Tips for Maintaining Your Raised Garden Beds

Many gardening hobbyists understand the struggles of keeping your raised garden beds healthy. From keeping critters away, killing pesky weeds, and maintaining healthy soil levels, maintaining raised beds is no simple task. Landscaper John Bohonyi gives us his best tips on maximizing the health of your garden beds.

#1 Pick The Right Location

It might seem like a no-brainer, but choosing the right location for your raised beds will make a world of difference. Check the sunlight requirements of the plants you want to plant and group them together based on their sunlight needs. This way, you can see how many plants might need to go in a sunnier raised bed and how many plants might need to go somewhere shadier. You also want to keep in mind your proximity to wildlife and a water source, too.

#2 Protect Your Beds

One of the easiest and often overlooked steps you can take to maintain a healthy garden bed is to protect it with proper lining and fencing. By lining the bottom of the bed with landscaping fabric or other natural material you can encourage healthy insect and bacteria behavior in your beds. Avoid plastic which may not absorb water properly and disrupt the natural ecosystem in the soil. If you’re growing fruits and vegetables you might want to use wire fencing material to discourage animals from venturing into your garden and stealing some of your hard-earned produce.

#3 Check The Soil

Most crops thrive at different Ph levels, so it’s a good idea to check your soil’s Ph levels regularly. Group plants together by their Ph needs to make finding the right soil and filling the garden bed a bit easier. It’s also a good idea to rotate your crops after their harvest season and fertilize regularly to maintain key nutrients in the soil.