Type of Garden Suitable for Your Space: Containers, Raised Garden Beds, Raised Rows, and More

Once you decide what you want to plant, consider where and how. Here is an overview of some of the most popular gardening methods that will help you plan your garden this year. This article mainly introduces the underground garden bed, the raised row, the ground garden bed: the raised garden beds and the straw bag, the container garden and the container gardening skills, etc

Underground garden beds

The most traditional garden consists of a simple underground garden bed, which is a piece of land where the soil has been excavated and the rocks, roots and weeds have been removed. Plants grow directly underground.

Underground gardening is usually cheaper than other methods because it does not require any additional building materials. In addition, if your existing soil is good enough, you may not need to spend money on additional loam or compost to modify it. (Although we recommend mixing some high-quality compost or aged feces into the bed anyway, because it will increase the fertility of the soil.

The disadvantage of underground gardening is that creating and maintaining an underground garden bed can take a lot of time and effort, depending on where you place it and how you build it.

Raised Row

This technology is essentially a mixture of traditional underground gardening and elevated beds. It combines the simplicity of the ground bed with the better soil structure of the elevated bed, while avoiding the time and energy required to maintain the ground bed and the cost of building the elevated bed.

A raised row is exactly what it sounds like: a raised area of soil and other organic materials (such as compost, crushed leaves, mulch, or straw) forms a row or hill. The idea of the raised row is to build a fertile and healthy soil pile, which will continuously decompose and strengthen the entire gardening space. Compare it with an elevated bed where the soil never leaves the enclosed area.

This method can be completed on the existing garden bed, lawn or other land. If you have rocks, poor soil, or just don't have time or materials to build a real elevated bed, consider using raised rows!

Garden bed on the ground: raised garden bed and straw bag

Raised garden beds

Over the years, gardening with raised garden beds has become increasingly popular - for good reason! The raised garden bed is essentially a large bottomless container located at the top of the ground. It is usually a wood, stone or concrete frame built according to your specifications, placed in a sunny place and filled with high-quality soil.

The raised garden bed has many advantages. For example, a raised garden bed for gardening

It is an ideal choice for soil with many rocks or poor quality

It is very suitable for small spaces that need to restrict plants

Reduce weeds and pests

Prevent water runoff

Improve yield by achieving better drainage and deep roots

Can eliminate bending or stretching to the ground

Longer growing season when used in combination with the row cover

Make daily garden work easier on your back and knees

Straw bale

In straw bale gardening, plants are directly planted in a bale of straw. Straw bale is not only the container of plants, but also their growth medium. The tight structure of the straw bale provides support for the root system. As the straw decomposes over time, the straw bale provides nutrients for plants throughout the growing season.

With proper preparation and care, strawberries, tomatoes, pumpkins and other foods will thrive in the straw. Carefully select the permanent position of the bundle; Once placed, the wet bale is heavy and difficult to move.

The secret of the straw bale garden is to condition the new bales for 12 to 18 days before planting. This involves keeping the bales wet and fertilized to start the decomposition process.

Container Garden

No plot? Get a pot! Lack of yard space is not a reason not to plant things. As more and more people live in apartments, planting plants in containers such as planting bags, baskets or traditional flower pots has become more popular than ever.

Containers give you great control over growth conditions, because you can customize care to whatever you are planting. For example, you can move containers into and out of the sun, water them when necessary, and control containers is also a good way to avoid soil borne diseases and pests.

Container gardening skills

Healthy plants need a lot of space, and most roots need space to grow. For this reason, when it comes to containers, the larger the better. Here are some other important things to consider:

Anything with soil can support a garden. Use buckets (wooden half buckets can produce amazing amounts of food), buckets, baskets, boxes, bathtubs and other bathtubs, planting bags or tanks. As long as there are drain holes at the bottom of any container, the soil will not be flooded.

Plastic flower pots will not dry as quickly as unglazed clay, while black flower pots will absorb heat when sitting in the sun, which can also dry the soil faster. Cloth planting bags also dry faster, but they also allow for better air exchange at the root of the plant.

The basket makes full use of the extra space. Herbs, cherry tomatoes, or strawberries grown at eye level can be easily tended and harvested. A large window frame can provide fresh salad at your fingertips.

Regardless of their size or type, please place the container in the place where it is most convenient for you to care and where the plants grow best. Most vegetables need 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight to thrive and produce well.

Place the dish under the flowerpot to collect runoff or rainwater and protect the deck or other surfaces. Remember to drain the water to avoid drowning your plants.

Don't use the soil in the yard or garden to fill the flowerpot: it is too heavy and may be flooded, bringing disease and insects. Instead, choose a prepared pot mixture, aged compost from local sources, or a soilless mixture combined with organic matter.

In order to grow normally, most vegetables need continuously moist soil. The wind and warmth absorb water from the leaves of plants to dry them, so many plants must be watered twice a day. Consider using a self watering container with a tank at the bottom that can deliver water to dry soil as needed.

To keep potted plants cool and moist, place a small flowerpot in a larger flowerpot, fill the space between them with peat moss or crumpled newspapers, and place them in two pots. When watering the plants, soak the stuffing between the flowerpots. Moist packing acts as insulation.