The Raised Bed is an ideal addition to any garden, perfect for growing tasty vegatables or fruit. Made from pressure treated timber to protect against rot & moisture to ensure a long lasting product.
DIMENSIONS:
Large: 220mm (H) x 1195mm (W) x 1195mm (D) / weight: 21kg
NOTE: THIS ITEM IS SOLD FLAT PACKED, SOME ASSEMBLY IS REQUIRED
* Assembly is very easy. Parts simply slot together - no equipment or screws required!
Information on Raised Bed Gardening:
Raised bed vegetable gardening is becoming more popular than ever before with increasing numbers of people growing their own food, especially in urban vegetable gardens. Raised beds lend themselves particularly well to the Irish climate which, as we well know, can be rather inclement at times! Using planters raised above the level of the surrounding soil allows them to drain much better which is important in Northern Europe areas with high rainfall can be a problem.
A well drained vegetable plot has a number of advantages particularly in the early and late ends of the season and for over Winter growing. Saturated soil should not be worked as structure is damaged; this is often the case in early Spring when you want to work amendments like manure into the soil. The improved drainage in a raised bed garden means your soil will remain workable for a longer period than traditional vegetable plots.
Drainage is also a consideration when growing overwintering crops like garlic or winter onions as a wet soil will cause them to rot in the ground. A drained raised planter will also give you more options for leaving root crops in the ground over Winter and allows you to harvest when needed; this is especially handy for crops like parsnips which become sweeter if exposed to frost.
There are a number of reasons why raised vegetable beds are so popular but I think the main one has to be that they are so much easier to manage for someone trying to fit vegetable growing into a busy schedule. Here are a number of reasons why we like raised garden beds so much:
They protect your soil from traffic
Raised beds ensure the soil doesnt get compacted by walking on the soil. A light, friable soil is easy for roots to grow into resulting in bigger root systems and stronger vegetable plants. Sowing and planting is easier with quicker plant establishment while weeding your beds is less work as weed roots are easily removed in the loose earth.
You choose your soil. Many gardens have shallow soil of poor quality which wont be sufficient to feed demanding vegetable plants. Vegetable gardening requires a very fertile soil which can be built using garden compost, manure and other organic additives which can be used very efficiently in the enclosed space of a raised bed.
They are easier to manage. Youll have less trouble with encroaching weeds and slugs from the surrounding area especially if using a gravel surround. The extra height also makes weeding a raised bed much more comfortable as bending is reduced. If you are someone with reduced mobility the extra height of the beds also makes vegetable gardening accessible especially with our waist high VegTrug.
They are neat and tidy. If youre growing in your back garden you dont want to ruin your view with an untidy plot. Raised vegetable beds create a neat and easy to manage growing area. A raised bed garden looks fantastic when fully planted while producing lots of delicious vegetables and is a great addition to your garden design.
They warm quicker in Spring. Raised beds will warm quicker than the surrounding soil in Springtime from the heat of the sun on the sides of the bed. This allows you to get going a little earlier as growing depends more on soil temperature in the bed than the air temperature outside. Early Spring warming is especially important in Ireland where the weather can be against us in the early part of the year.
Raised beds aid growth. The rich deep soil means you will get more vigorous growth from your vegetable plants and in many cases can plant at closer spacings making a small area more productive. Closer planting also means weeds are suppressed and moisture is conserved as less soil is exposed to the sun which also reduces evaporation.
Raised beds are ideally suited to square foot vegetable gardening
Square foot gardening is a technique made popular by American engineer Mel Bartholomew in the 1980s and revolves around splitting your growing space into a grid of 1 square foot blocks. You plant a certain number of each vegetable in your blocks depending on the planting distance required. Square foot gardening is well suited to Irish urban areas where space is at a premium due its intensive nature.
Raised vegetable beds are a key component of the SFG system as you need a deep bed of very fertile soil to support such intensive planting . Also the grid system is much easier to implement when the sides of the bed (recommended to be 4ft bx 4ft or 6ft x 4ft) are fixed and rigid. Grids can then be made using garden twine or timber laths.
Why we supply and use Wooden Raised Beds in our vegetable garden
We prefer using timber raised beds for vegetables as the wooden sides give a more natural look than plastic and are quicker and more cost effective than building raised beds from brick or block.
Where to place your Timber Raised Beds
If you have decided raised vegetable beds are for you and are new to vegetable growing its worth taking some time to work out the best place to put your new garden.
The ideal is a South facing garden with at least 6 hours of sunlight per day to grow the broadest variety of crops but we understand that this is not always possible, especially in urban gardens. Dont worry if you dont have the full 6 hours of sun as you can still grow plenty of fresh vegetables, you will just need to be more select with your choices.
Before you place your vegetable planters keep an eye on your garden for a couple of days to get an idea of how much sunlight the garden gets during the day. The part that gets the most sun is the best place for growing vegetables.
