Small gardens, gardens on slopes or with soil that is unfavorable for herbs can still be used as a herb garden - you just have to create the right conditions. Raised beds, which offer locations for very different herbs, are very suitable for this.
How do you create a herb garden in a raised bed?
A raised herb garden bed can be built from wood or stone. Raised beds made of larch, locust or oak are easy to build, while stone beds are more durable but require a concrete foundation. What is important is the right filling, consisting of chopped material, leaves, compost and topsoil.
Which is better: raised beds made of wood or stone?
Simple raised beds can be built from wooden planks that are connected with angles and fixed in place using impregnated wooden posts. However, not every type of wood is suitable: unplaned planks made of larch wood are particularly suitable for building beds, as they are very resinous and do not rot so quickly. Alternatively, you can also use robinia or oak wood. In any case, the thickness of the planks should be at least 30 millimeters. However, raised beds made of stone are more durable than raised beds made of wood. These can be made of bricks, sand-lime blocks or concrete blocks. However, since stone is very heavy, in this case you need a concrete foundation.
Line the inside of raised beds before filling
Before filling the raised bed with soil, you must protect it against moisture. Raised wooden beds can be impregnated on the inside or lined with roofing felt (€29.00 on Amazon). In the latter case, be careful not to select any outgassing materials. Brick or sand-lime brick walls, on the other hand, must be painted with waterproof paint. Voles can be kept away by installing durable wire mesh at the bottom of the bed.
Filling a raised bed optimally
The most important thing, however, is the right filling. It is best built like a well-layered compost heap. The bottom layer consists of shredded material or chopped twigs, although you should not use acidic softwood. This is followed by a layer of leaves, which is then covered with mature compost. This is followed by topsoil (which should make up around 50 percent of the filling) and finally another thin layer of compost. The bed must be filled very well, as the rotting process that begins causes the soil to quickly sink again. In autumn, fill the bagged soil with fresh compost.
Building a raised bed – step by step
Here we show you how you can build a simple raised bed yourself:
- Select a suitable location.
- Free the soil of wild herbs.
- Level it with the rake.
- Set up the wooden planks provided.
- Align them with the spirit level.
- Screw them.
- Fill the raised bed.
- Now you can plant it in narrow rows.
- Pouring is particularly important.
Tip
After three years at the latest, the contents of the raised bed will be completely composted and the structure must be completely replaced.
