Raised Beds Raise Crop Yield

In praise of raised beds I find I get more veg and salad with a raised bed. Not only that but with careful siting I can access the raised bed with less bending – good news for a creaky old gardener.

Types of Raised Bed

• Pre-formed wooden boards or plastic are easy to assemble and long lasting. The photo above shows how the boards have lifted the base above the surrounding soil.
• The photo then shows how woven willow is used to hold a pile of soil as a raised bed for Daffodils.
• You can build a permanent wall of stone or breeze blocks, then fill it with good compost and manure.
• If you use your own boards or planks support the lower side with long pegs driven into the ground so the raised soil doesn’t push the board over. I made my pegs from 1-2″ diameter tree prunings.

Raised beds are available from Thompson Morgan in several styles. I like the idea of the mini-grow bed that can be moved when not in season.