Raised Bed Gardening Guide

If you’re starting a garden - especially a vegetable garden - and you’re not sure how, raised beds are the answer. A raised bed is simply a contained, mounded area of soil, sitting above ground level, usually framed with timber, metal, or stone. It’s the single easiest, most reliable way to grow plants well.

This guide covers why raised beds work so well, how to choose and build them, and how to fill and use them. For crop-by-crop advice once your bed is ready, browse the full vegetable growing guides.

Why Raised Beds Are So Good

Better soil - instantly. You fill a raised bed with quality soil, completely bypassing whatever poor, compacted, stony, or contaminated ground you have. This is the biggest advantage of all.
Excellent drainage. Raised soil drains freely, preventing the waterlogging that kills plants in heavy ground.
Warms up earlier. Raised soil warms faster in spring, letting you plant sooner and extend the season.
Fewer weeds. You start with clean soil, and the defined edges keep grass and weeds from creeping in.
No soil compaction. You never walk on a raised bed - you tend it from the paths - so the soil stays loose, airy, and healthy.
Easier on your body. Less bending and kneeling; a tall bed can be tended almost standing.
Tidy and defined. Beds and paths make a garden easy to manage, plan, and keep neat.
Higher yields. Loose, rich, undisturbed soil plus close planting means raised beds are very productive for their size.

Step 1: Choose the Size

The single most important rule: make the bed narrow enough to reach the middle from both sides without stepping into it.

Width: about 1.2 metres (4 ft) maximum. If the bed is against a wall and reachable from one side only, halve that to ~60 cm.
Length: whatever suits your space - 2-3 metres is common and manageable.
Height: 15-30 cm is fine for most vegetables and flowers. Go taller (40-80 cm) for very poor ground, to grow root crops, or to reduce bending - taller beds are kinder on the back but need much more soil to fill.
Paths between beds: at least 45 cm, more if you need a wheelbarrow through.

Step 2: Choose the Material

Timber - the classic, attractive and easy to build. Use untreated, naturally durable wood (or modern safe-treated timber) - avoid old creosote-treated sleepers, which leach chemicals. Timber will eventually rot and need replacing.
Metal (galvanised steel) - increasingly popular: long-lasting, modern, and quick to assemble as kits.
Stone or brick - permanent and beautiful, but more work and cost.
Recycled / composite - durable plastic-composite boards last a long time with no rot.
Kits - pre-made raised bed kits in timber or metal are the simplest option for beginners; no construction skill needed.

Step 3: Position It Well

Sun: put vegetable beds where they get the most sun - 6-8 hours for fruiting crops. Leafy crops manage with less.
Level ground, or level the bed itself on a slope.
Shelter from strong wind.
Near water, since you’ll be watering often.
On soil, not paving, ideally - so roots, worms, and drainage connect with the ground below. Beds on a hard surface need to be deeper.

Before filling, it’s worth laying cardboard at the bottom of the bed - it smothers grass and weeds beneath, then rots away while worms move up into your new soil.

Step 4: Fill It With the Right Soil

This is where raised beds win - you control the soil completely. Fill with a rich, free-draining mix, roughly:

About 60% quality topsoil
About 40% compost or well-rotted organic matter

For tall, deep beds, you can save on soil and improve drainage by using the “hügelkultur”-style approach - part-filling the bottom with logs, branches, and woody material, which slowly rots down - then topping with the soil/compost mix.

Fill the bed slightly higher than the frame, as the soil will settle. To work out exactly how much soil your bed needs, run the dimensions through our raised bed soil calculator.

Step 5: Plant Closer Than You Think

Because you never compact the soil and never walk on the bed, raised-bed soil stays loose and roots spread freely. This means you can plant more closely than traditional rows - the “square foot gardening” method divides a bed into a grid and plants intensively. Dense planting also shades the soil, smothering weeds and holding moisture.

Don’t overcrowd to the point of poor airflow - but you can comfortably plant tighter than seed-packet “row” spacing suggests.

Step 6: Look After the Bed

Water consistently. Raised beds drain freely and warm up - which means they can dry out faster than open ground, especially tall beds. Check regularly and water deeply.
Mulch the surface to hold moisture and suppress weeds.
Top up with compost every year. Spread a fresh layer of compost on top each season - no digging needed. This keeps the soil rich and replaces what plants used.
Never walk on the bed - always tend it from the paths, to protect the loose soil structure.
Rotate crops in vegetable beds - don’t grow the same family in the same bed year after year, to reduce pest and disease build-up. Our crop rotation planner maps out a safe sequence for you.
Keep it covered - grow something, or mulch, rather than leaving soil bare.

Is a Raised Bed Right for You?

Raised beds are ideal if you have poor, compacted, stony, or contaminated soil, a wet, badly draining site, back or mobility issues, or you simply want a tidy, manageable, beginner-friendly garden. They have a higher upfront cost (the frame and the soil to fill it), and tall beds need a lot of soil and can dry out faster - but for most beginners, especially growing vegetables, the advantages far outweigh that.

Frequently Asked Questions

How deep should a raised bed be?

15-30 cm deep suits most vegetables and flowers. Go deeper (40 cm or more) for very poor underlying ground, for root crops, or to reduce bending. Beds on hard surfaces should be deeper.

What soil do I put in a raised bed?

A rich, free-draining mix - roughly 60% quality topsoil and 40% compost or well-rotted organic matter. Fill slightly above the frame to allow for settling.

How wide should a raised bed be?

No wider than about 1.2 metres, so you can reach the middle from both sides without stepping on the soil. Halve that for a bed accessible from one side only.

Do I need to put anything at the bottom of a raised bed?

A layer of cardboard at the bottom smothers grass and weeds and then rots away. For tall beds, woody material at the base saves soil and improves drainage as it breaks down.

Do raised beds dry out faster?

They can - raised beds drain freely and warm up, so tall beds especially may dry faster than open ground. Water deeply and consistently, and mulch the surface to retain moisture.

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