Non-Toxic Raised Garden Beds
Raised garden beds are something that many gardeners want. Plants perform better in raised garden beds over planter boxes, because raised garden beds have no bottom. This allows plants to develop deeper roots. But not all raised garden beds are the same. If you’re concerned with growing organic food, don’t be tricked into building a toxic raised bed.
An organic raised bed garden starts with a toxin-free organic soil. For truly organic and healthy, clean produce, buy organic plant starts and fill your beds with organic soil. It can be expensive to fill deep raised garden beds with commercial soil, but there are alternatives to buying soil that work just as well if not better.
Many of the gardeners who have chosen to use Olle Garden Beds for their non-toxic gardening use the hugelkulture method. This takes just a few months to get started but can give you rich soil and a warmer growing environment for years to come. The basic idea is to take any downed wood you have around your property or that you can find — the more rotten it is the better. Line the bottom of your beds with large chunks of logs and keep piling smaller woody debris and leaves on top to fill in the gaps. Then cover that stack with manure or compost and lastly top it off with soil.
In this way, you can drastically cut down the amount of soil you have to buy. As the wood undergoes the natural process of decomposing, it creates rich soil and warmth in the garden bed.
Easy Non-Toxic Raised Bed Kits
If you're planning to grow root vegetables, experts recommend that your raised garden bed vegetable garden be at least 17 to 32 inches deep. Not only does the depth create a better root zone for many plants, you can avoid bending over as much while Gardening. Another benefit is that if the soil underneath your bed is contaminated, you can still enjoy non-toxic gardening because the plant's roots won't be in the contaminated soil.Olle Garden Beds offers simple loft garden bed kits made of high quality galvanized steel covered with Aluzinc coating. They are very easy to assemble and lightweight. After a year of growing tomatoes, herbs, vegetables and root vegetables, I can say that these beds are very durable. They endured high temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit as well as cold, snowy winters below freezing. The beds have performed extremely well, withstanding hail, torrential rain and drought. I love not having to hunker down when planting or harvesting vegetables. They are also the ideal height for toddlers to steal some greens while playing outdoors.
