Raised beds not only make normal gardening easier thanks to their practical and back-friendly height, but also require hardly any other complex measures.
How do I properly care for a raised bed?
Caring for a raised bed includes regular hoeing and weeding, mulching open ground areas, fertilizing when necessary, adequate watering in summer and frost protection in winter. Cold frame attachments can possibly be used and raised beds can be renewed in the fall.
Spring: time for planting and sowing
The gardening year usually begins as soon as the ground is no longer frozen. However, you can start the growing season much earlier in a raised bed, as the plants receive enough heat from below, at least in a classic compost raised bed. A cold frame attachment also protects against the unearthly cold.
Hoeing and weeding
Regular hoeing and weeding as well as loosening the potting soil between planted crops are just as necessary and important on a raised bed as on a conventional ground bed.
Mulching
You should mulch open areas of ground between the plants, i.e. H. Cover the soil about one to three centimeters high with dried grass clippings, straw or hay shreds. In this way, on the one hand, you suppress unwanted weeds, on the other hand, you maintain a loose soil structure and protect the soil from drying out. In the case of a raised compost bed, continuous mulching also prevents the bed from suddenly sagging. Only mulch in thin layers and never with moist material - on the one hand this encourages the settlement of fungi and on the other hand it attracts snails. Instead, it is better to top up the mulching material regularly.
Fertilize
Fertilizing vegetable crops is not necessary, at least on a conventionally layered raised bed. If you renew the interior regularly at least every six years, it will stay that way. If, on the other hand, you simply fill up the top with garden soil as soon as the bed collapses or the raised bed is only filled with soil anyway, you have to fertilize it like you would on normal ground beds.
Summer: watering and harvesting
In addition to the usual care measures, the main focus of raised beds in summer is watering. Because of the elevated position, the higher temperatures and the drainage layer inside, they usually require more water than flat beds. Water raised beds abundantly and regularly in summer, this especially applies to crops that require a lot of water such as tomatoes or pumpkin.
Autumn: Creating and renewing raised beds
Autumn is the perfect time to create or reinstall a raised bed. The only thing that is no longer necessary is digging, as is often the case on beds with heavy soil.
Winter: Frost protection and growing winter vegetables
In winter, even a raised bed that is not planted should be covered with mulching material (e.g. compost and manure) to avoid drying out and thus the loss of nutrients. Winter-hardy vegetables such as winter spinach can be cultivated and harvested under a polytunnel.
Tip
For wooden raised beds in locations very exposed to the sun, a white or light coat of paint or appropriate cladding on the outside walls of the bed helps to prevent excessive drying out. A simple irrigation system can also be installed quickly: fill PET bottles with water and place them upside down in the bed. They can be refilled again and again, so that the bed can be left to its own devices for a day or two.
