Creating A Raised Bed

If your current planting goals involve plants that’s require good water drainage, I am sure you know how frustrating it is to have a yard that just won’t cooperate. Some plants can handle the excess water that happens from being in an area that doesn’t drain properly. In fact, it may just cause them to bloom more lushly. However, other plants don’t cope as well, and it will make them die a gruesome, bloated death. You should always ascertain about the drainage needed for every plant you buy, and make certain that it will not conflict with any of the areas you are thinking about planting it in. You can keep from over watering by using water timers or a garden hose soaker.

In order to try how much water your designated patch of soil will retain, dig a hole approximately ten ins deep. Fill it with water, and come back in a day when all the water had disappeared. Fill it back up again. If the 2nd hole full of water isn’t gone in 10 hours, your soil has a low saturation point. This implies that when water soaks into it, it will stick around for a long while before dissipating. This is unacceptable for nearly any plant, and you are going to need to do something to treat it if you want your plants to survive.

The usual method for improving drainage in your garden is to create a raised bed. This requires creating a border for a tiny bed, and adding enough soil and compost to it to raise it above the remainder of the yard by at least 5 inches. You’ll be dumbfounded at how much your water drainage will be improved by this small modification. If you are intending to create a raised bed, your prospective area is either on grass or on dirt. For each of these instances, you should build it slightly differently.

If you want to start a raised garden in a non grassy area, you won’t have much trouble. Just find some kind of border to keep the dirt you may be adding. I’ve learned that there’s little that works quite in addition to a few two by fours. After you’ve made the wall, you must put in the correct amount soil and steer manure. Depending on how long you plan to wait before planting, you will need to adjust the ratio to permit any deteriorating that might occur.

If you’re trying to install a raised bed where sod already exists, you will have a somewhat more difficult time. You will need to cut the sod around the perimeter of the garden, and flip it over. This can sound simple, but you will need something with a very sharp edge to slice the edges of the sod and get under it. Once you have turned it all upside down, it is better to add a layer of straw to discourage the grass from growing back up. After the layer of straw, simply add all the soil and steer manure that a regular garden would need.

Planting your plants in your new area should not pose much trouble. It is basically the same process as your usual planting session. Just be sure that the roots don’t degree too far into the original ground level. The whole point of creating the raised bed is to keep the roots out of the soil which saturates easily. Having long roots that extend that far completely destroys the point.

Once you have plants in your new bed, you’ll notice an almost immediate improvement. The added soil facilitates better root development. Simultaneously, evaporation is prevented and decomposition is discouraged. All of these things added together makes for an ideal environment for almost any plant to grow in. So don’t be intimidated by the thought of adjusting the very topography of your yard. It is an easy process as I’m sure you’ve realized, and the long term results are worthwhile every bit of work.