Narrow Raised Garden Beds (2023)

FAQs

Narrow Raised Garden Beds? ›

The ideal raised garden bed width is between 18 inches and 4 feet. Anything more narrow than 18 inches across won't give you enough room to take full advantage of growing in raised beds. You'll only be able to plant one to two rows of plants, depending on how much each plant needs to spread out.

The ideal raised garden bed width is between 18 inches and 4 feet. Anything more narrow than 18 inches across won't give you enough room to take full advantage of growing in raised beds. You'll only be able to plant one to two rows of plants, depending on how much each plant needs to spread out.

If a raised bed is placed against a building, fence, etc., making it accessible from only one side, the maximum width should be 1 1/2 to 2 feet (i.e., approximately arm's reach). Beds accessible on both sides can be 3 to 4 feet wide.

Width. One major goal of raised beds is to alleviate the need for gardeners to step into them. This means gardeners should be able to easily access the bed from all sides. Plan raised beds that are 3 feet wide for children and 4 feet wide for adults.

A raised bed does not need to be very deep to be effective, but the surface underneath your garden bed affects which depth is right. In general, eight inches is a good minimum depth for raised garden beds.

Beds against a wall or fence should be about 2-3 feet (60-90cm) wide, as you'll only have access from one side. Aim for a minimum height of 6 inches (15cm), while up to a foot (30cm) is ideal for root crops. Make sure to leave enough space for access between beds.

A 12-inch raised bed is a great minimum height for growing lots of delicious plants in the kitchen garden. If you want to grow larger vining plants like tomatoes, squash, or zucchini—plants that sprawl and tend to draw a lot of nutrients from the soil as they grow—you might move closer to an 18-inch raised bed.

What size will it be? Raised beds are generally three to four feet wide by about six to eight feet long. This allows you to easily reach into the raised bed from the side to plant and dig and weed, without having to step into the garden where you risk compacting the soil. The height can also be important.

Allow enough space between beds in your raised-bed garden design. It's tempting to fill the entire space with raised beds, but paths around the outside of your beds will make planting, maintaining, and harvesting your beds easier. The distance between raised beds should be at least 3 feet wide (4 feet is even better).

1. Raised bed size: what size raised bed for tomatoes should I build? Ideally, your raised bed should be no wider than 4 feet. This allows you to reach in from both sides to weed, cultivate, and harvest plants.

How deep should a raised bed be for tomatoes? ›

Calculate the estimated volume of soil needed for the project by measuring the length times the width times the depth of the raised bed; the bed should be at least 12" deep to give the roots room to grow and allow for proper drainage. Edging materials can include umber, cinderblocks or stone.

The bed frame can be as simple as 2x4s on top of the ground, or even patio retaining wall blocks. The size is up to you. A bed that's at least 6 inches high provides ease of access and gives roots plenty of room to grow.

The most popular height for raised beds is 11″. (This is the height of two standard “2 x 6″ boards, which actually measure 1.5″ x 5.5”.)

If you're going to pay for a product to fill your raised beds, again, it should just be really good soil and compost. I only recommend a thin layer of gravel at the bottom of your raised bed and under the edges to help you level the area. Save the rest of your gravel for your garden pathways.

A depth of 8 – 12 inches will suffice for most gardening situations. Because of the excellent drainage properties of raised beds, it is possible to grow an abundance of vegetables in a limited amount of space.

Many other plants, including perennials, compact shrubs, and veggies ideally need a minimum raised bed depth of 12in. So, a good height to aim for is between 12in and 20in. '

Allow enough space between beds in your raised-bed garden design. It's tempting to fill the entire space with raised beds, but paths around the outside of your beds will make planting, maintaining, and harvesting your beds easier. The distance between raised beds should be at least 3 feet wide (4 feet is even better).

The 4-inch spacing is for bush beans and spinach. A 6-inch spacing is needed for Swiss chard, leaf lettuce and parsley. A whole 12-inch square is required for each broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, muskmelon and pepper plant.

Surprisingly, rabbits have a limited vertical jump height. A raised garden bed of 24 inches or higher is sufficient to deter cottontail rabbits. If jackrabbits (or the mythical jackalope) are the problem, the raised bed should be at least 36 inches high. Your back will thank you for the raised bed!