Want a raised bed for your garden? A quick and easy way to create one is with cinder blocks. With twenty standard-sized blocks, you can make a sixteen-inch-high rectangle. The blocks can be bought at any hardware or home improvement store for a dollar or less each. Even better, there are no power tools or tools of any kind required. You are literally stacking blocks like you did as a toddler. Remember to be careful. Each block does weigh around thirty pounds, and you may need help.
After the rectangle is constructed, fill the garden bed with grass clippings or compost from your yard. Egg shells and coffee grounds from your kitchen are great additions. Do this a few weeks before adding topsoil so that the grass can soak up the moisture from the ground underneath and begin to decompose. Then you will have a strong basis for a healthy garden. In addition, you can add in peat and cow manure to enrich the top soil. If you are hoping for an organic garden, always check the packages for names of chemicals that might be present.
Some edible plants that do well in raised beds are herbs, lettuce, tomatoes, blueberries, carrots, and onions. If you are looking to plant a flower garden, perennials like Shasta daisies, black-eyed Susans, and coneflowers are good choices too.
The benefit of raised beds is drainage. Most plants do better in soil that is well drained rather than overly damp. The elevation of a raised bed allows the garden to drain more easily, producing healthier plants and many times a higher yield of vegetables.
Happy farming & gardening!
Shiloh Bellamy