Tips For Raised Bed Gardening Soil And Plants

By Graham Doherty

When you're through with building a garden bed, be sure to congratulate yourself because now that your garden is set in place you can start raised bed gardening. It may be a bit empty now, but through this article you can begin the fun part.

Use the proper soil, water properly and maintain your plants and keep them healthy, and you'll have a beautiful yard, with your raised bed gardening as a delightful focal point.

The pH Levels Of Your Soil

Obviously, your first task is to level your raised bed garden with some quality soil. One great combination is to use a mixture of one quarter yard soil and three quarters of sand and compost. This should provide a great starting point in your garden. Test your soil's pH levels too. If the alkaline is overkill, nothing will end up growing.

Weed Killing

The structure of your raised bed should make weeds a minor annoyance, but sometimes bad luck will strike. Put mulch of an organic sort over the top of your bed. This can help cut down on weeds drastically, without introducing potentially harmful chemicals.

If that doesn't work, try products for weed guarding to make sure those pesky weeds stay away. If this still doesn't stop them, don't worry too much. They're simple to get rid of, and remember gardening is ongoing work. There are going to be setbacks occasionally.

Reasonable Watering

Overdoing the water is just as harmful as starving your plants, because long periods of wetness can help promote disease and general bad health in your garden. Do your watering by hand, keeping the water on the areas in which the plants are buried, but not straying to the surrounding areas.

If you'd rather not bore yourself, buy an advanced irrigation system with drip technology to keep water even and of a good quantity - and of course in autopilot while you sleep.

Take Care Of Your Raised Bed

Though raised bed gardening actually requires little maintenance, there are still things you have to stay on top of as a gardener. First, obviously you need to water your plants as necessary, being careful not to overdo it. Next, try turning the soil over periodically, adding in new organic matter as you go.

In the event that disease gets a foothold in your garden, empty the bed and replace the soil with all new soil/compost/sand mixture and reseat your plants. It's also important to keep an eye on your garden and make sure it's not tipping over time.

Raised bed gardening is a simple form of gardening that allows people with little or no experience to indulge themselves in a beautiful accessory for their lawn that will attract attention for years.

By following the tips above, you'll keep your garden beautiful and secure -- for the plants and you, as the owner. - 29857

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