I gardened for many years in the ground and used a lot of space. My last garden was a half-acre. I had never even considered using raised garden boxes before.
When I first found garden boxes, I was skeptical about getting the variety and the yield I wanted. I thought this small space couldn’t possibly do what I wanted. Oh, was I wrong! Planting for vertical growth changed everything for me.
Top reasons why I fell in love with raised garden boxes:
- Less garden space needed
- Control over the soil
- Flexible garden space
- Year-round gardening
Let’s dive into the details…
Less Garden Space Needed
The yield is fantastic for this small space. I wasn’t looking for the same size yield as my last garden so I was surprised at how much I could actually grow. When growing vertically, you are adding additional space to your garden. So, when growing melons, for example, you can leave inches rather than feet between the plants as the wandering plants will grow up the trellises rather than spread across the ground. In my humble estimation, I’ve tripled the size of my garden in raised garden boxes vs. the ground footprint I’d need for comparable growth.
Control Over the Soil
Another great benefit is I control exactly what dirt and fertilizers go into these boxes. This gives me control of what goes into my fruits and vegetables, and ultimately what goes into my family’s bodies!
Flexible Garden Space
My raised garden boxes fit within my existing yard so I can grow what I’d like without having to change the landscape design. I have an open space where I put a group of garden boxes, some connected by trellises to provide that vertical growth. I also utilize the smaller spaces throughout my yard where I want to place small planter boxes for herbs, “space invader plants“, and flowers to attract more bees.
Year-Round Gardening
Using raised garden boxes incentivizes me to extend the green and beauty of the garden by gardening year-round. I can have better control over the temperature of the soil by using box covers at night when the temperature drops lower than the plants like and using the trellises to provide natural shade. I love the look of the raised garden boxes in my yard with the beautiful, simple trellises going from box to box. Walking through any garden is always relaxing, so add in greenery covered trellises to walk under and it feels like a garden wonderland!
For all these reasons, raised garden boxes have been a great choice for me and I can’t believe I haven’t tried them until now!