Skip to main content
URI Outreach Center

Raised Bed Gardening

Plant Pro

Looking for a way to get more productivity from your garden? Need to improve the soil for growing vegetables? Consider gardening in raised beds.

Raised beds are garden areas that are higher than ground level and small enough to work without actually stepping on the bed. The beds don't have to be enclosed, but framing will hold the soil and look neat and attractive.

Raised beds offer many advantages, especially if space is at a premium. In a raised bed, it is easier to improve the soil. You add compost and fertilizer only to the garden bed, not the pathways. This saves time and money and the plants grow better in soil that is never compacted by garden traffic.

Raised beds allow higher yields and use less water. You can plant things closer together, offering more vegetables and flowers per square foot. Plants grown closely together crowd out weeds and shade the soil, reducing evaporation and keeping roots cooler.

Raised beds also can extend the gardening season. The soil warms up earlier in the spring and dries out more quickly after a rain. In the fall, it is easier to cover the plants to ward off frost damage.

Raised beds should be no wider than about 4 feet so that you can reach into the center of the bed. They can be what length suits the gardener's needs.

You can make the frame from materials you have around the house including bricks or cinder blocks. Rocks are popular in southern New England because of ready availability.

Pressure-treated lumber is often used to make raised beds. However, as of 2003, EPA is banning it for residential use because of environmental and safety concerns. In the URI Master Gardener Demonstration Vegetable Garden, we are testing readily available alternatives to pressure-treated lumber. Though more expensive, the materials are durable, attractive and safe for garden use.

Plastic Lumber, manufactured in Rhode Island, is made entirely from recycled plastic. It is easy to work with, rot resistant and comes in many different colors. The cost of a 4 by 12 foot raised bed made with 2 by 10 inch boards and 4 by 4 inch posts of Plastic Lumber is about $230.

TREX is made from recycled plastic mixed with recycled wood. Like Plastic Lumber, it is durable and easy-to-work with. The cost of a 4 by 12 foot bed made with TREX is about $130 - $150.

Cedar is an attractive, rot-resistant wood that works well for raised beds. Although more expensive than pressure-treated lumber, a 4 by 12 foot raised bed made of cedar is in the $100 range. (Using one of the lower grades of cedar.)

For more information on raised beds, visit the GreenShare Gardening Factsheets, orr, call the URI Master Gardener Hotline. In Rhode Island, call 1-800-448-1011; out of Rhode Island call: 401-874-2929. Hotline hours are Monday -Thursday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Renewable Energy Siting Partnership Stakeholder Meeting #4

When: December 1, 2011, 6pm - 9pm
Where: Hazard Rooms @ URI Coastal Institute Bldg, Narragansett Bay Campus
Details: The focus of this meeting will be presentations on the acoustic impacts of wind turbines and project economics. Attendees must RSVP to Amber Neville at 401.874.6106 or amber@crc.uri.edu due to space limitations.
Directions

The meeting is open to the public, and all are welcome, as the goal is to have a diverse and well-rounded stakeholder process. A light dinner will be provided from 5:30-6pm.

- - - - -

Holidays in the Park

When: December 10, 2011, 11am - 2pm
Where: Roger Williams Park Botanical Center, Providence RI
Details: Admission-free with donation of a nonperishable good to be donated to RI Food Bank

Escape from the cold outdoors and join us in celebrating the holidays! Activities will include demos on do-it- yourself decorations just in time for the holidays, exciting educational crafts for kids, live music, gifts for every gardener, a raffle and more surprises to come.

- - - - -

Renewable Energy Siting Partnership (RESP) Wind Resource Assessment Lecture

When: January 24, 2012, 6pm - 7pm
Where: North Kingstown Free Library
Details: URI researchers will present their current work related to the wind resource assessment component of the Renewable Energy Siting Partnership.

- - - - -