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9 Gardening Mistakes You May Make with Raised Garden Beds
Do you know many gardening methods? Gone are the days when you had to plant everything in the field. Now you can grow in containers, raised garden beds, vertical gardens, etc!
However, every gardening method will encounter obstacles that you must overcome. Garden beds gardening has become one of the popular gardening methods in recent years. Gardeners make some common mistakes when using this method. I will share these mistakes with you and tell you how to avoid them.
The following are common mistakes in gardening with raised garden beds.
- Built in the wrong location
Sometimes people become obsessed with the appearance of things and forget their requirements for functions. Garden beds sometimes fall into this category.
Although there may be a place in your yard where your garden looks the best, it may not be the best place for your garden.
How to avoid this error:
When planning the location of the raised garden bed, you must consider the needs of most plants. As a general rule, most plants like plenty of sunshine.
Therefore, you should place the raised garden bed in a sunny area. In your yard, a flat place can also help.
- The garden bed is too close
In the early days of my gardening, I was a person who built before thinking. This explains why my first greenhouse could not even install a wheelbarrow between the beds inside.
Don't do like that. Instead, take the time to plan your garden beds and consider the location of each bed.
How to avoid this error:
If your garden bed is too close, you will have no room for manoeuvre. You need to be able to work comfortably in one bed without being cramped by another.
You should also be able to comfortably install a wheelbarrow between all beds. Think about what you do in the garden and map the garden bed at the same time, making sure you can perform each task comfortably.
- Skip the cover
Coverings are not fun. I will be the first person to admit this. When trying to apply it, it is expensive and heavy. I know it feels like a must in gardening.
However, the impulse to refuse to skip it. Coverings are important to your garden, and they do more than make it look good.
How to avoid this error:
When you garden on a raised garden bed, you have many advantages. You can control the soil content, which also helps prevent many threats to the garden.
However, you are using limited soil. Therefore, you need mulch to help plants retain moisture. Otherwise, you will be forced to water more frequently than expected.
- The bed is too large
When designing a garden bed, you must consider the function rather than anything else. Therefore, avoid the urge to "get bigger" when building these beds.
This may sound counter intuitive because you want to plant more plants in your garden. However, you should not do anything at the expense of functionality.
How to avoid this error:
As a general rule, when building a garden bed, you should be able to stretch from one side of the bed to the other side of the bed.
If you have to stand in the middle of the bed to look after the plants, your garden bed will not work properly.
- The bed is not near the water source
I have been back to aesthetics, but if you are looking for the first reason why people do the most meaningless things, it is usually because they are considering what looks best around their property.
So skip where you think the bed looks best and start looking at your water source because your garden bed needs water.
How to avoid this error:
In most cases, you don't want to water your garden by hand. Therefore, you must consider where your water source is.
You should also consider the length of the pipe and the watering system style you will use. All of this should affect where you decide to place the raised garden bed.
- Ignore threats
One of the most common reasons why gardens of any type fail is because threats come to the area and they are not found.
The same can happen in a raised garden bed garden. Keep alert to these problems, or your efforts may be futile.
How to avoid this error:
When planting any type of plant, you must know what threats they face. This involves pests and diseases.
It is important to know what they look like and how to treat them if found out. By mastering the problems in the garden, you can provide greater opportunities for your plants to thrive.
- Ignorance of materials
This mistake will vary according to opinions. There are many ways to build garden beds. Which materials you choose will depend on your feelings and budget.
However, it is important to weigh your choices and understand the pros and cons of each garden bed style.
How to avoid this error:
If you use untreated wood, it rots more easily. If you use treated wood, some people worry that chemicals will be absorbed into the ground and soil.
There are some types of untreated wood, such as cedar, which seem to be resistant to corrosion and durable, suitable for elevated beds. You can also build garden beds with concrete blocks to avoid decay and chemicals.
Metal garden bed is also a good choice
- Do not use high-quality soil
In addition to aesthetics, one of the most common reasons gardeners choose this gardening style is better control of the soil.
It is easier to modify the soil in a smaller space. The raised garden bed can also be filled with any type of soil you want. This is the obvious advantage of this gardening method.
How to avoid this error:
When gardening on a raised garden bed, you can control which type of soil you choose to grow plants on. Be sure to use high-quality soil.
Your soil should be light, fluffy and well drained. These qualities will ensure that your plants have room to expand their roots and prevent them from living in continuously wet conditions.
- Wrong plants
The last mistake people make when gardening on raised garden beds is choosing the wrong plants. When choosing a gardening method, you must consider what you are planting.
Every plant is not suitable for every style of gardening. Consider all of these factors before exploring garden bed gardening.
How to avoid this error:
A courtyard variety with many plants. These are great choices when choosing what to plant on your garden bed.
However, you may want to avoid larger plants, such as large pumpkins or watermelon varieties. Such crops are difficult to check, and they will take up too much space on your bed. Smaller, compact plants are the best choice for this gardening method.
We discussed nine different mistakes that gardeners often make when choosing to garden on elevated beds.
Before choosing this gardening style, make a note of each error and its solution. Although the raised garden bed gardening may require more investment, it is still fully functional and looks great.