Does this raised bed design look good or crazy?

11 years ago

Hi Folks,

First post in this forum; hope it's the right one. DH and I are getting ready to build some raised beds for our veggie garden. We came up with a design that we think maximizes garden space and still provides good access for weeding and etc. However, I've never seen a bed with this design, which either means we're geniuses or there's some reason that this is a bad idea. The shape we're considering is kind of like a comb, with one long bed on the north side of our property for very tall things, and smaller beds extending towards the south.
{{gwi:291963}}

We were thinking about a 11" depth for the raised bed. It's regular soil underneath, so deeper rooters should still be okay. Whole thing has to be fenced in because we have gophers and rabbits.

Thanks for any advice you can provide!

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Comments (5)

thundaghh
11 years ago
Looks good to me, makes good use of the space you have available .. my only concern would be how much sunlight you get with it being between the two garages ..
dirtguy50 SW MO z6a
11 years ago
pbl, I think two parallel beds will give you the same amount of planting space, use less wood, and make gardening easier than going part way down the tree center pathways. JMO. It would look nice however.
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cindy_ga
11 years ago
I was going to do this kind of layout early on in my garden design and then opted for beds that are 4x12 or 4x16 and then there's one really long one that's 4x27ish. The hassle is always that you get tired of walking around the beds to get something that is one bed over. If you can easily step over the inside of the comb parts, you'll be fine. But if not, you'll kick yourself for making those extra steps - particularly if you're pushing a wheelbarrow of compost or such to dump into the bed...

But it would look really nice! :)
dowlinggram
11 years ago
I agree with Cindy. Your design would look great but it is not the best layout for working in the garden. Too much walking around beds. 2-- 3.5 X 23.5 beds with a 3 foot path between would give you a bit more planting room and easy access to all points in the garden.

Or do a long narrow bed along the lot line and interplant with veggies and flowers and 1 raised bed you can reach from both sides with no paths. My concern for any plan you choose is the amount of sunlight you will get with the existing buildings shading things. Before you decide what to do do a sunlight assessment. Sunlight in certain spots change during the year so try to remember or imagine how much sun that spot will get in summer. Maybe photos taken in your yard can help.
pbl_ge
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks for your thoughts, folks! I think I've confused people with the orientation of the drawing--north is to the left, so the garages do not interfere with sun at all during the summer. In winter months our garage might get in the way a little bit, but it's several feet away, so it's not too bad. Our house is a bigger problem, so we'll have to be conscientious of that when we build the beds (as far east as possible) and what we plant (more shade-tolerance to the west).

The point about having to walk around is a good one, and honestly hadn't occurred to me. We will discuss.

Thanks!