What Is The Ideal Size For A Raised Bed Garden? Well, the answer to that question all depends on a few factors, these include;
The gardening experience you have, The purpose and needs of the raised bed, The time it will take for maintaining the garden, as well as your advance preparation.
A lot of new gardeners await until spring arrives and start planting without doing any basic analysis, prep work, or evaluation.
However, when it comes on to the ideal size for a raised bed garden. If you are a new gardener, a 10’x10’ raised bed is a good start for you.
The reason to start out with a 10’x10′ size is that it can expand easily afterward if this doesn’t serve your needs later on. Also, if it fails you haven’t lost a big investment.
Raised Bed Garden Height And Size
Commonly raised bed garden height is usually about the height of your knee.
However, it should not be higher than your waist either. Additionally, it should also be twice the width of the length of your arms.
Also, for its length, it should not be longer/taller than the gardener.
These are based on the old school rules to following when making your own raised bed garden.
Nevertheless, the dimensions are typically going to be a bit different for children than adults.
The size will differ for children since they most likely cannot reach higher and bigger beds while adults are able to handle larger bigger plantings.
A good average size raised bed for a small herb garden can be 18 inches high by 4 feet wide by 8 feet long.
It is also recommended that a layer of gravel is good for raised bed drainage 3 – 4 inches, then fill with good topsoil matched with compost mix.
What Is The Ideal Size For A Raised Bed Garden?
The ideal size for a raised bed garden for experience users is either 4 x 8 or 4 x 4 feet.
A 4 x 4 raised bed garden size means you can reach from all sides fairly equally.
However, I have thought about making a 2 x 8 raised bed garden. The math around this size works out like this for lumber:
Lumber Size For Raised Bed Garden
– A size 4 x 8′ raised bed garden takes three 8 inch boards.
– A size 4 x 4′ raised bed garden takes two 8 inch boards, however, only has half the planting space.
– A size 2 x 8′ raised bed garden takes two and one-half 8-inch boards and gives the same space as a 4 x 4 raised bed.
Therefore, if you are someone who has short arms, it is ideal to go with this short stature.
Ideally, you can’t easily reach the middle of a four (4) foot wide bed without getting down on your hands and knees.
So, the whole idea of raised beds is to reduce bending that reaching something at that angle requires.
Garden Raised Bed For Seniors and Handicaps
Garden-raised beds for Seniors and handicaps are even higher off the ground, which means they can continue to garden when they wouldn’t have otherwise.
For seniors, starting out smart might mean more years of harvest and enjoyment before you begin to cope with a rebellious body.
Nonetheless, when it comes down to it all, the boards are not the biggest expense and the soil inside will cost the same.
Regardless of how you built the raised beds if the goal is to have a certain amount of garden space in them.
From past experience, I will say that having better quality boards will make up for the extra expense to build your garden bed.
Our number one original food pantry cedar bed has long outlived two successful garden beds made with lesser quality, and until now it does not show any sign of decay yet.
This only assumes that the walls will be made of boards. But there are other alternatives to raised bed gardens out there.
Final Thoughts
The key aspect of raised bed garden measurement is that the people who are maintaining it need to be able to reach the middle comfortably.
This should be done without disturbing the soil in the bed. Try to avoid soil compaction because it is essential for no-dig gardening.
So, once again your raised bed garden all comes down to the needs required. Whether you wnat it for your personal use such as feeding your family or for business/community sale. The size will differ.
How this subject about what is the ideal size for a raised bed garden has helped you in somewhat way, thanks for stopping by.
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