Pros and Cons of Raised Bed Gardens

You've seen them around the neighborhood. Small board-sided rectangles in back yards used for growing flowers and vegetables. All of your gardens are just ground level. So what are the advantages of having a raised bed garden, and what are the negatives?

The concept is certainly not new. In fact, some cultures have been using raised bed gardens for centuries to grow home and cash crops. But raised bed gardens have become more popular in this country in the past several years. They do offer some advantages with regard to having a healthy garden, although they do come at a slightly larger initial cost than just plowing up an area in the yard and poking in some green bean seeds. The amateur gardener may want to decide for himself if this type of garden is really what he wants in the back yard.

At the risk of insulting anyone's intelligence, I should probably define what is meant by the raised bed garden. It is as simple as it sounds. Rectangular or square frames of wood, either edge-stacked 2 x 8's or timber-type boards, hold in a fertilized soil mixture that, hopefully, is devoid of weeds, grasses, or other creatures that might present a hazard to our preferred crops. The height of the garden is set at the discretion of the gardener, and can be anywhere from 8 inches to waist high, depending on his/her preferences. While this may seem like a lot of initial work just to grow a few flowers or a few rows of radishes, the finished product may provide years and years of improved gardening.