What Are The Five Best Vegetables To Grow In Raised Beds?

For gardeners, raised beds are a powerful tool, offering control over soil quality, drainage, and temperature, especially in unpredictable climates. This control allows for a wider variety of vegetables, with the added advantage of earlier cropping and planting. The use of Westland Boost All Purpose further enhances this control. In this blog post, we will discuss how to care for plants, harvesting, and the added benefit of using cold frames.

Why to Grow Vegetables in Raised Beds?

Raised beds are a lifeline for gardeners in uncertain weather conditions, providing a host of benefits for gardening:

1. Improved Soil Quality: Raised beds help to improve the quality as you can customise the soil mix in the raised beds, ensuring its rich drainage and proper fertility in vegetables.

1. Excellent Drainage System: Heavy rainfall in some areas can cause the problem, so raised beds help to prevent root rot, waterlogging and drainage. 

1. Warmer Soil: Raised beds help to extend the growing seasons as soil in beds warms up very quickly.

1. Readily Available: Raised beds make gardening easy and accessible as it reduces the need for bending and kneeling. 

1. Extermination: It becomes easy to manage and control the pests and weeds in the raised beds. Alongside, you can explore various gardening products that help you to prevent pests.

Vegetables that have Excellent Growth in Raised Beds

Raised beds have controlled conditions that allow a wide variety of vegetables to grow.  Below are some best choices of gardeners that you can also adopt and grow vegetables in your raised beds:

Carrots: Try Nantes, Chanteys, Butterhead Autumn king

• Why Raised Beds: The well-drained soil helps the carrots to develop long, straight roots.
• Care Tips: Carrots need consistent water but not too much waterlogging. Add mulch to retain the moisture and prevent weeds.
• Harvesting: Carrots can be harvested depending on the preference. It may be finger-sized or larger.

Lettuce: Try Little Gem, Butterhead, Lollo Rosso 

• Why Raised Beds: Raised beds are beneficial for growing lettuce, as they provide good drainage and nutrient-rich soil and help to protect the plants from snails and slugs.
• Care Tips: To plant the seed directly either adequately in the bed or to get an earlier harvest then put the seed within the cold frame. With the help of organic barriers, protect the plants from pests and slugs by giving them water properly.
• Harvesting: You can wait for the full heads to form or can cut the leaves of lettuce, depending upon the variety, the lettuce can be grown in 2 to 3 weeks. 

Beetroot: Try Boltardy, Chioggia, Golden

• Why Raised Beds: For easy root development, beetroot needs healthy drainage soil of raised beds. 
• Care Tips: Sow beetroot seeds directly in the bed and thin them out as they grow. Give consistent water to avoid the woody roots in dry weather.
• Harvesting: The beetroot can be harvested when it is the golf ball size, and the younger beetroot is much more flavourful. You can use Westland Boost All Purpose to enhance the yield of the production of beetroot.

Onions: Try Red Baron, Sturon, Centurion

• Why Raised Beds: Onions can grow in the well-drained soil of the raised beds, where they are less prone to bacteria or rot. A cold frame on the top of the onions can help them to dry.
• Care Tips: Onions can grow from sets or seeds, and the space between them is 6 to 7 inches, especially during dry spells; water them regularly. To prevent rot, avoid over-watering.
• Harvesting: When the top turns yellow or brown or falls over and before storing let them dry under the sun.

Spinach: Try Medania, Perpetual, Lazio

• Why Raised Beds: Spinach attracts many pests and weeds, and raised beds help to protect them from various pests.
• Care Tips: Spinach can grow quickly. You can sow seed in succession for continuous harvest. It helps to encourage growth if the soil is moist and harvested regularly.
• Harvesting: Spinach can be harvested when baby spinach tends to grow larger and it promotes further growth. Additionally there are various gardening products used for the proper harvesting of spinach and help to remove the pests.

Conclusion: Raised beds are an excellent choice for gardeners to grow vegetables because beds offer better control over the soil, drainage and pests. By taking proper care with the use of a cold frame, you can produce homegrown vegetables. Enjoy fresh vegetables with your family and loved ones.