How Raised Garden Beds Make Growing Veggies At Home Easier For Anyone

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Envisioning a reality filled with homegrown produce? Growing your own vegetables is a rewarding way to embrace a fresher approach in the kitchen. While it may seem difficult to get started, you actually don't need endless acres of land. Instead? Invest in a raised garden bed.

These containers can be permanently fixed but are usually sold as mobile fixtures. This means you can (quite literally) put them anywhere, from a driveway to a garden or a rooftop terrace to a balcony. Rather than being tied to wherever you have soil, these beds open up new possibilities and allow you to place your veggies in sunnier spots. Learning how to start an edible garden is a valuable skill, and portable beds are an easy hack for incorporating flexible growth space. Just head to your nearest garden center or purchase them online, like these Land Guards Galvanized Beds or even this Best Choice Products Mobile Raised Garden Bed.

Budget between $30 and $120, with the top-end products rocking extra features like wheels and greenhouse-style roofing. Be mindful of screening out any beds without adequate drainage too, as there should be a proper lining to retain soil without clinging to excess water. Raised beds are great for reducing bending and overcoming the difficulty of waterlogged (especially clay-heavy) garden soils. However, having drainage installed is a prerequisite for success. Technical stuff aside, securing your raised beds means you're all set to start selecting the simplest summer veggies to grow at home.

With raised beds ready and waiting, the next step is filling them. However, there is an elimination process you need to be aware of here: not all produce is well-suited to these small spaces. For instance, avoid pumpkins, which demand more space than a raised bed provides. Luckily, less than 5% of people think this vegetable is worth growing at home, so you're not missing out too much. Instead? Look for smaller options, like onions, tomatoes, carrots, and parsnips. Additionally, anything permanent, like rhubarb, benefits from great year-round drainage (winter is a nightmare for ground plants because of waterlogged conditions). Herbs also thrive when raised, with chives, oregano, parsley, and thyme all strong contenders.

For those feeling savvy, invest in vertical growth spaces, like beans and peas on canes. Moving these may be more awkward, but it's an excellent way of yielding a larger (and simpler) harvest with minimal floor space. Above all, factor in your taste preferences. It sounds obvious, but if you don't like it, you won't eat it. It's best not to gamble on home-grown produce. Growing vegetables requires genuine commitment, and it's a demanding process to endure only to turn your nose up at the final result. When it comes to what you put in your home garden, let your taste buds lead.