Thinking of planting carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers or snow peas?

Vegetable gardening is a great way to grow and pick fresh delights from your home garden. A raised garden bed is a creative way to create your edible kitchen garden.

Before you get started it is important to consider the purpose of a raised bed, and the space available. Another consideration is height. Is the purpose of having a raised garden bed due to mobility or convenience. Whatever the reason a raised bed should be tall enough to accommodate the full root ball of whatever plants you’re growing i.e. 40cm.

Is it going to be a kitchen garden? Ideally it should be located as close as possible to the kitchen. For instance, near the back door, front door, or even next to your driveway so that you can pop outside with scissors to snip some herbs or harvest some carrots for dinner.

Another aspect to consider is the aesthetics of your raised garden bed and how it can fit into the rest of your current garden landscape. It should feel like an extension of your home. Look for sunny positions such as a side yard, a fence line, your driveway, a deck or patio.

There are many types of materials that can be used to build your raised garden bed such as:-

• Timber (not treated)
• Building blocks
• Galvanised steel garden bed kits
• Pots – (advantage – you can move them around to capture sunlight)
• Large Plastic Tubs
• Half wine barrels

Most edible plants like:

• At least 6 hours of sunlight.
• Open position

Another aspect to consider when creating your raised garden bed is water proximity.

• Place your garden, when possible, near a location where it can be connected to an irrigation system.

• Cast shade from nearby trees
• If you’re placing the raised garden bed directly on soft ground for example grass it is advisable to cover the area with wads of newspaper or weed mat to smother out potential weeds.

• Raised beds allow you to start fresh with healthy soil.
• The soil stays warmer compared to the soil in the ground in doing so you extend your growing time in autumn and spring.
• Plants grow roots in more vertical space so you can fit more plants horizontally in a tighter space.
• The soil drains more quickly than in-ground beds.
• Tending or harvesting a raised bed is accomplished with increased comfort and ease.

Option 1:

Once you have constructed the garden bed, fill it with a combination of a quality garden soil (Garden Centres SA Terracotta and Tub Potting Mix) and organic matter (Garden Centres SA Organic Soil Improver).

For an added boost for your edibles, add some blood and Bone and some Sulphate of Potash to slowly feed your crop through the growing season. Note: that one good fistful of Blood and Bone, plus one part of Sulphate of Potash (10 parts + 1 part) per square metre of soil will be sufficient.

Option 2:

Fill the raised garden bed with layers of organic matter like pea straw, lucerne, compost (kitchen waste – fruit and vegetable peelings and cores, coffee grounds etc) and manure. These will rot down into a nutrient rich living soil. Top the bed with a good layer of garden compost (Garden Centres SA Organic Soil Improver). As the organic matter breaks down, top up the beds with more compost.

Note: Shallow rooted plants such as brassica’s (broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, collard greens, kale, and turnips) and lettuce are more suitable for this type of garden bed. You can then experiment with larger crops once the organic layers have begun to break down.

The next step to creating your kitchen garden is planting it!  Remember to water the seedlings well before gently removing from their containers.

Read the label for recommended spacing and ensure you dig a planting hole large enough to accommodate the roots comfortably. A good guide for this is to plant the seedling the same depth as they were in the punnet. Once planted backfill the hole, firming down the soil lightly around the base of the seedling.

Apply a good layer of mulch to your bed after planting to help retain moisture and reduce weed growth. Give your vegetable seedlings a dose of Seasol (enhances root growth) and PowerFeed (promotes flowering and fruiting) at the time of planting and every two weeks following this.

In the cooler seasons you may like to grow vegetables such as:

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Brussels sprouts
• Peas
• Onions

When the weather warms up, vegetables to be planted include:

• Tomatoes
• Sweet corn
• Capsicum
• Eggplant
• Chilli’s
• Lettuce

Don’t forget to add some fresh herbs to your kitchen garden. If you cook a mediterranean style food you may want to grow basil, oregano, marjoram and parsley. If an Asian flavour is required then grow coriander, lemon grass and Vietnamese mint.

Click on one of our blogs labelled – ‘What to Grow in’ … to find out what is in season. Check out the full range of vegetable seedlings ready to plant now at Kallinyalla Garden Centre.