raised beds – Center for Urban Agriculture

Deciding on Raised Beds or In-Ground Gardening

January 10, 2018 by Becky Griffin

Dr. David Berle and Robert Westerfield of UGA have created a series of publications on community/school gardens. One of the most popular circulars is Raised Beds vs. In-Ground Gardens. It is an excellent resource when determining whether or not raised beds would work for your garden.

The height of these beds is helpful for the senior gardeners at Tobie Grant Manor garden.

Raised beds are defined as elevated boxes that are manageable in size and are filled with enough soil to support plants without using the soil underneath the box. The height of the boxes can vary. Tall boxes can be very beneficial to senior gardeners who are more comfortable working while standing instead of knelling down. When dealing with native soil of questionable quality, raised beds with imported soil are an easy solution.

Some other advantages of raised beds are:

Prevention of soil compaction- raised boxes can limit foot traffic on the soil
Less weeding and maintenance
Reduced conflict – raised beds are very defined and easy to assign to participating gardeners
Better drainage
Extended garden area – raised beds can be placed on slopes, compacted soil, and even parking lots

The in-ground gardens at Woodstock Community Garden make it easy for a tiller to work the soil.

There are advantages to in-ground gardens. Raised bed materials can be costly for a garden group just starting and in-ground gardening can allow a tractor or tiller to easily help prepare the area. Other advantages include:

Use of existing soil
Less permanent – if the landowner deems the garden temporary or for good crop rotation
Easier irrigation
Less start-up work
Clay soils do have benefits that are not found in man-made soils

As you start, or change, your garden carefully consider which arrangement will work for your group. Consider your current and future needs and decide how much time and resources you all are willing to commit. Your local UGA Extension office is a great resource for help.

Happy Gardening!

Simple Raised Beds for Your Georgia Garden

May 17, 2017 by Becky Griffin

Josh Fudor, UGA ANR Agent in Cherokee County, developed this simple raised bed design that is perfect for community or school gardens. This is the plan that we use in our teacher training workshops and the teachers appreciate the simplicity.

Simple Raised Beds for Your Georgia Garden — Teachers find this raised bed design easy to construct.

Gardening in raised beds is an easy way to get started growing great vegetables. The benefit of raised bed gardening includes: ease of management, prevention of soil compaction, better drainage, longer growing season, and ease of soil improvement.

Raised beds can be constructed out of just about any material and there are a number of kits available that are quick and easy to assemble. With a few tools and minimal time commitment the ambitious gardener can construct their own and save money.

Materials List

Qty.	Material	Cost
3	8’ 2”x10” Boards (cost will vary depending on choice, i.e. cedar, pine, treated) We will use treated pine for this example	37.00
16	1⁄4” x 4” Galvanized Lag Screws	14.50
16	1⁄4” zinc plated washer	1.90
1	Cubic yard or 27 cubic feet of soil/compost mixture	40.00
* Prices may vary depending on location and if delivery is required	Total: $ 93.40

Tools Needed

Saw-hand or electric powered
Speed square
Tape measure
Drill
1⁄4” socket driver bit
3/16” drill bit for pre-drilling
Safety Glasses and gloves

Step One:

Choose the straightest boards with little to no knot holes. This will make things much easier and make for a longer lasting finished product.

Step Two:

Cut one of the 8’ 2×10” boards in half. 8’ boards should 96” long but be sure to measure first just to be safe.

Step Three:

Make a notched cut out of the ends of all the boards. These notches provide added stability to the bed without the use of additional reinforcement. A 10” board is actually 9 1⁄4” wide so the mid-point of the board is 4 5/8” a cut 1 1/2” deep is needed to ensure the boards are flush at the corners.

The graphic below shows what the cuts should look like on all 4 of the boards when done, note that the notches are cut out on opposite sides of the board, this should be done on all boards.

Step Four:

Once all 4 boards have been notched on opposite sides of the board, lay them out to form the box. If cuts were made to proper measurements the boards should fit together smoothly. Pre-drill 2 holes in each end of all the boards approximately 3/4” from the end of the board. See Figure 2 below:

Step Five:

Afer holes have been pre-drilled place one washer on 4” lag screw and drive them through the pre-drilled holes. 16 lag screws will be inserted with 4 on each corner.

Step Six:

Position bed in a location that receives at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight on a North-South axis.

Happy Raised Bed Gardening!

How much soil do you need to refill your raised beds?-A Guest Post by Steve Pettis

March 30, 2016 by Becky Griffin

This week we are excited to have Steve Pettis, UGA Extension Agent for Rockdale County, join us for a math lesson on raised bed gardening! Steve writes….

If you have have raised beds eventually you will need to add more soil. Over time soil compacts, organic matter dissipates, and soil erodes. So, what was once a box full of soil can end up half empty.

Bagged soil is sold by the square foot. How do you determine how many square feet of soil you need to refill the beds?

I would suggest using the formula for determining volume of a rectangular prism –

vol. of rectangular prism = a b c or length x width x height

Multiply the width, height and length in inches. Divide that by 12 inches to get cubic feet. Bags of soil will say how many cubic feet of soil are in the bag. Divide the number of cubic feet in a bag into the cubic feet of your space and you have the number of bags needed.

Thanks, Steve! Happy Gardening!