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Getting an Early Start on your Wisconsin Garden; Raised Bed Gardening

By
Real Estate Agent with Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified #1 in Forest Land Mgmt

Getting an Early Start on your Wisconsin Garden; Raised Bed Gardening

raised bed gardening

Even though everything seems to have ground to a halt, it’s important to think about things a bit further down the line. This not only helps you to prepare for when things start back up again, but it can also make you a bit more self-sufficient in the future. This is where planning out a garden can be a great idea; it helps to keep you occupied now and yields a variety of healthy vegetables and other foods later in the year.

Maybe you don’t have a lot of space, though, or perhaps the soil in your yard isn’t the greatest. Neither of these prevents you from having a garden, though. There are a few different options available to address these concerns, but you might find that a raised bed garden is exactly what you’re looking for.

What Is a Raised Bed Garden?

First thing’s first: What exactly is a raised bed garden? Essentially, it’s a garden that has a box or other physical container around its border that allows you to add more soil to plant your vegetables and other crops in. In some cases, this can be a few added inches of topsoil. In other cases, you’ll need to add a substantial amount of new soil, and some raised beds have so much added topsoil that the plants never actually touch the “real” soil. Regardless of whether you add a little soil or a lot, the growing medium is still raised at least slightly from the ground level thanks to the garden box that surrounds it.

Building the Garden Box

There are a number of options available to you when it comes to building a garden box. You can use landscaping timber, bricks, 2x4s, wooden planks or even concrete. Decide on a height that works for you and pick a material that you’re comfortable working with or have easy access to. You can design a perfectly sized garden box, or you can make one that has gaps in the corners where your material doesn’t quite line up. It doesn’t actually matter what the box looks like, just so long as it is solid enough to contain your soil and is connected to itself or other supports to keep the sides from falling apart.

Just keep in mind that some materials such as pressure-treated wood contain chemicals that could leak out into the soil over time. If you have concerns about this or are using materials that you know present a chemical hazard, be sure to stain or seal your materials before use to keep water from penetrating and leaching the chemicals out.

Filling It In

Once you have a workable garden box, it’s time to add some soil. Ideally, you should till the ground soil before adding any additional soil to the box. Add a layer of garden soil or topsoil, then use a rake or hoe to blend the garden soil and your additive soil a bit. From there you can continue adding soil, mixing it together periodically, until you’ve reached the level you want in your garden box. In some cases, you’ll have room left within the box; in others, the soil will go all the way to the top. After it’s filled, you might want to water it well to let the soil settle a bit before you start planting.

Planting and Garden Care

With the box built and filled with soil, you’re ready to get your plants in the ground. Planting is largely the same as you’d do if you were planting directly into the ground, though your newly filled garden bed likely has softer soil than your yard. Water your garden a little more often than you normally would, as raised beds offer more of a chance for water to leak out or evaporate than ground soil does. Feed your plants as needed, remove weeds or grass when it appears, and do your best to keep pests out of the garden. The raised bed itself may deter some pests, and a small chicken wire fence around the edge of the bed can help as well.

There’s a decent chance that your raised bed garden will grow better than an in-soil garden thanks to the quality of its soil and the added control that you have over your garden environment. With proper care, you should be able to enjoy a bountiful harvest in just a few months.

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Comments (13)

Paul S. Henderson, REALTOR®, CRS
Fathom Realty Washington LLC - Tacoma, WA
South Puget Sound Washington Agent/Broker!

We just got our garden weeded and ready for planting last weekend...

Happy Monday Bob Crane 

Apr 20, 2020 08:13 PM
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

Hi Bob:

Great education here for gardeners. And now seems like a good time to get started with preparations.

We did a lot of raised-bed gardening back in New England and it worked well, especially when there were soil issues.

Jeff

Apr 20, 2020 08:29 PM
James Dray
Fathom Realty - Bentonville, AR

Morning Bob.

A green thumb is not going to happen for me.  I leave that to my wife.  

Apr 21, 2020 01:47 AM
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

Good morning, Bob Crane that's my kind of garden.... and I'm very tempted to do that this year....

Apr 21, 2020 04:07 AM
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Good morning Bob. I remember the days when my dad and I built one. Enjoy your day!

Apr 21, 2020 05:14 AM
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

Hello Bob - a positive post about proper planning and reaping the bounty of opportunity.  

Apr 21, 2020 05:26 AM
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Bob, great information for those having the desire to do their own gardening.   I miss mine.

Apr 21, 2020 07:59 AM
Grant Schneider
Performance Development Strategies - Armonk, NY
Your Coach Helping You Create Successful Outcomes

Good afternoon Bob Crane - this is a wonderful plan for homeowners.  I can taste those delicious red tomatoes.

Apr 21, 2020 12:28 PM
Sheri Sperry - MCNE®
Coldwell Banker Realty - Sedona, AZ
(928) 274-7355 ~ YOUR Solutions REALTOR®

Hi Bob Crane - great post on Raised Bed Gardening.  I have come to the conclusion that I will have to do this along with completely enclosing these spaces.  We have too many critters and birds that will want to dine on my veggies.

Apr 21, 2020 01:16 PM
George Souto
George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT
Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Bob I have not planted a garden before, but I might build a raise bed, and  give it a try this year.

Apr 21, 2020 02:38 PM
Kathy Streib
Cypress, TX
Home Stager/Redesign

Hi Bob- raised beds would work well here because we have a lot of clay in our soil!  

Apr 21, 2020 06:24 PM
Jeff&Grace Safrin
F.C.Tucker 1st Team Real Estate - Valparaiso, IN
SpousesSellingHousesTM

Wow Bob - perfect timing- my daughter and son-in law are going to do this type of gardening this year and I'm excited to share your post with them :)

Thank you!

Satay safe & healthy,

Sincerely,

Grace

Apr 22, 2020 11:03 AM
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

This is timely advice to share.

Have a great day and a very special weekend.

Apr 24, 2020 06:39 AM