The advantages of a raised bed are immense - you can garden without straining your back, snails and other vermin don't get into the bed so quickly and such a bed also offers an interesting eye-catcher for the garden. With a roof, the advantages of the bed box can be increased even further, as it extends the gardening season by a few weeks.
Why and how to build a canopy for a raised bed?
A raised bed canopy extends the gardening season, protects sensitive plants from moisture and offers better growing conditions. DIY options include a roof that is open at the side, a closed greenhouse attachment or a simple polytunnel.
Why a roof over raised beds makes sense
A translucent roof over the raised bed is a good idea for several reasons: Not only does a greenhouse or cold frame extend the gardening season by a few weeks and you can often start growing vegetables in February, such a roof also offers Moisture-sensitive vegetables such as tomatoes provide excellent protection from the rain. As a result, the risk of the dreaded late blight and brown rot is significantly reduced, and it is simply warmer under glass - which your tomatoes respond to with significantly stronger growth.
How to build a roof for a raised bed - a simple guide
There are various ways to build a roof for your raised bed yourself. You can also buy ready-made attachments for your raised bed (€289.00 on Amazon). What is particularly important is that the roof can be easily opened for ventilation - without this, a plant-threatening mold infestation can quickly occur. However, regular ventilation is not necessary if the roof is open on the sides anyway.
What roofing options are there?
The greenhouse canopy can be designed both closed and open on the sides, depending on the purpose you want to use it for. For example, if it only serves to protect sensitive fruit vegetables from rain in summer, then a simple roof that is open at the side is sufficient. A closed greenhouse or cold frame attachment, on the other hand, allows gardening very early or late in the year when it is already too cold for planting in conventional ground beds.
Construction instructions
You can easily build a roof for a raised bed yourself. All you need is weatherproof slats (preferably made of hardwood, not roof slats!), angles and suitable stainless steel screws. You can use these materials to build a framework that fits the dimensions of your raised bed. And this is how it works:
- First lay out five slats on the floor to create a rectangular frame of the appropriate size.
- The fifth bar runs in the middle for stabilization.
- Screw these slats together using angle brackets.
- Now place a suitable glazing film on the slatted frame.
- This should protrude about 10 centimeters at the edges.
- You can have the film cut to size at the hardware store.
- Now place another five slats on the lower slat construction and the foil above.
- Screw everything together.
- The upper framework is also connected with angles.
The finished roof can now be attached to metal poles (e.g. flat poles) attached to the raised bed.
Tip
Probably the simplest variant is the polytunnel, in which you insert curved metal rods into the ground at regular intervals on the narrow side and cover them with a film.
