April 15 Valley Life Column

April 15 Valley Life Column in AG Weekly

Raised beds have their advantages

As I write this column, it is raining. I know we need the moisture and I welcome the rain, but the gardener in me is eager to be outdoors. My vegetable seeds are already sorted and my potatoes, usually in the ground by now, sit in the sack as I wait for the ground to dry out enough to plant.

A few years ago, I started planting my vegetables in raised beds. My motive was simple. The older I got, the harder it was to reach the ground. Raised beds seemed the answer. I didn't have to stoop over so far to plant and weed my garden.

In essence, I was being lazy, but since then, I've discovered there are many advantages to raised-bed gardening. I can do all my gardening from the garden path, and not in the garden itself. My plants seem happier and weeding is easier since the soil isn't compacted from walking between the rows of vegetables. Since the soil in the raised beds warms up faster than the surrounding ground, I can plant earlier in the spring and extend my season by covering the beds in the fall. And, since every inch of the raised garden bed can be planted, I increase my productivity per square garden foot.

But there are also disadvantages to raised-bed gardening. I have to water more often and maintain the wooden frames holding up my garden beds. Sprawling plants like pumpkin and cucumber need a place to crawl and if I don't trellis them early, they soon outgrow the beds. And, because my beds are small, it's almost impossible to rototill them, which means I have to turn the soil with a shovel every spring.

As far as I'm concerned the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and I will plant my garden in raised beds again this year, that is, if it ever stops raining.