• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Garden Helpful

  • Gardening
    • Gardening Basics
    • Garden Care
  • Lawn Care
  • Pest Control
  • Outdoor
    • Outdoor Lighting
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

NEVER MISS A POST

Get daily tips and tricks for having a successful garden.

Garden Helpful

By Fellow Garden Lovers and Experts

  • Gardening
    • Gardening Basics
    • Garden Care
  • Lawn Care
  • Pest Control
  • Outdoor
    • Outdoor Lighting
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

NEVER MISS A POST

Get daily tips and tricks for having a successful garden.

Home / Garden Care / How Deep Should Raised Garden Beds Be?

How Deep Should Raised Garden Beds Be?

January 15, 2022 2 Comments

How Deep Should Raised Garden Beds Be?

Plants all have specific needs. If they are not taken care of, they do not grow well. Sometimes plants even die because of this, which means you must start over.

One of the biggest problems is the soil condition. If the plant does not like the soil it is in, then it cannot grow. Sometimes, it can not grow at all.

This is one big reason a raised garden bed is nice to have. It allows you to create your own plant environment wherever you would like. Since the bed is raised from the ground, you can put whatever soil you would like in it.

What is a Raised Garden Bed?

A raised garden bed is an area where the soil is raised above the ground. It is usually done in rectangular or square shapes, but some people use other shapes. There is usually a frame built around the bed that is made of strong materials such as rock, concrete, or wood.

In a normal garden, plants have a lot of space between them. They are closer together in a raised garden bed. They are so close that their leaves can even touch each other when they become large.

When they are so close, it helps to keep the soil underneath them moist. It also helps to keep harmful weeds from growing between them.

What is a Raised Garden Bed?

Since the bed is raised and in its own box, you can use whatever soil you want to fill up the bed. It does not matter what kind of soil is around and under the box.

Where to Put your Raised Garden Bed?

You must also remember to make sure the box is built somewhere where the plants can get all the sun they need to grow. Try to find a place that can give the plants anywhere between six and eight hours of sunlight every day.

Many people choose to put the bed in their backyards, but you don’t have to. The bed can be placed along your front yard, or even along the sides. What is important is that there is enough space for the bed and that the sun can reach it long enough.

There may be grass in the area that you want to place your bed. Grass is hard to remove when it is healthy. It is also harmful to your plants and can even kill them so you must get rid of it.

Getting rid of the grass is not as hard as you may think, but it does take some time. So, you need to plan for your bed long before you get it set up.

To get rid of the grass in your bed area, draw a boundary around the area you want to use for your bed. Once you have done that, get some cardboard and cover the whole area you drew the line around.

It may take several weeks, but covering the grass breaks it down. Once that happens you can easily remove it.

How Deep Should Raised Garden Beds Be?

Choosing your spot is important and so is ensuring the bed’s measurements are acceptable. You don’t want to make your bed too wide because you then cannot reach the middle of it without stepping into it. That is a bit messy and can also be unhealthy for your plants.

Once your bed can fit in the space you chose, the length should be fine. You should also make sure all your plants can fit in it.

Your bed needs to be deep enough to allow your plants to grow well. The roots of a plant need to be deep in the soil and they need to have space to spread.

They feed through their roots. The roots of a plant continuously grow for a while and there needs to be enough soil for this.

You should never have less than six inches of soil as many plant roots do not grow more than that. There are some plants that have roots that can grow up to 12 inches. If you do not know how much the roots of your plants grow, you should make it 12 inches deep.

Hopefully, you learned a lot about raised garden beds and you are ready to make your own.

See also:

The 5 Best Soil for Raised Garden Beds

The 18 Best Raised Garden Beds For Vegetables & Plants

Share this...
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Pin on Pinterest
Pinterest
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter
Share on LinkedIn
Linkedin
Share on Reddit
Reddit
Share on Tumblr
Tumblr
More From Garden Helpful:
  • Top 10 Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening
    Top 10 Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening
  • What to Put on Bottom of Raised Garden Bed
    What to Put on Bottom of Raised Garden Bed
  • How to Make Strawberry Plants Produce More Fruit?
    How to Make Strawberry Plants Produce More Fruit?
  • How Many Carrot Seeds to Plant Per Hole?
    How Many Carrot Seeds to Plant Per Hole?
  • The Best Raised Garden Beds For Vegetables & Plants in 2022
    The Best Raised Garden Beds For Vegetables & Plants in 2022
  • How to Keep Rabbits From Eating Plants
    How to Keep Rabbits From Eating Plants
  • How Deep Does a Planter Box Need to be for Vegetables?
    How Deep Does a Planter Box Need to be for Vegetables?
  • How Do I Get My Onions to Grow Bigger - 8 Easy Ways
    How Do I Get My Onions to Grow Bigger - 8 Easy Ways
  • What is the Difference Between Potting Soil and Topsoil
    What is the Difference Between Potting Soil and Topsoil

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Comments

  1. jj says

    April 1, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    12″? I read that some vegetables grow roots as deep as 24″ – 36.” Now I’m confused.

    Reply
    • JM says

      August 19, 2020 at 4:14 pm

      I think the author is allowing for only one seasons growth in general and is also assuming the plants will be uprooted after first frost, then replanted the following spring.

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

Welcome to GardenHelpful!

A community of garden lovers and experts.

Articles on this site may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Find our full Disclosure Policy here.

Footer

Garden Helpful

Everything you need to know about your garden and lawn, brought to you by fellow garden lovers and experts.

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Join Us

Get daily tips and tricks for having a successful garden.

Categories

  • Composting
  • Container Gardening
  • Fertilizer
  • Garden Care
  • Garden Pots
  • Garden Recipes
  • Garden Watering
  • Gardening Basics
  • Houseplants
  • Hydroponics
  • Indoor Garden
  • Indoor Gardening
  • Indoor Lighting
  • Lawn Care
  • Outdoor
  • Outdoor Lighting
  • Pest Control
  • Plants & Flowers
  • Seed
  • Soil
  • Solar Lights
  • Vegetable Garden
  • Weed Control
  • Weeding Tools
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclaimer
  • Terms
  • Amazon Affiliate Disclosure
  • Contact Us
  • About Us

Copyright © 2023 · Garden Helpful · All Rights Reserved