A raised bed fits in every garden and replaces the floor space that is not available for many front garden or balcony owners. The bed boxes are also perfect for gardens with soil that is rather unsuitable for growing vegetables or ornamental plants. Depending on the size and composition of the substrate, they can be planted creatively.
Which plants are suitable for a raised bed?
In a raised bed you can cultivate a wide variety of plants, such as vegetables, herbs, soft fruits, ornamental plants, perennials, shrubs, rock garden plants, summer flowers, ground cover, grasses and ferns. Pay attention to the growing conditions and height of the plants.
Classic: raised vegetable bed
The use of a raised bed as a vegetable bed is of course classic, especially if the inside of the bed has been traditionally layered. In this way, the vegetable plants receive the nutrients they need and you don't have to worry about the correct fertilization. Classic raised beds layered in compost can be used between three and five years and are first planted with heavy feeders (which include many fruit vegetables) and then with medium and weak feeders. They replace conventional garden beds.
For balconies and terraces: raised herb bed
If you don't have a garden but just a balcony or terrace, you still don't have to do without a raised bed. Various herbs can be easily planted in special table beds, although the selection is entirely up to your personal preferences. For example, you can plant a bed with culinary or tea herbs, with medicinal herbs or with edible flowers, with wild herbs or Mediterranean plants. By the way: If you build a raised bed out of Euro pallets, you can also use the side slots for planting, for example with various herbs.
A raised bed for little (and big) sweet tooths
If you like fruit, you can of course also cultivate it on a raised bed. Many fruit trees are suitable for this, especially those that - depending on the height of the raised bed - remain rather low. Many berry fruit bushes, but also low-growing columnar fruit species, are suitable for this purpose. Strawberries are particularly popular. Large fruit trees, on the other hand, need space and should therefore not be planted on a raised bed.
Raised bed for ornamental plants
Of course, you can cultivate various ornamental plants in addition to useful plants on a raised bed, just like in a conventional garden bed. All you have to do is keep an eye on the location and soil conditions of the plants and also pay attention to the height of the bed and the expected height of the plants - if these are too high, care can only be done with a ladder. Suitable examples are:
- Perennials and shrubs (e.g. also hydrangeas, roses, lavender)
- Rock garden plants
- annual summer flowers
- Ground cover or creeping plants
- Grasses and Ferns
Tip
A raised bed is also perfect for growing various salads. However, these should not be cultivated on a freshly layered compost raised bed in the first two to three years - otherwise the low and medium feeders will produce excessively high concentrations of harmful nitrates.