The raised bed is a back-friendly and attractive alternative to the classic flower or vegetable bed and can be filled with a real bloom in the first year or serve as a cultivation area for herbs. However, there are a few things to consider, because raised beds must be prepared thoroughly before the first vegetables can be planted. Likewise, the right plants must be chosen for this period, as only certain ones are suitable for this.

Which plants for the 1st year?

The first year in the raised bed is critical and no mistakes must be made here, otherwise you will have to do the whole job all over again the following year. Regardless of whether you decide to plant vegetables or flowers, these should be suitable for the fresh substrate. Heavy feeders such as vegetables and flowers may only be used for the first year. Since the extremely fresh substrate decomposes more quickly due to the higher heat effect in the raised bed, there is a higher output of nutrients, which of course benefits the heavy feeders. Therefore, plant with the following vegetables:

  • tomatoes
  • Beetroot
  • cucumbers
  • Cabbage, cauliflower, white cabbage, red cabbage
  • celery
  • Peppers, including hot peppers and chillies
  • Potatoes from early to late potatoes, sweet potatoes
  • spinach
  • broccoli

Here, avoid growing vegetables that take up a lot of space, including pumpkins, zucchini and rhubarb. These would blow up the space of the planter and are therefore not suitable for planting in raised beds. When planting vegetables, you should also pay attention to the mixed cultures that can be made possible with the individual vegetable varieties. This is how you kill two birds with one stone if you want to fully exploit the potential of your raised bed. You should pay attention to the combinations of the varieties with each other.

combinations

  • Tomatoes: likes beans, cauliflower, spinach and celery, dislikes red cabbage and fennel
  • Beetroot: likes onions, runner and French beans, dill
  • Cucumbers: likes cabbage, dislikes tomatoes and potatoes
  • Cabbage, cauliflower, white cabbage, red cabbage: like celery, don't like strawberries, garlic or onions
  • Celery: compatible with everything, spinach, potatoes and beetroot are tolerated but have no positive effect
  • Potatoes from new to late, sweet potatoes: all except celery and beetroot
  • Spinach: likes all beans, all kinds of potatoes and tomatoes

This allows you to plant your raised bed with colorful mixed cultures without running the risk of using the wrong plants in the first season. If you want to plant flowers, you should also rely on heavy feeders here:

  • sunflowers
  • tulips
  • chrysanthemums
  • geraniums

You can use these to plant your raised bed as you wish and you don't have to worry about which ones go together. Above all, the numerous colors of the tulips look good in a raised bed, as they draw the focus to themselves. The same goes for the sunflowers, which can grow to a considerable height without bursting the pot. If you have considered planting the bed not only with vegetables and flowers, but also with herbs, basil is the only choice for the first season. Other herbs require poorer soil. The basil also protects other plants from possible pathogens.

What are heavy feeders?

Heavy feeders are only used for the first raised bed season, since the amount of nutrients in the substrate is so high that weak and medium feeders would have problems with it. Heavy consumers, on the other hand, depend on these quantities to form the large fruiting bodies, such as peppers or aubergines. Above all, nitrogen should be mentioned here, which is essential for healthy heavy consumers, but not for other plants such as lettuce, which would form too much nitrate as a result. The heavy feeders mentioned above are good starter cultures, but there are other plants that you can plant in the first year:

  • Sugar and watermelons (only with greenhouse attachment)
  • tobacco
  • sugar beet
  • artichokes
  • sweetcorn
  • asparagus

Together you can create attractive vegetable gardens that work together effectively and prepare the soil in the first year. This is important, because this is the only way for the medium-eaters to be able to use the raised bed in the following season without being overwhelmed by the nutrients. Fruit trees and berry bushes are not so well suited for the raised bed as they become too large and heavy for the bed. Of course, small varieties of fruit trees would work, as long as they stay small and don't burst the container with their roots. A lemon sapling along with some of the flowers mentioned above could be ideal here.

The following years

After the first year, you can focus entirely on different plants that you would like to keep in your raised bed. You should only pay attention to a suitable planting sequence that does not stress the soil and that the amount of nutrients in the soil is ideal for the plants in the following season. Again, you follow a specific plan that will help you choose the right mixed culture:

  • 1st season: only heavy feeders
  • 2nd and 3rd season: mainly medium consumers, small amounts of heavy consumers possible
  • 4th season: only weak feeders, apart from medium feeders who are loyal to the location
  • 5th season: change the filling
  • From season 6: repeat everything

As you can see, by growing the individual feeder types, you prepare the filling of the raised bed for the following plants. Of course it is recommended if you only use one type of feeder per year, but a mixture of the different types is also possible. However, this is the ideal plan for getting the highest yields and healthiest plants in your raised bed. This also applies to flowers, as they grow in the same way. The important thing here is always the right amount of nitrogen, without which the plants could not survive, but too much of a good thing is also harmful.

medium eater

As the name suggests, medium feeders require less nitrogen, but still a good amount. They are, so to speak, the second stage in the raised bed, as they lie between the weak and heavy feeders and prepare the soil for the weak feeders so that they can use it. Center feeders are the largest group of raised bed plants and offer a wide range of tasty plants and a few types of flowers to use:

  • Chicory
  • Chinese cabbage
  • endive
  • Strawberry (local)
  • fennel
  • carrot
  • garlic
  • Kohlrabi
  • leek
  • lovage
  • chard
  • parsnip
  • Parsely
  • broad bean
  • radicchio
  • radish
  • salads
  • chives
  • salsify
  • pole beans
  • sugarloaf

For example, if you choose strawberries here, you can use them next year with the weak feeders, as long as they stand a little apart from them. A big advantage of the Mittelzehrer is that you can use more and more classic kitchen herbs here, which of course is always a good idea. You can also grow one of the most popular middle feeders, the lettuce, in all its variations. An advantage here is the direct heat distribution of the raised bed, which allows you to plant the middle eaters even in early spring and thus harvest faster, which in turn leads to more frequent harvests into autumn.

Mittelzer flowers:

  • dahlias
  • gloxinia
  • snapdragons

Although the selection of flowers for the Mittelzehrer is quite small, their rich colors create an attractive contrast within the garden. The dahlias in particular are popular here, as they range from red to white to violet and stand out due to their large flowers.

weak feeder

The weak consumers are extremely sensitive and must not get too much nitrogen, otherwise they will either produce too much nitrate or the growth will suffer. For this reason, these are only cultivated in the 4th year, since the soil is severely exhausted at this time and therefore perfect for those who consume little. As you can see, many plants are annuals or biennials so that the annual schedule can be perfectly followed. Of course, this does not apply to trees, which are rarely found in raised beds. The selection of weak feeders is quite clear, but here are tasty plants:

  • bush bean
  • pea
  • Lamb's lettuce
  • Herbs such as rosemary, dill, coriander and others
  • cress
  • purslane
  • radish
  • turnip
  • arugula

The numerous herbs that you can plant in raised beds are particularly popular this season. Apart from the herbs mentioned so far (basil, chives and parsley), you can theoretically use all other herbs. That means you can create a real little herb garden that will provide you with fresh produce for several months. Lamb's lettuce is a classic here and is very popular here, as are peas and beans, which can be harvested in large quantities here.

Weak Eater Flowers:

  • azaleas
  • begonias
  • pansies
  • petunias
  • primroses

The variety of flowers is one of the most unusual for those who are weak and that makes flower lovers particularly happy. Many different colored aspects are offered here, as well as different sizes of the flower. Pansies are always welcome and do extremely well here. If you plant this extensively with pansies in different colors, you can enjoy the sight every day. But be careful not to over-fertilize the soil.

Planting: a guide

After you have decided on suitable vegetables, flowers and herbs, you now come to the actual planting of the raised bed. Here you have to make sure that you have to pull the individual plants forward so that they can then simply be placed in the raised bed. This increases the productivity of the bed and at the same time the crop yield. Before planting, prepare a planting plan that shows exactly where which plants should be planted. This saves you work because you can simply follow the plan. Please note that the planting distance in a raised bed is about one-fifth smaller. Proceed as follows when planting:

1. Thoroughly loosen the soil with the rake. Even if you've just filled in the layers, this is necessary to allow some air into the soil.
2. Prepare the planting holes according to the plan. Plan a 1.5 to 2.5 times the volume for the hole for the respective plant, measured at the root ball.
3. Remove the young plants from their pots and soak them in water so that the root ball is nice and moist. Then put them in the holes and press down on the soil.
4. Now you have to moisten all the plants well so that they don't die right away. In general, it is now important to water the vegetables and flowers in the raised bed more frequently than their outdoor relatives. Orientate yourself on the dryness of the surface and of course on the respective care profiles of the individual plants.

Tip: You can also plant the raised bed with vegetable and flower bulbs in autumn, as the bed is perfect for this. To do this, plant the bulbs in the ground as usual according to the plan and cover the bed with a tarpaulin over the winter months to protect it from too much moisture.

Category:

Garden design