Raised beds have been around for many centuries. For example, it is known from medieval records that raised beds fenced with woven willow branches were common in many monastery gardens. But terraced gardens such as the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the seven ancient wonders of the world - were also built thousands of years ago. Nowadays, raised beds usually consist of a rectangular box and are filled with compostable material. But there are many very different variants of this principle.
What variants of raised beds are there?
There are different variations of raised beds, including those made of wood, stone, metal or plastic. Upcycled raised beds, round, curved or rectangular shapes as well as those with legs or seating are also possible. This diversity enables individual design options for every garden.
What is a raised bed?
Raised beds have probably been around for as long as people have been growing vegetables, i.e. for several millennia. They probably emerged from the so-called raised beds, which work according to a similar principle - but who, when and why the first raised bed was built is unfortunately not known. A raised bed is a “high bed”, i.e. the higher version of a normal garden bed. However, a classic raised bed offers many more advantages than just a more comfortable working height: Due to the special filling and the constant rotting process inside the bed, raised beds also contain a lot of nutrients and radiate much more heat - this is of great benefit to the plants growing on them.
What variants of raised beds are there?
Raised beds can be built from very different materials. For example, variants made of wood, stone, metal, plastic or even material mixtures such as the popular combination of wood and stone are conceivable. In addition, numerous materials and containers can also be repurposed and transformed into a raised bed with little effort. For example, resourceful gardeners have built upcycled raised beds from concrete manhole rings (€599.00 on Amazon) or old Euro pallets, converted discarded water or wine barrels and potato sacks or reused used paving stones. Furthermore, raised beds can not only be rectangular, but can also take on a variety of shapes: they are round, curved, curved, polygonal or concave. They are available with legs (and thus an undercarriage option for wheelchair users) or without, with seating or without. There are no limits to your ideas!
Classic raised bed
The classic raised bed is rectangular, around 80 centimeters high, 140 centimeters wide, 200 centimeters long and filled with a carefully thought-out composition of compost material. This raised bed has an open bottom and is always in contact with the ground so that excess irrigation water can drain away and useful microorganisms can get from the ground into the raised bed. From this basic principle - which is borrowed from the original hill bed - a wide variety of raised bed shapes have developed.
Tip
Another variant is raised beds converted into a greenhouse or cold frame. With the right attachment, this can be done in no time at all and ensures an extended garden season.