What Is Raised Bed Organic Gardening? Learn About the Advantages of Raised Garden Beds
Organic Gardening: Overview
If you think organic gardening is a new concept, you may be wrong. Organic gardening is an old concept that follows the principles of traditional organic agriculture. It depends mainly on soil conservation. The core element of organic gardening is the use of compost, which helps to supplement the soil with rich nutrients and controls pests. However, because organic gardening relies heavily on soil, areas rich in clay soil or low lying areas cannot implement such technique. Hence, raised bed gardening method is adopted to build efficient raised garden beds.
What are Raised Garden Beds?
Raised bed organic gardening is an ideal solution to those who complain of having low lying areas or clay soils that do not encourage organic gardening. These areas have poor drainage of water which can lead to water logging. Due to excess water logging, the beneficial microbes present in organic substances added to the soil do not take care of plants and so plants die.
Raised garden beds provide various benefits, including adequate drainage facilities. The organic gardening beds are higher than the ground level and are separated by paths. The beds can be of any length and allow easy access to gardeners who work from paths. The best way to make a raised bed is to follow the double dig method. Double digging is a traditional method where gardeners remove the top layer of the soil from the bed and loosen the subsoil. The top soil is then replaced and mixed with organic materials. Another easier way is to make a raised bed by adding lots of organic substances such as manure or compost to the soil to make a mound for planting crops.
Raised bed organic gardening saves lots of time and money. A raised bed garden ensures that the gardens are easily accessible to gardeners and looks quite attractive as well. What you need to do is dig, fertilize, and water the beds to ensure optimum growth of plants.
Following are the advantages of this unique technique of gardening:
1. Reduces soil erosion:
Raised bed gardens are covered with brick frames or similar protection. The frames reduce soil erosion as they do not allow the soil to wash away because of rainfall.
2. Improves water drainage:
Raised beds permit water to pass through it. This prevents water logging and helps plants to survive.
3. Controls weeds easily:
Organic raised bed gardening leaves no space for any weeds to grow. The weeds grow on the pathway which is away from the plant beds and so they do not affect these beds.
4. Beneficial for the elderly and physically disabled:
Due to the increased height of the raised garden beds, elderly and disabled gardeners do not have to bend too much while performing different gardening activities.
References:
https://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-19-1402,00.html
https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/DisplayPub.aspx?P=G6985
This post is part of the series: Organic Gardening: Different Methods That Play an Important Role in the Environment
Organic gardening is a holistic approach in preservation of our environment. It involves natural processes with traditional knowledge and technique. There are various methods of organic gardening. Among them, hydroponic gardening and raised bed gardening are some excellent methods.
