Tara Nolan - Raised Bed Revolution: Build It, Fill It, Plant It... Garden Anywhere!

PHOTO CREDIT: Donna Griffith

When you hear the word revolution, what comes to mind? You probably think of the more common definition, which is rebellion or uprising, right? But revolution also means innovation and modernization. For the purpose of this discussionand for this whole book, for that matterlets focus on those last two words.

The emphasis on eating fresh, local food over the past few years has really changed the landscape of our towns and cities. Not only are farmers markets more popular than ever before, more and more people are deciding to put their green thumbs to the test and grow their own food at home.

This is where innovation and modernization come into play.

Raised beds arent a new invention, but they have certainly become more prevalent with this movement to grow fresh produce. And theyve helped to modernize the way we garden. In bigger yards, raised beds seem to have replaced the typical expanse of a veggie plot. Whats more, gardeners have gotten creative over the years and are experimenting with different options. This burst of innovation means a raised bed may not be a typical rectangle shape built from timber.

In fact, raised beds can be made in all shapes and stylesrectangles, squares, triangles, and circles; ankle- and waist-height; wooden and stone construction. They can even be welded out of steel, aging to a nice rust-colored patina over time, or made out of corrugated sheets of steel inset in a wood frame. Creative DIYers are rescuing materials from scrap heaps, antique markets, behind sheds, and underneath decks to upcycle into raised beds. Commonly found items, such as washbasins, stock tanks, and recycling bins, are getting a new lease on life as ready-made gardens.

As the types of beds have changed, so have their locations. Raised beds are no longer just confined to the backyard. Theyre appearing on front and side lawns of residential streets, spaces that were once reserved solely for grass or ornamental plantings. Homeowners are reaping the benefits of that extra space and growing food to feed their families. Often the front yard becomes the prime candidate for a raised bed because thats the spot on the property with the best growing conditionslots of hot sun! But savvy gardeners are taking advantage of whatever locations they can find.

My first raised beds, ready to be installed in their new home. Tara Nolan

The first two raised beds filled with soil and ready to plant with garlic. Tara Nolan

Raised beds also are appearing in school and community gardens as well as in botanical and public gardensoften with accompanying seminars to teach people how to build and plant them. And if you peek behind a restaurant or look at a local eaterys rooftop, theres a good chance youll catch a glimpse of a variety of raised beds where chefs have easy access to fresh herbs and a host of other menu-worthy edibles.

You may have started to see a newer type of raised bed here and there. Called enabling gardens, they provide accessible growing spaces and inspiration to those who have various limitations. They help people with cognitive or physical disabilities enjoy the peace, motivation, and satisfaction that come from gardening.

Raised beds have also become instructional tools. Inner-city organizations are pairing them with educational programming to teach children who live in dense, urban areas where food comes from. Urban grocers and farmers markets show enthusiastic new green thumbs how to garden for the first time, inspiring them to test their skills with edibles. Then, at the end of the season, they teach excited gardeners what they can do with their fresh bounty by offering a range of classes, from canning and preserving to incorporating fresh produce into healthy recipes.

Food banks also have benefitted from the increased use of raised beds for growing edibles. Individuals as well as organizations and community gardens often donate their extra bounty to feed the less fortunate.

The increased excitement for growing edibles has resulted in more interesting varieties of plants available at local nurseries, garden centers, and grocery stores. Edibles that once had to be grown from seed are being introduced to the masses in the form of plants. And an increasing selection of patio plants allows those with minuscule spaces to grow everything from tomatoes to mini melons.

Some of the most interesting raised beds youll see are actually built from kits. Donna Griffith

Which leads to one very important detail about owning raised beds: they prove you dont necessarily need a conventional yard to grow a row of tomatoes. Because youre filling raised beds with your own mix of fresh, nutrient-rich soil, they can sit on gravel, pavement, poor soil, rooftopspretty much anywhere!

Yards that were deemed to be hostile growing environments, with hard-packed clay or even sand, as well as patio stones, driveways, and decks, are no longer off-limits. You can place a raised bed right on them and fill it with quality soil.

Raised beds can be added to any backyard in a configuration that suits the available space. Built-in trellis systems provide no-fuss support to vining plants. Hilary Dahl for Seattle Urban Farm Co.

And lets not forget that a great deal of the population lives in urban spacesor subdivisions with postage-stamp-sized lots. Rooftops, balconies, and teeny, tiny patios have all become fair game when it comes to locations for growing your own food. This means that gardeners may have to get creative when it comes to what theyre planting in, but options abound. There are all sorts of compact raised beds that can be placed out of the way in a sunny corner. Some even have self-watering systems in place, so they require even less maintenance.

Planting ornamental blooms near your raised beds not only adds visual interest to the area, they attract valuable pollinators too. Bren Haas