How to Plan a Raised-Bed Garden
- 1). Examine your yard and decide on a size and shape for your raised-bed garden. Octagons and small squares work well for smaller yards, while "L" shapes and long, pointed boat shapes sit best in very large yards. You can size rectangles as large or small as you need them to be for a very simple frame.
- 2). Place your frame in an area that gets sun for about half the day, ensuring that your plants won't wilt from overheating. The space should also be shielded from heavy winds. You may also place it so that part of the garden sits under a shade tree, allowing for more diversity in your plants.
- 3). Line the bottom of the bed with straw, followed by a layer of mature compost, then a layer of soil. Finally, mix equal parts compost and soil and fill the bed the rest of the way. This mixture offers nutrition to most kinds of plants.
- 4). Plant low-growing, clumping or spreading plants in your raised garden. Tomatoes, peppers, lettuces, strawberries, squash, root veggies and herbs work well. All of these plants grow no more than about 18 inches high (unless trained), but will fill in your garden nicely to make it look lush and healthy.
- 5). Plant your seedlings or seeds according to the shape of your bed frame. Concentric circles or a spoke-wheel pattern works best for octagons, with the tallest plants in the center and the shortest at the edges. Squares and rectangles allow for neat rows or a checkerboard of squares. Rows work best in irregular shapes.
