Ep. 220 From the ground up: How to create and care for raised bed gardens | #GoodGrowing

Thinking about building raised beds, but not sure where to start? Check out this week’s Good Growing Podcast as we discuss the benefits and challenges of raised bed gardening. From building materials to filling beds, get tips for construction, irrigation, and maintenance. Learn how raised beds can improve accessibility, reduce compaction, and what plants to grow in them.

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5ooWAxzir6g

Skip to what you want to know:  

  00:48 – Welcome, Ken. How are our tomatoes looking?

  03:13 - Why would we want to go through the effort to build a raised bed? 

  08:43 - What are some drawbacks of raised beds?

  11:09 - What materials can be used to build raised beds? 

    09:57 – Wood: untreated, treated, logs

    16:30 – Composite lumber

    18:11 – Metal

    20:52 – Stone/rock, bricks, and concrete

  22:35 - Raised bed construction tips

  28:04 - What should raised beds be filled with?

    36:38 - Can you put stuff in the bottom of a raised bed so you don't have to fill it as much?

  38:53 - Do you need to kill grass before filling raised beds?

  40:40 - Raised bed maintenance - settling soil and irrigation

  48:10 - What can be (or what do we) grown in raised beds? 

  55:21 - Wrap-up, thank yous, what's up next week, and goodbye!

Oregon State University - Pressure-treated wood for raised bed construction: https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/soil-compost/pressure-treated-wood-raised-bed-construction-willamette-valley

 Evaluation of substrates in constructed, raised-beds for vegetable culture: https://openscholar.uga.edu/record/12578

Contact us! 

Chris Enroth: [email protected]

Ken Johnson: [email protected]

Check out the Good Growing Blog: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowing

Subscribe to the weekly Good Growing email: https://go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingsubscribe

Any products or companies mentioned during the podcast are in no way a promotion or endorsement of these products or companies.

Barnyard Bash: freesfx.co.uk

--

You can find us on most podcast platforms.  

iTunes - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/good-growing/id1446630377     

Tunein - https://tunein.com/podcasts/Gardening/Good-Growing-p1187964/  

Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/202u3siWExE1tTqrVgtmCR    

Vurbl - https://vurbl.com/station/good-growing-4pljnNlUtyG/    

Listen notes - https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/good-growing-chris-enroth-cHLPMWpvEOG/    

Ivy - https://ivy.fm/podcast/good-growing-167902    

Castbox - https://castbox.fm/channel/Good-Growing-id4302614?country=us