Content
- Raised beds are available in countless variations
- What is a raised bed?
- Which varieties of raised beds are there?
- Classic raised bed
- Tips
Raised beds can be made of very different materials
Raised beds are available in countless variations
Raised beds have been around for many centuries. From medieval records, for example, it is known that with raised willow branches fenced raised beds were common in many monastery gardens. But also terraced gardens such as the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon - one of the seven ancient wonders of the world - were built years before. Nowadays, raised beds usually consist of a rectangular box and are filled with compostable material. But there are many very different variants of this principle.
What is a raised bed?
Raised beds are probably as long as people grow vegetables, so for several millennia. They probably originated from the so-called hill beds, which work on a similar principle - but who and when and why the first raised bed is built, is unfortunately not known. A raised bed is a "high bed", ie the higher variant of a normal garden bed. However, a classic raised bed offers even more benefits than just a more comfortable working height: Thanks to the special filling and the constant decay process inside the bed, raised beds also contain many nutrients and also emit much more heat - this is what will really benefit the plants awake to it ,
Which varieties of raised beds are there?
Raised beds can be made of very different materials. Conceivable, for example, variants of wood, stone, metal, plastic or material mixtures such as the popular combination of wood and stone. In addition, however, it is also possible to dispose of numerous materials and vessels and turn them into a raised bed with little effort. For example, resourceful gardeners have built upcycled raised beds made of concrete manhole rings or old Euro pallets, converted discarded water or wine barrels and potato sacks or reused used paving stones. Furthermore, raised beds can not only be rectangular, but take many forms: they are round, curved, curved, polygonal or concave ... They are available with legs (and thus an underride for wheelchair users) or without, with seating or even without. There are no limits to your ideas!
Classic raised bed
The classic raised bed is rectangular, around 80 centimeters high, 140 centimeters wide, 200 centimeters long and filled with compost material with a meticulously sophisticated composition.This raised bed has an open bottom and always earth contact, so that excess irrigation water can run off and useful microorganisms can get from the ground into the raised bed. From this basic principle - which is borrowed from the original Hügelbeet - a variety of Hochbeetformen have developed.
Tips
Another variant is the raised greenhouse or cold frame converted raised beds. This succeeds with the pase essay in a jiffy and ensures a prolonged gardening season.