Select ratingGive Raised Bed Gardens and Small Plots 1/5Give Raised Bed Gardens and Small Plots 2/5Give Raised Bed Gardens and Small Plots 3/5Give Raised Bed Gardens and Small Plots 4/5Give Raised Bed Gardens and Small Plots 5/5Cancel rating Plan Your Perfect Garden. How to Build a Raised Garden BedHow to Build a Raised Vegetable...Garden Planning for BeginnersVegetable Gardening for BeginnersLandscaping for Low MaintenanceStrategic Moves: Tips for Easier...Flowers to Plant in Vegetable...The Water-Wise GardenCoping with Drought3 Garden Planning Mistakes to AvoidThe popularity and ease of growing vegetables in raised beds has convinced many new green thumbs to get out there and try to grow some veggies. Raised beds are a favorite among gardeners for many reasons. For starters, the soil can be catered to your needs, as you will be filling your beds rather than using what's already available. The soil in these beds is never stepped on, which means it never becomes compacted.
This allows it to drain excess water out quickly. The soil in these beds also warms more quickly in the spring, giving you a longer growing season. Raised beds are wonderful for growing almost anything, but there are some real stars that rise above the rest. Let's take a look at the five best vegetables for raised beds. Root vegetables are perfect for raised beds. Carrots, beets, radishes and parsnips flourish in the loose, rock-free soil where they have space to spread out. When you’re growing plants for their roots, it’s important to have complete control over the soil. Raised beds can be filled with the perfect soil to suit your needs; free of rocks, clay and debris that could hinder the growth of roots or cause misshapen veggies. Greens such as lettuce, spinach and kale perform marvelously in raised beds. These cool weather crops need to be planted just as soon as you can get a trowel into your soil. The fact that soil in raised beds warms more quickly than the ground means you can get started earlier with these crops and get several great harvests before summer hits.
Another reason that leafy greens are perfect for raised beds is they despise soggy roots. The quick draining soil in your beds means your lovely lettuces will never have to stand in the water for too long. There are three reasons that onions are the perfect vegetable to grow in raised beds. They love quick draining soil, they need plenty of organic matter, and they require a long growing season. By nature, the soil in raised beds can be catered to your needs, so if you know you’ll be planting onions in the bed, you can be sure to incorporate plenty of compost. Onions grown from seeds can take over 100 days to reach maturity. If you live anywhere with four seasons, you'll want to give these babies the longest time in the garden you can manage. The soil in a raised bed warms up much more quickly than the ground, so you can plant earlier, giving your onions a headstart. Tomatoes are heavy feeders that need nutrient-dense soil to thrive. With a raised bed you can easily customize your soil to your needs, adding in extra compost as you fill the beds.
The only downside to growing tomatoes in raised beds is it's harder for tomato cages and stakes to stand up in the loose soil. Potatoes not only grow well in a raised bed, they are also much easier to harvest this way. These plants benefit from hilling soil around the shoots as they grow. In a raised bed you can easily contain your hills, and even create a bed that you can add to as your plants grow. Potatoes need loose, loamy soil that drains well. They grow best when they are able to easily spread out in the soil, and this loose soil will keep them from rotting. In a raised bed you have the benefit of complete control over the soil. Potato crops grown in raised beds tend to have higher yields with bigger tubers. These are just some of the crops that will grow well in a raised bed. While these are the crops that will grow most easily, with careful planning you can also have success with growing vining crops vertically on trellises. Now that you know what your raised bed is capable of, get out there and get your hands in the dirt!
Learn How to Build a Beautiful Raised-Bed GardenSign up for the Craftsy class Building a Raised-Bed Garden, presented in partnership with Lowe’s, and enjoy expert instruction & HD video lessons. Chickens Community Gardening Composting Container Gardening Cool Season Gardening Edible Landscaping Fertilizing Garden Planning Gardening Basics Gardening to Save Money Growing Techniques Harvesting Heirloom Vegetables Herbs How-To Projects New Gardeners Organic and Sustainable Peppers Planting Plans - Containers Planting Plans - Raised Beds Preserving Your Harvest Problem Solving Quirks Raised Beds Soil & Soil Building Step-by-Step Planting Strawberries Timing & Seasonal Tomatoes Urban Gardening Warm Season Gardening Watering An Herb Garden for Chickens There are lots of culinary herbs that have wonderful health benefits for your chickens and can enhance both their diet and environment. You can fit a wonderful selection of these plants into a 4×4 raised bed quite easily. They’ll grow quite companionably side by side (in either full sun or part shade), creating not only a beautiful-looking garden, but also one with herbal ‘henefits’.
4 x 4-foot Chiles Rellenos Garden Give your next batch of chiles rellenos — a classic Mexican dish starring roasted, stuffed poblanos often served in tomato sauce or salsa — a super-fresh flavor boost with ingredients picked from your very own garden. All you need is a little bit of space and you can grow all the poblanos, tomatoes, oregano, and… 4 x 4-foot Butterfly Garden A garden filled with butterflies is one happy-making place. Not only are these winged wonders beautiful to watch, but they help perform the crucial task of pollination that leads to a bountiful harvest. Parsley, both curled and flat Italian, and dill serve as food while they’re in the caterpillar stage, then the colorful flowers on… 4 x 4-foot Cajun Garden Whether you’re itching to fill your big kitchen pot with gumbo, jambalaya, or another classic Cajun entree, it’ll never taste fresher and better than when the ingredients come from your very own garden. Plant in spring after your last frost date, then start dreaming about the flavorful dishes you’ll soon be serving to friends and…
4 x 4-foot Tabbouleh Garden Tabbouleh (or tabouli) is a Middle Eastern staple, and for good reason. The colorful, refreshing combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, and onion make for a delicious salad dish that will perk up any lunch or dinner table. Plant this garden in spring after your last frost date, and choose tomato and cucumber varieties that grow… 4 x 4-foot Tea Garden There are few things more relaxing than a steaming mug of hot tea – and even better when that tea is brewed from freshly picked herbs from your very own garden. Bee balm, lemon balm, lemon verbena, and lavender all taste wonderful when steeped in hot water — and let’s not forget mint! Fiery 4 x 4 Grilling Garden Vegetables go great on the grill, either for a side dish or as the main event. Veggies that hold up to the heat include eggplant, squash, peppers, and onions. Cherry tomatoes also make a nice addition to skewers. Plant these veggies in a 4 x 4 garden for grill-ready ingredients all summer!
Cirque du Jardin: 4 x 4-foot Garden Bonnie Plants and P. Allen Smith recently challenged a few of the garden world’s greenest thumbs for our first Garden2Blog Design contest. To add to our popular 4×4 raised bed designs, entries were judged on use of edibles, creativity, and overall design. In this children’s garden, Carri Stokes and her five-year-old daughter, Alex, take inspiration… Vegetables for the Shade: 4 x 4-foot GardenIn this 4×4 garden, Shawna Coronado touts the benefits of growing leafy greens… Spring Bouquet: 4 x 4-foot GardenIn this 4×4 garden, Brenda Haas shows her affection for beautiful blooms and… Munchkin Garden: 4 x4-foot GardenSteve Bender’s winning plan provides “small plants with small fruits for small people.” Hot and Sweet 4 x 4-foot Pickling Garden Pickled sweet peppers, pickled hot peppers, pickled cucumbers—this garden is designed especially for you pickle lovers! Dill and onions round out your favorite pickling recipes.
Plant this garden in late spring after your last frost date as cucumbers and peppers need warm weather to grow. If you want to expand your garden, place two 4… Heirloom Tomato 4 x 4-foot Garden Variety is the spice of life, so why not spice up your tomato garden with a selection of heirloom tomato varieties? Heirlooms are known for their unique colors and flavors. Plant this garden in late spring after your last frost date, and choose the heirloom varieties that are available and grow best in your area…. Fresh Tomato and Pesto 4 x 4-foot Garden When you have fresh tomatoes and basil, you can create amazingly simple and satisfying summer meals, like pesto and tomato pizza. But basil isn’t the only herb for pesto. Add oregano and parsley to spice things up. Plant this garden in late spring after your last frost date as tomatoes and basil need warm weather…. 4 x 4-foot Homemade Salsa Garden Make your own salsa using fresh ingredients from this planting plan.
Plant yours with two tomatoes, or try tomatillos for salsa verde. Onions, cilantro, and peppers round out the sweet and spicy Latin flavors. If you want to expand your garden, place two 4 x 4 beds symmetrical on either side of a 3 to… Easy and Tasty 4 x 4-foot Kids’ Garden Children will love planting and caring for the special, kid-friendly plants in this 4 x 4-foot kids vegetable garden plan. The mix feature kid-sized vegetables—small-fruited peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes—and herbs that attract caterpillars, butterflies, and hummingbirds, as well as adventurous children, with their flowers and fragrance. You and your child should be able to harvest… Gourmets’ 4 x 4-foot Mediterranean Garden Mediterranean cuisine highlights fresh vegetables and savory, fragrant herbs. This bed gives you those fresh Mediterranean ingredients, no matter where you live. Roma tomatoes are perfect for making tomato sauce. Plant your Mediterranean vegetable garden in late spring to harvest the tomatoes, onions, and eggplant in summer.
If you want to expand your garden, place… Fast and Fresh 4 x 4-foot Pizza Garden Pizza tops everyone’s list as a favorite food. Why not have the fresh ingredients in your garden? You can make a healthy pizza faster than delivery! This planting plan includes a mix of Italian herbs along with peppers and Roma tomatoes, the best variety for making pizza sauce. If you want to expand your garden,… Sweet and Spicy 4 x 4-foot Pepper Garden Peppers are one of the easiest and most fun plants to grow in a summer garden, and many plants will keep producing right up to the first frost. This planting plan includes a mix of sweet and hot peppers, with plenty of options for changing up the mix based on your taste and plant availability…. Fresh and Handy 4 x 4-foot Herb Garden Fresh herbs elevate every home-cooked meal. Keep a collection of your favorite herbs handy in a 4 x 4 bed. Plant this herb garden plan in spring and enjoy through summer and fall. You’ll be surprised with how much you’ll harvest from a small, but well-tended space.