Raised Beds – Instant garden that you can control

Digging an existing piece of ground can be like going to the gym for the first time. The preparation can be backbreaking, with rocks, stones, and weeds up to your ears and over, and after all the sweat and aching muscles, the soil might not be brilliant.  I had this experience recently with a piece of junk-filled jungle in the garden.

I had put off digging over a weed and stone-infested patch for a couple of years and eventually, the bullet had to be bitten.  So I chickened out and took an easier route…or so I thought.  I built three raised beds using wooden decking planks, cut to size, and screwed in a frame. By the time I had finished, I was a broken man, but it was so worth it. 

The great thing about a raised bed is that you have total control over the soil quality and know exactly what quality you are planting into.  I constructed the three raised beds with narrow paths in between to make it easy to plant, harvest, and dig out weeds in the future.  To keep it maintenance-free I lined the small paths with weed-free mesh with a layer of bark over the top – easy, quick, and very effective. 

If you would rather buy ready-made raised beds there are plenty available on the market. It is an easier option as cutting and screwing pieces of wood together is not for everybody.