How to Make Cheap Garden Beds

1 / 6
Here's how — and why — to create permanent garden beds and paths, and why framed or raised beds may be optional.
Here's how — and why — to create permanent garden beds and paths, and why framed or raised beds may be optional.
2 / 6
This elegantly framed permanent garden bed has woven wood covers to protect greens from bunnies.
This elegantly framed permanent garden bed has woven wood covers to protect greens from bunnies.
3 / 6
If you make garden beds the same size, hoops can be shared among them.
If you make garden beds the same size, hoops can be shared among them.
4 / 6
Straw on paths will 'sheet compost' by season's end.
Straw on paths will 'sheet compost' by season's end.
5 / 6
Raised beds are attractive but not necessarily more fertile than non-raised garden beds.
Raised beds are attractive but not necessarily more fertile than non-raised garden beds.
6 / 6
The garden at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is made up of wide, permanent garden beds.
The garden at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello is made up of wide, permanent garden beds.

Sometimes garden writers make things involve more work and expense than necessary. Raised garden beds are one example. Your crops will grow fine whether your beds are level, raised or even sunken (a good choice in dry, windy regions).

Maintaining dedicated beds — where you plant crops — and dedicated pathways where you walk is the important piece.

Compacted soil is the enemy of strong plant growth. The more easily a plant can send roots into the soil, the faster the plant can absorb the nutrients it needs and the more drought-resistant it becomes. If the plant has to spend energy pushing roots into hardened soil, the plant has less energy to grow and produce well.

In nature, meadow mice, moles, earthworms and other critters tunnel throughout the soil — and thus counteract compaction — and humans and other large critters do not walk over the soil often. But in a garden, we walk back and forth a great deal, and our footsteps definitely compact the soil. “One winter, we took a shortcut across a fallow field, using the path almost daily,” reports market gardener Anthony Boutard in his splendid book, Beautiful Corn. “When I looked at an aerial photograph taken three years later, I could still see that pathway reflected in the reduced growth of the crop planted there.”

The best way to minimize soil compaction is to lay out defined areas for growing and defined areas for walking. First, measure the entire area and make a drawing on paper (or use our nifty Garden Planner software). Choose a bed width that lets you easily reach to its center from the path. Think about where you want composting areas, where you will want gates if you fence the garden, and where to leave room for a worktable or two and a bench with a nice view.

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368