If you're looking for an easy way to start gardening, then raised bed is the way to go! Raised bed gardening is a great way to grow your own vegetables, and it's really easy too. In this blog post, we will discuss the best vegetables for a raised bed. These vegetables are easy to grow and are perfect for beginners. So if you're ready to start growing vegetables in raised beds, read on!
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What is a Raised Bed?
A raised bed is a garden that is elevated off the ground. This makes it easier to work on, and it also helps to conserve soil moisture. Raised beds are a great option for people who have limited space, or who live in an area with poor soil quality.
There are many different materials that can be used to make a raised bed. Some of the most popular options include wood, stone, and concrete blocks. However, you can also use recycled materials like tires or old pallets. Just be careful not to use treated wood, as this can be toxic to plants and you don’t want chemicals leaching into your soil.
Benefits of Using a Raised Bed
Raised beds are an excellent way for any gardener to grow more vegetables with less work. They offer several advantages over traditional gardens, including:
- Less weeding and tillage required
- Easier access to plants for harvesting or tending them as needed
- Improved drainage since the soil isn't compacted
- Greater control over what goes into your food (e.g., no pesticides) and how it's grown - you add your own soil and nutrients
- Increased yields due to better spacing of crops and more efficient use of space by planting small amounts at different times throughout the season rather than all at once
- Warmer soil earlier in the spring and later into fall, as well as improved air circulation
Best Vegetables for Raised Bed
Now that you know all about the benefits of raised bed gardening, what are some of the best vegetables to grow in it? Here's a list of favorites to plant in raised beds.
Leafy greens
Leafy greens including lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, swiss chard, collard greens are all easy to grow and perfect for a raised bed.
Leafy greens are easy to grow in raised beds because they don't require much space. They can be grown from seed or transplants. The best time to plant leafy greens is early spring when there is cool weather (or late fall if you live somewhere with mild winters). It allows you to get a jump on the growing season by starting out early with them.
Leafy greens are best planted in a container garden because they can be harvested sooner than other crops and don't require as much room for roots to grow. They also do well when grown side by side, so there's not much-wasted space between plants either! This is why it makes sense to plant leafy greens in raised garden beds, especially if you're limited on space.
Leafy greens don't tolerate wet, soggy roots so a raised vegetable bed is a wonderful way to ensure that the soil has good drainage and air circulation.
Leafy greens are a great choice for vegetables in a raised bed. They're easy to grow and need little maintenance, which makes them perfect for beginners.
Leafy greens are very easy vegetables to grow in a raised bed.
Carrots
Raised bed gardening is perfect for carrots because they need loose, deep soil to grow best, and raised beds provide that environment. Carrots need to be planted in soil that is free of rocks and debris otherwise the carrots will fork and become crooked and deformed. A raised bed is an excellent way to ensure that the soil is clean and free of any obstructions.
In a raised bed, you can simply remove any rocks or sticks from the soil before planting to ensure that your carrots grow straight and are of good quality. You can also add compost to the soil to make it more fertile.
Planting carrots in a raised bed also deters the carrot fly, which is a common pest that can ruin your carrot crop. By elevating your vegetables in raised beds, you're also protecting them from pests and diseases that can affect them.
Carrots are a great choice for vegetables to grow in a raised bed because they need loose soil and plenty of room to grow. They also do well when planted in succession, so you can have a continuous harvest all season long!
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are easy vegetables to grow in raised beds. They require plenty of sunlight and good air circulation, which raised beds provide. They love warm soil and to be watered deeply.
Tomato plants also like soil that is high in organic matter so adding compost to your raised bed before planting is ideal. Amending soil in a raised bed is easy because you have complete control over the soil's composition.
One drawback of growing tomatoes in a raised bed is that stakes and tomato cages can be difficult to fit in between the plants. You may have to get creative with how you support your tomatoes so they don't fall over.
If you are growing a small raised bed and want to enjoy some delicious homegrown tomatoes, go with determinate tomatoes.
Determinate tomatoes do better in a raised garden bed because they don't grow as big and tall. Then you won't have to worry as much about fitting in tomato cages and stakes. Want to try something different? Try planting some of these fabulous purple tomato varieties!
Tomatoes are one of the most popular vegetables to grow in a raised bed garden because they're easy to care for and can be harvested all season long.
Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are some of the best vegetables to grow in a raised bed. They're easy to grow and don't require much space.
Bell peppers like warm well-draining soil which is why raised beds are perfect for them. They also need plenty of sunlight, so make sure to place your raised bed in an area that gets a lot of sun.
Peppers can be planted right next to tomatoes since they have similar requirements, and are heavy feeders, too.
Bell peppers come in a variety of colors including green, red, orange, and yellow. You can plant different color peppers next to each other to create a beautiful garden bed full of color and interest.
Another bonus of growing bell peppers in a raised bed is that you can harvest them at different times depending on the color of the pepper. For example, harvesting green bell peppers early will give you a continuous harvest all season long. Red and yellow bell peppers take a little longer to ripen, so wait until late summer or early fall to harvest them.
Bell peppers are a great choice for vegetables to grow in a raised bed garden because they're easy to grow, come in a variety of colors, and can be harvested at different times. They're sure to add some extra color and flavor to your garden! Plus, they can be planted right next to tomatoes which make for an easy garden layout!
Garlic
Still, looking for more ideas on what to plant in raised garden beds? How about garlic!
Garlic is a great vegetable to grow in a raised bed because it is a wonderful companion plant to many of the other vegetables on this list including tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and potatoes. Companion planting with garlic can help deter pests from your other vegetables.
Garlic also does well in loose, fertile soil with full sun. It doesn't require a lot of space, either, so you can fit a few garlic plants in even the smallest raised bed garden. You can plant it in the same bed as carrots or tomatoes with no problem.
One thing to keep in mind when growing garlic is that you need to wait until the weather has cooled down before planting it. Garlic doesn't do well in hot weather and can quickly die if planted when it's too warm outside.
Garlic is a great vegetable to add to your raised bed garden because it is a companion plant, does well in fertile soil, and doesn't require a lot of space. It's also a great way to deter pests from your other vegetables. Make sure to plant garlic in your garden when the weather has cooled down for best results!
But, the wait is definitely worth it because garlic is a flavorful vegetable that can be used in many dishes.
Potatoes
Potatoes are raised garden bed vegetables that are easy to grow and versatile.
In fact, potatoes thrive in a raised bed garden with loose, loamy soil that drains properly and that allows enough space to grow. Growing in soil that drains well prevents rotting, and the loose dirt allows tubers to fully develop, free of compacted earth and rocks.
A raised bed is good for potatoes since you can control the soil quality. They like full sun so make sure to place your garden bed in an area that gets plenty of sun.
You can also grow potatoes in containers if you don't have a raised bed garden. Just make sure to use a large container that is at least 12 inches deep so the tubers will have enough room to grow.
You can mulch around the potatoes with straw or leaves to encourage larger tubers and a bountiful harvest.
Potatoes come in many colors, shapes, and sizes so you can find the perfect variety for your taste. There are also a number of heirloom potato varieties available if you're looking for something unique.
Summer Squash
Summer squash varieties are delicious raised bed vegetables.
Zucchini and yellow squash are both prolific producers, so you can expect a good yield from these plants. They like rich soil that is well-draining. They also need plenty of sun, so make sure to place your garden bed in an area that gets at least six hours of direct sunlight each day.
Summer squashes are great plants for raised beds because they can also provide shade for other vegetables in the garden. This is especially helpful during the hotter months when the sun can be a bit too intense for some plants.
Summer squash needs good air circulation to prevent the spread of disease. Bush varieties have an open growth habit and are ideal for use in raised beds. Bush varieties also take up less space than vining types, making them a good choice for small gardens and they mature more quickly.
Vining types such as acorn squash, spaghetti squash, and tiny pumpkins that grow fast may be grown over the edges of raised beds or trellised.
Planting zucchini next to garlic helps to repel aphids. Keeping pests at bay is one of the benefits of companion planting.
Summer squash is best harvested when it's young and tender. The skin should be thin and the seeds just starting to form. If you wait too long to harvest, the squash will get tough and seedy.
Zucchini and yellow squash are two of the best vegetables to grow in a raised bed garden. They like rich soil, plenty of sun, and good air circulation. These productive growers will provide you with a continuous supply of crops all summer.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are easy vegetables to grow in raised beds.
The warm soil of raised beds is perfect for cucumbers since they don't like cold soil or temps. Cucumbers are best grown in full sun and they need fertile, well-drained soil.
Cucumbers need water regularly, so make sure to give them good watering consistently when needed. Mulch is a great way to keep the soil damp in between irrigation.
They come in two types: vining and bush. Both varieties can be grown in a raised bed. If you plant the vining variety of cucumber, make sure you give it something to climb on, such as a trellis or fence. The cucumbers will grow best if they have plenty of space and air circulation.
Plant your cucumber seeds directly into the raised bed, garden soil, or start them indoors a few weeks before the last frost date.
Cucumbers are raised bed garden plants that are easy to grow and love the warm soil of a raised bed. They need full sun and fertile, well-drained soil. Cucumbers should be watered regularly and mulched to keep the soil damp.
Related: 5 Reasons Your Cucumber Leaves are Turning Yellow
Onions
When you are planting in a raised garden bed, you can also plant onions.
Onions like fertile, well-draining soil so make sure to add some compost to your raised bed before planting.
Onion can take a long time to mature (100 days), so I would recommend starting them indoors and transplanting them into the raised bed in the spring as soon as the ground can be worked and when the threat of frost has passed.
They don't take up a lot of space, so you can plant a few rows in your raised bed.
Onions can help protect some veggies from pests, so you may want to surround your kales, broccoli, cabbage, tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers with onions.
Onions are a great vegetable to plant in your raised bed garden and are a staple in most gardens.
Radish
If you are looking for an easy-to-grow vegetable in a raised bed, look no further than the radish.
Radishes can be planted in early spring as soon as the ground can be worked and will mature within a few weeks. They usually are ready to harvest in 35 to 60 days. These fast growers make them wonderful raised beds plants.
You can plant radish seeds directly into the soil or start them indoors a few weeks before the last frost date.
Radishes come in a variety of colors, shapes, and sizes so there is sure to be one that you will like.
I would recommend succession planting radishes every two weeks for a continuous harvest in your vegetable garden.
Beets
Beets are wonderful root vegetables to plant in your raised bed garden.
Sow the seeds in early spring directly into the soil and they will mature within a couple of months. Just make sure the soil stays moist but not soggy, as beets don't like to dry out. They prefer a more loamy soil.
Since they take up quite a bit of space, I would only recommend planting one or two rows in your raised bed.
Just don't plant your beets near beans because beets like low nitrogen soil and beans need high nitrogen soil.
Beets come in a variety of colors, so you can have a rainbow of beets in your garden.
Harvest beets when they are young and tender for the best flavor.
You can eat the beetroot greens, so don't discard them. The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked.
Beets are a great addition to your raised bed garden. They are easy to grow, come in many colors, and taste great.
Beans
Beans are easy to grow vegetables that are perfect for a raised bed garden.
There are two types of beans you can grow: pole beans and bush beans.
Pole beans will need a trellis or something to climb on since they can grow to 6-9 feet tall. Bush beans are more compact and do not need the support of a trellis.
Beans are a warm-season crop and can't be planted until the threat of frost has passed. They need full sun, good drainage, and regular watering. For a continuous harvest, sow a new row of beans every two weeks.
They also fix nitrogen in the soil, which is beneficial for other plants in your garden so pair them with vegetables that are heavy nitrogen feeders.
Beans are a great source of protein, fiber, and antioxidants. They're a great option for vegetables in a raised bed.
Vegetables for Raised Beds
When choosing vegetables to plant in your raised bed garden, it is important to consider a variety of factors such as the amount of space each vegetable takes up, how long it will take for the vegetable to mature, and what type of soil the vegetable prefers.
In this article, we have highlighted some of the easiest vegetables to grow that are perfect for a raised bed garden. The best part is some of these vegetables can be succession planted every two weeks for a continuous harvest all season long!
