Using Vinyl Raised Beds to Grow Your Own Food Year Round
As more and more people are confronted with the health risks of processed foods and the energy drain of trucking foods into our areas, they are turning to gardening and growing their own food. Others are content to eat as much local food as they can find and just fill in the gaps with shipped in foods.
Another challenge that a lot of people find themselves facing is space. Most of us do not start off in houses with great big yards that allow us to put in a large garden or greenhouse. With that said, we are forced to find ways to grow food that is more space conscious and using raised garden beds, especially the tiered kind, takes care of this problem.
It is said that when “the times get tough the tough get going”. During the tough times of the depression there were many families that had gardens because there was no other choice. Today families do have a choice and they are choosing their health.
It is by using what we know about gardening that can bring on some pretty good ideas about incorporating raised bed kits into a year long growing plan that can be used whether you live in the city or out in the country. It will be less expensive in some ways but as with all gardening, it does take a commitment of time and resources.
One of the greatest challenges is living in the inner cities. One of the greatest things about a raised bed is you can, if you are careful, use them on stoops, balconies and decks. You need to find out the weight restrictions of the platform and use light soils to fill the bed. If the bed is too heavy, try different types of containers to create a container garden.
Since your plants will not grow well without the sun, make sure you place your raised garden bed where there is as much sun as possible. There are some options for covering the plants that range from using plastic of some kind to cold frames and small portable greenhouses. You will need to make the best choice for your situation. Just know that you will need to cover plants once the temperature dips below 45 degrees.
Another consideration during the colder months will be heat. Your plants will need to be kept above that 40 degree mark if at all possible. You can accomplish this with a number of methods but the easiest is to use a small electric heater. Just be safe and make sure it is free and has a lot of room around it. You can also heat up and pot of water and simply place it within the enclosure as the heat will radiate all night long.
What you should be able to take away from this article is the fact that you can grow your own food on a year round basis as long as you plan well and have the right tools and equipment. It doesn’t take a lot of money and is well worth the effort once you start harvesting those tasty veggies and herbs. Good Luck!
There are some great raised garden bed kits on the market today. You can also use a cedar raised bed to grow organically.
