How much space between raised veg beds?
michael_in_chicago(z5)February 3, 2014
Can anyone weigh in with some comments? I'm moving to a new house with a new garden. My current veg bed area I created myself with raised veg beds and spaces between them at 12-18", yes, inches. It is far too small, I realized later.
At the new place, I'm thinking of spacing them 3' to 3.5' apart. Anything I need to consider - size of garden carts, etc.?
Thanks.
Space between beds should be wide enough so that you can walk , pick and do whatever you have to do COMFORTABLY. Some people go further and say that it should be wide enough for the wheelbarrow . So it depend on the situation of the bed and how you are comfortable with the space. I can do with two feet.
JMO
Agree with the above. 24-28" woks for me.
Why waste growing space on paths and walkways? If you use equipment like tillers and wheelbarrows or if you don't mulch them and so have to mow then you'd need 3 feet but I sure wouldn't go any more than that.
Dave
You need what suits you. Like Dave said if you're mowing that's a consideration, and trucking the wheelbarrow through it. I can't see needing more than 2' myself, and with that you can still make nice paths and walkways.
Consider what you are planting and how you will plant, to make sure side branching does not impinge on your planned walkspace.
I have a small vegetable garden with raised beds. I have
30 inches between 4ft x 4ft beds with a long 11ft bed at the end of it. I have one path on on side of the garden that is 4ft wide and the other sides open to lawn. I like to be comfortable working in the beds and be able to kneel and use a riding seat too and use a wheelbarrow. I haven't had any issue at all with 30 inches.
I agree that you need to build them spaced the distance that works best for you. Having had raised beds spaced close together - you know the challenges that spacing causes. We love our spacing - because we spaced them for our needs. our beds are 4'x16' - 12" high (we have 6 of them) and we spaced them 4' apart. I like to kneel on the grass to work in the beds and 4' gives me plenty of room to do that. As important - 4' spacing is enough room for our zero-turn lawn mower to cut the grass. Many gardeners don't like grass between the beds - but I love it. It is clean - pleasant to look at - and easy to maintain. I prefer grass over gravel or concrete/pavers - but that is just our preference. I do not have a problem with the grass growing up in the raised bed but I also weed-eat around them regularly. We placed the 4x4 support posts inside the bed for clean lines on the outside of the bed. We also placed a 2x6 seat board on top of the 4x4's and edge of the bed - we love that feature!
I can see I need to take some photos of our raised beds during the summer that show better how they look now with grass instead of dirt & snow - but these photos should give you an idea of what we have done. They may be of help to you in deciding the best option for your needs.
This post was edited by Hudson...WY on Thu, Feb 6, 14 at 2:31
Hudson......Wyoming...What a view !.......
For my humble city garden I have beds that are 18" tall with a mulched pathway 24" wide.....this allows a 30" board to bridge two beds and provide a "seat" for me to straddle....(while tending the tiny lettuce and onion seedlings)
Hudson, I'm moving in! LOL, it's lovely really.
If I had a chance to do it over, I would go with 3 feet. I've tweeked my back trying to maneuver a wheelbarrow into a small space. Just my .02 Nancy
Thanks abnorm & VivVarble
Thanks for the compliments - you are welcome anytime. Wyoming is an awesome place to live for those that can tough out the cold - we are one of the sparsely populated states for a good reason - haha. I like your straddle seat idea abnorm! Here's a couple of photos - one of a double sunset viewed from our place and the other viewed from our garden - we live 100 miles south of Yellowstone National Park - a wonderful place to live if you don't mind the long winter!
This post was edited by Hudson...WY on Fri, Feb 7, 14 at 19:34
Something else I took into account for my new beds is how you weed. Do you weed with a hoe? Do you squat down and pull or are you like me, a bender-over(er) weeder? When I was younger, I didn't need as much space because my legs were strong and I could squat for long hours and pop up and down over and over again without much effort. But as I've gotten older, (and fatter,) I have to do the "bend-over" more and more. Some of my older rows are just a little too narrow for the maneuver and my rear-end has been known to cause a few fallen tomatoes and broken veggie branches. For me - 2.5 feet minimum.
The garden gets way bigger than you think it will. Here's quick-pix of my husband picking peas, and these beds are about 3 feet apart.
Three feet, at least.
Thank you, everyone. Hudson, beautiful. I needed this kind of gardener feedback!