We have been installing home gardens at various locations for over 40 years. Over those many years of gardening, we have gone from simple pots and containers to traditional ground level gardens and finally to, what we think, is “The Ultimate Raised Bed Garden”.
We created many vegetable gardens. Each in a new geographic location. And each a little different than the last. Eventually, we settled into building raised bed gardens. Our earliest were just spaces created with treated wood landscape timbers placed on top of the ground. Over time we advanced to multiple, level and tiered wall raised beds constructed with 4×4’s. The gardens were improving. Each year we were producing a little more harvest than the year before. And we left behind garden plots and raised beds in homes across the South and Midwest. From South Texas to the Ohio River valley to the Heartland of the Midwest. Learning, improving and progressing along the way!
Our latest and we hope final experience is occurring now on the Front Range Urban Corridor of Colorado. Another differing climate. Late May snows and freezes along with the same in September accompanied by cool summer nights, make for a short growing season. Easily a month or more less than our Midwest experience. And, the extremely low humidity and minimal summer rains, make for some real garden challenges.
In a separate post, we discuss our Temporary Raised Bed Greenhouse that we have been using for the last 8 years. A second generation raised bed incorporating the concept of installing PVC sleeves in the bed and caps on the bed walls. The sleeves allow for the easy addition of trellises and enclosure frames for the temporary raised bed greenhouse. The wall caps enhance the appearance and make for a nice sitting spot for garden tending.
Now we are on to the third generation of our raised bed gardens. We plan to garden for many more years. The new beds include many of the enhancements we have identified over our past years. Listed below are the concepts we incorporated that can be considered when creating your raised bed garden.
The Ultimate Raised Bed – Concepts to Consider:
- Raise the height of the bed walls. So that one can easily sit on, or kneel along the edge, to plant and tend the garden.
- Space the Raised beds 30 to 36 inches apart. Allowing enough space for access with a wheel barrow and space when kneeling for your lower legs to fit comfortably.
- Consider installing a mini climate battery under each bed. A climate battery allows for the exchange of heat from the warm soil to the cool raised bed air. Helpful, in the event you want to plant early or harvest late, using a temporary cover to ward off the spring and fall frosts.
- Install electric soil heat mats deep in each bed. These warm the soil quickly, if needed, in the event of a very cold spring to remove ground frost.
- Add a sprinkler system. Each bed should have its own independently valved sprinkler system. Connect them to separate zones of our home yard sprinkler system for ease of watering.
- Cap the walls of the raised beds with 6 inch wide deck boards. This provides a very comfortable seat when sitting on the edge for garden tending. And can double as landscape fabric hold downs. For use with a landscape fabric mulch covering.
- Add preinstalled sleeves to allow for easy and attractive installation of a trellis or hoop. Trellises for growing vine vegetables and hoops for adding row covers or deer netting.
- Add landscape fabric hold downs. Install these so landscape fabric could easily be used as mulch covering.
- Add pine bark mulch walkways for easy walking and comfortable kneeling by the beds.
Mini Climate Battery 
Level Base Course for Walls 4×4 Treated Wood Walls with PVC Pipe Sleeves Soil Heat Mat & Sprinkler Line Tap Sprinkler Header System Landscape Fabric Mulch & Wall Cap Deck Boards Finished Ultimate Raised Beds with First Spring Plantings
