Raised garden beds will add a new dimension to any gardening experience. Garden beds that are raised are quite useful for the gardener with a limited amount of space; they are also perfect for those who are disabled, suffer from arthritis, or the elderly. These raised garden beds can be built at a suitable level that will help reduce the aches and pains caused by bending over or kneeling at a plot on the ground.

Urban gardening has exploded in popularity recently due an awareness of food safety, the stresses of our financial economy, and a desire to be eco-friendly. Even if you only have a postage stamp sized backyard, you can set up small raised beds on your patio or backporch in order to grow vegetables, herbs, ornamental plants, or beautiful flowers.

Plants will usually grow better in elevated garden beds than they do in regular beds because soil compaction does not usually happen and they permit better drainage. Raised garden beds have a tendency to get warm faster in the spring and stay warm longer during the fall which can mean a longer growing season. Because the soil in these garden beds is raised above ground level, it allows the sun and air to warm it up faster. This allows for planting earlier and better germination particularly in the colder climates.

There are other benefits of raised garden beds such as reachability - less stretching and bending makes gardening more of a joy than a task not only for maintaining but for harvesting; drainage - because the soil in these garden beds is above ground level and not compacted the heavy rain water will drain better eliminating waterlogged soil; soil content - many gardeners will bring in the majority of the compost, manure, and soil they will need for each bed instead of using the surrounding ground soil; appearance - raised beds some how make very attractive gardens because they are easier to maintain and most gardeners enjoy working in them.  

When you garden in raised beds it just means you are growing your plants above ground level. This is can be achieved by building a wooden framed structure and filling it up with soil. Bricks, concrete blocks or most any type of material can be used to build a raised garden bed. You are only limited by your imagination and the amount of space you have in your garden. Raised garden bed kits are also available for purchase.  

When you decide to plant raised vegetable garden beds you may want to consider companion planting. Companion herbs and vegetables help control the insects and improve the garden's health. For instance the companion plants for tomatoes are carrots, onions and parsley; cauliflower and cabbage should be kept away from them. Be sure you rotate the vegetables each year that you plant in each bed. Rotation planting discourages insect pests, and certain vegetable pathogens, if they remain in the soil over the winter, will infect the crop the following year.

Gardening with raised garden beds makes pest control less difficult. If you have problems with burrowing rodents you can line the bottom of each bed with chicken wire or hardware cloth. Weed control is handled much easier because of the fact that you can walk completely around a raised garden bed and you will not have to bend over to pull them out. Raised beds will not require the usual distance between rows because you will not be walking in the bed for cultivating or harvesting. Vegetables are ideally spaced far enough apart to avoid any crowding but close enough to be able to shade out the weeds.

Once you use raised garden beds in your vegetable garden, herb garden, or flower garden and seen the ease in maintaining and harvesting and cutting you may not want to go back to regular in ground gardening. The entire family will enjoy gardening when it is done in raised beds especially grandma and grandpa.