.

Typically, a square foot in a raised bed can handle 6 to 12 small plants or 4 to 6 medium plants, but always read the instructions on your seed package to give each plant the space it needs — you can thin out crops if you notice crowding. Also, be sure to rotate your crops each season and companion plant-compatible crops. Here are just a few of the plants that work well in raised beds:

  • Lettuce and leafy veggies
  • Allium plants (such as onion, garlic, and leeks)
  • Bush beans
  • Beets and radishes
  • Annual flowers
  • Herbs
  • Ornamental plants (like ferns and hostas)
Blueberries on a bush
Nowaja/Pixabay

Plants that do not do well in raised beds

While you can plant virtually anything you want in a raised garden bed, some plants are more challenging to grow than others. Plants like melons and potatoes can take up a lot of room, making them more ideal for in-ground row gardening. There are also berries — think blueberries and blackberries — that grow better as bushes in the ground.

Others plants, such as asparagus, take a long time to grow while others, such as perennial flowers, will stick around for a while. With these plants, you really need to be in it for the long haul, so you might not be able to try out new plants in your bed for the next season.

While the initial work for implementing a raised bed can be daunting, raised beds definitely make the gardening process go by smoothly. They provide a wide range of benefits, from keeping your soil warm to blocking out pests. Plus, you can plant virtually anything in them, as long as your crops don’t take too long to grow or need a lot of space. With a little patience at the beginning of your gardening journey, building a raised garden bed gives you a foundation for healthy, bountiful harvests.

Editors' Recommendations

Stacey Nguyen
Stacey's work has appeared on sites such as POPSUGAR, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed, The Balance, TripSavvy, and more. When she's…
No more crouching down: How to build a raised garden bed with legs for easy gardening
Building a raised garden bed is easier than you might think
Several raised garden beds with legs, full of soil and small plants

Raised garden beds offer a wide range of benefits to you and your plants, including protection from some pests, easier access, and space conservation. Gardening kits and pre-made beds can be a big help in getting your raised garden bed set up, but if you want a unique shape or size, or just prefer a more hands-on approach to gardening, then you might be interested in learning how to build your own. Here is everything you need to know about how to build a raised garden bed with legs.

What to consider before you begin
Before you begin building your raised garden bed with legs, there are a few things to consider. Weigh the pros and cons of raised garden beds to determine if this is the right gardening style for you. Raised garden beds are easier to access without kneeling and crouching, but they also dry out faster, meaning they require more frequent watering. Additionally, although building your own raised garden bed with legs is not difficult, it does still require an investment of time, energy, and resources.

Read more
When should you fertilize your azaleas? What you need to know
A complete guide to fertilizing azaleas
An azalea bush with pink flowers

Azaleas are a popular flowering shrub, and for good reason! This native flowering shrub is known for its stunning flowers and ability to thrive in acidic soil that many other plants won't grow in. As far as shrubs grow, azaleas have a low-maintenance care routine, but some gardeners struggle with fertilizing them.

If you're wondering when do you fertilize azaleas, then this guide is for you! Figuring out when the best time to fertilize your azaleas is and what kind of fertilizer to get can be a chore. So let us do it for you! In this handy guide, we’ll lay out the factors that go into determining the best time to fertilize your azaleas and include a few tips for picking out a good fertilizer.

Read more
This is when – and why – you should scalp your Bermuda grass
What to know about scalping your lawn
A person mowing the lawn with a black push mower

To those who are unfamiliar with warm-season grasses, scalping may sound like something to avoid. However, heat-loving lawns actually benefit from the occasional aggressive mowing. When done at the right time of year, and in the right way, scalping is as helpful to the lawn as fertilizer or irrigation. Scalping your Bermuda grass can prevent future problems and improve its overall health when done correctly. To learn how and when to scalp Bermuda grass, keep reading!

Scalping a lawn
Only Bermuda grass and zoysia grass should be scalped annually. This aggressive treatment will damage or kill most other lawn grasses, so avoid the temptation to experiment. Bermuda grass and zoysia grass are resilient warm-weather grasses that can withstand more intense care routines.

Read more