Pros & Cons of Having a Garden Bed

Spring means getting your hands dirty for planting season. Whether it’s plants or vegetables, you might be thinking about creating a garden bed this year. Now, when it comes to gardening, I realize everyone has their own school of thought and specific way to address the year’s crop. However, if you’re new, here are a few pros and cons to building a garden bed.





They’re Pretty
 
When laid out correctly, garden beds look much cleaner and more organized than traditional gardens.
  
Keeps Those Kids and Animals Out
 
If you’ve had a garden, you understand that keeping animals and children away from your plants can be a task at times. Having a raised garden bed can eliminate a little bit of this risk.
 
You Can Start Planting Early
 
The soils inside the bed warm up a lot faster than soils in the ground. That means with a garden bed, you can get a jump on your planting early in the season.



They’re a Bit Pricey
 
?If you’re not going to use the natural land for a garden, a bed is going to cost you more in materials. You have to buy the supplies to actually create your box, plus the soil and any fertilizer that you might use
  
They Take a Lot of Water
 
Raised beds require more watering than a traditional garden. In warm summer weather, the soil will dry faster. Setting up a drip irrigation system can be difficult with garden beds, which will require you to get out more and water by hand.
  
They’re Not So Sustainable
 
Since you’re most likely going to be supplying the soil and materials for the bed, garden beds can be less sustainable than a traditional bed.