Building Raised BedsBuilding Raised Beds

For beginning gardeners and homeowners, this handbook shows you exactly how to plan, build, and plant a simple raised bed. Fully illustrated step-by-step instructions make it easy and ensure success! In just a weekend, using a few basic materials and minimal building skills, you can set up a complete garden bed adapted for vegetables, flowers, or herbs.    A Storey BASICS title addresses the popular topic of raised-bed gardening with this introduction to simple raised beds that any homeowner or beginning gardener can plan, build, and plant in a weekend with basic materials and little knowledge or skill. Fern Marshall Bradley, author of Building Raised Beds and Saving Vegetable Seeds, is a long-time editor of books about organic gardening, organic farming, and sustainable living. Bradley lives and gardens in Cambridge, New York. Build the Perfect Home for Your Plants Frame your garden's beauty and bounty with raised beds that are manageably sized, easy to expand, and full of loose, rich soil for your flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Whether you make your beds with boards, logs, cinderblocks, or just piled-up soil, expert gardener Fern Marshall Bradley will lead you through the process. You'll learn the best ways to site, build, plant, and care for your beds; how to build a trellis; and even how to give your beds an artistic touch.   Introduction: The Built-In Benefits of Raised Beds Sized Right for Success – Perfectly Designed for Super Soil – Ready to Plant Right from the Start – Easy to Expand Chapter One: Getting Started Investigating Sunlight and Soil – Dig Down or Build Up? – Dimensions and Layout Chapter Two: Building Your Beds Digging Down – Building Up – How to Build a Wood-Framed Raised Bed – How to Build a Frame on a Slope – Soil Amendments – Pathways Chapter Three: Planting and Tending Planting How-To – Watering – Mulching and Feeding – Dealing with Weeds, Pests, and Diseases Chapter Four: Accessorizing Your Bed Setting Up a Support System – Installing a Watering System – Sending Your Garden into Space – How to Build a Sturdy Vertical Trellis – Adding Artistic Touches Resources Metric Conversion Chart Index