Raised Bed Garden Mistakes- 10 You Don’t Want to Make!

You spent money and time building raised bed and now your don’t want to make these raised bed garden mistakes! Using raised garden beds for your garden can have great benefits. You can control the soil quality, fewer weeds, and higher off the ground. I want you to start off your raised beds perfectly so here are some of the common mistakes you don’t want to make!

1. Making Beds Too Wide

Raised beds that are too wide make it hard to reach the middle without stepping in the soil. A good rule is no wider than 4 feet so you can easily reach from both sides. It is even easier to have beds no wider than 3 feet so you don’t have to walk around your bed to get to the other side. 

2. Poor Soil

One of the biggest mistakes is filling raised beds with crappy soil. Raised beds need loose, well-draining soil like a mix of compost, topsoil, and organic matter so roots can grow easily. I like to fill the bottom of the beds with dead leaves and cardboard. This will feed your soil and be more cost efficient.

3. Preparing Ground For Raised Bed

If you build beds directly on grass or weeds without cardboard or landscape fabric underneath, those weeds can grow right up through your bed. I even have had weeds grow through the cardboard and up the top of my raised beds! I was so glad I put a barrier down to suppress the weeds. You also might want to consider putting down hardware cloth if your garden has burrowing pests like voles and gophers.

4. Not Weeding

Although your raised bed will have few weeds it will still need to be weeded weekly. If you look over this important task your raised bed will be filled with as many weeds as the ground.

5. Placing Beds Wrong Location

Most vegetables and flowers need 6–8 hours of sunlight. Placing beds in a shady area can lead to small plants and low harvests. You can do a sunlight test by going to your raised bed location every 3 hours to check the sunlight. Do this before you build your raised bed to make sure you get enough sunlight.

6. Overcrowding Plants

It’s tempting to plant more to get a bigger harvest, but overcrowded plants compete for nutrients resulting in smaller plants and harvest. Planting to close also lowers airflow, which can lead to disease.

7. Watering Incorrectly

Raised beds drain faster than some in-ground gardens. If you don’t water consistently, plants can dry out quickly—especially in hot weather. If you don’t know if you need to water, stick your finger in the ground next to your plants if the soil feels dry it is time to water.

8. Wrong Materials

Some older pressure-treated wood contains chemicals that can leach into soil. It’s safer to use cedar, redwood, or untreated wood. If you are taking the time to grow a garden, make it as organic as possible.

9. Making Raised Bed Too Deep or Shallow

Very shallow beds restrict roots, while overly deep beds require a lot of soil to fill. Most raised beds do well with 10–12 inches of soil.

10. Forgetting About Path Spacing

If beds are placed too close together, it becomes difficult to walk, weed, and harvest. Leave at least 2–3 feet between beds for comfortable access. I like to leave enough space to easily get my wheel barrel through.

Raised Bed Garden Mistakes Conclusion

Using raised beds can be a benefit in the garden. I hope you have an even more successful year with these raised garden mistakes you don’t have to make! Happy growing and I hope you have a large harvest this year! If you are grow cur flowers this year I have a free cut flower garden layout HERE!

As always,

grow flower to heal your soul

Beth