Starting Your Garden

Written By Delaney Royer

Starting Your Own Raised Bed Garden: A Step-by-Step Guide

By Christie Tarleton @thefarmersflorist

Starting a raised bed garden is one of the most rewarding ways to grow your own food, cultivate beautiful flowers, and support a thriving ecosystem right in your own backyard. Whether you're aiming for a vibrant cut flower garden, a thriving vegetable plot, or a mix of both, raised beds provide excellent soil control,  and easier weed management that seamlessly integrates into your daily life with minimal maintenance — making gardening accessible for everyone, regardless of space limitations. Here’s a little step by step on how to get started, from soil prep to succession planting, and how to make the most of your space.

Preparing Your Raised Beds for the Growing Season

Before planting, it’s essential to prepare your raised beds to ensure healthy soil and strong plant growth. Raised beds offer a practical solution for those with limited space. Their defined borders make soil management easier, requiring less weeding and maintenance than traditional in-ground gardens. With proper planning, raised beds can fit into daily routines with minimal effort, making gardening accessible to people of all skill levels and schedules. Let’s get started with your bed preparation:

  • Clear Out Old Growth: Remove any remaining plant debris, weeds, or mulch from the previous season.

  • Aerate the Soil: Lightly turn the soil with a fork to improve air circulation.

  • Amend Your Soil: Add 2-3 inches of compost to enrich nutrients. Consider additional amendments like bone meal for root growth, worm castings for microbial activity, and an organic balanced fertilizer.

  • Mulch & Water: A layer of organic mulch will retain moisture, suppress weeds, and keep soil temperatures stable. Organic mulch can range from sustainable options such as sheep wool (if you have access) to straw mulch. 

Resources for Soil Amendments:

Starting Your Seeds – With or Without a Greenhouse

Growing from seed allows you to select the best varieties suited for your climate and taste while giving you greater control over plant health and quality. Starting from seed ensures access to heirloom and specialty varieties that may not be available at local nurseries, allowing you to curate a unique selection of flowers, vegetables, and herbs not often seen in most gardens. Additionally, seed starting fosters a deeper understanding of plant lifecycles and optimal growing conditions, helping gardeners refine their skills season after season. By carefully selecting seeds adapted to your growing zone and microclimate, you get to set the foundation for a productive and resilient garden. Not everyone has access to a greenhouse, and albeit a useful “tool” in starting your garden, it’s not entirely necessary. 

If You Have a Greenhouse:

A greenhouse extends your growing season and provides a controlled environment for germination, ensuring a higher success rate for delicate seedlings. It allows for earlier planting in the season and provides a buffer against unpredictable weather conditions. Properly set-up greenhouses can help maintain consistent humidity and temperature levels, reducing stress on young plants and increasing your garden’s productivity.

  • Use seed trays tailored to plant size (128-cell trays for small seeds, 72-cell trays for larger plants). 

  • Heat mats and humidity domes help warm-season crops like tomatoes and peppers germinate faster. 

  • Harden off seedlings before transplanting by gradually exposing them to outdoor temperatures.

If You Don't Have a Greenhouse:

  • Start seeds indoors on a south-facing windowsill or under grow lights to prevent legginess. An all-encompassing Seed Starter Kit may be a good place to start if you are limited on space such as this 72-Cell Seed Starter Trays with Grow Lights and Heat Mat: This kit includes seed trays, an adjustable humidity dome, integrated grow lights, and a waterproof heat mat to promote faster germination and healthy seedling development. 

  • Use a simple cold frame or repurposed plastic storage bins to create a mini greenhouse effect outdoors.

  • Direct sow hardy crops (calendula, chamomile, and bachelor buttons) in early spring, while tender crops (cosmos, basil, cucumbers) wait until after the last frost.

Planning for Succession Planting

Succession planting is a strategic approach to gardening that ensures continuous harvests by staggering plantings throughout the growing season. Many gardeners miss out on maximizing their space and harvest potential by planting everything at once and failing to replenish beds with new crops as previous ones finish. By planning ahead and implementing succession planting, you can maintain a steady supply of fresh produce and flowers, making full use of your growing season.

For example, leafy greens like lettuce and cilantro can be sown every two to three weeks to ensure a continuous supply. Fast-growing crops like radishes, bush beans, and spinach can be replanted multiple times in a single season. As early spring crops like peas and chamomile finish, their space can be transitioned into summer crops such as tomatoes and peppers. Later in the season, beds that housed summer crops can be replanted with fall-hardy vegetables like kale and carrots. We’re created a visual chart for our own garden this year based on the crops we’re growing to help plan our succession planting.

By taking advantage of succession planting, you can not only maximize your garden’s yield but also improve soil health, reduce pest issues, and keep your garden looking full and productive throughout the year.

Here’s some examples of succession planting: 

  • Early Spring (Before Last Frost): Start cold-hardy crops like snap peas, spinach, and chamomile.

  • Mid-Spring (After Last Frost): Plant tomatoes, peppers, squash, and zinnias.

  • Every 2-3 Weeks: Stagger plantings of fast-growing crops like lettuce, cilantro, and beans to ensure continuous production.

  • Late Summer to Fall: Sow late-season flowers like rudbeckia and amaranth alongside fall crops like kale and carrots.

Mixing Cut Flowers & Vegetables for a Thriving Ecosystem

Integrating flowers and vegetables in the same space creates a dynamic and resilient garden ecosystem. Flowers such as marigolds, borage, and calendula attract beneficial insects like ladybugs and hoverflies, which naturally keep aphid populations in check. Pollinators, including bees and butterflies, are drawn to a diverse array of blooms, leading to increased fruit and vegetable yields. Additionally, certain flowers act as trap crops, drawing harmful pests away from more delicate vegetables and flowers. Research from organizations such as the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation highlights the importance of incorporating flowering plants to sustain pollinator health. By thoughtfully planning your raised bed garden with a mix of vegetables and companion flowers, you not only enhance biodiversity but also reduce the need for synthetic pest control methods, leading to a healthier and more productive growing environment.

  • Calendula & Basil repel aphids and improve the flavor of tomatoes.

  • Nasturtium & Cucumbers discourage cucumber beetles while adding edible flowers to the mix.

  • Dahlias & Beans work well together as dahlias attract beneficial insects that control bean pests.

  • Borage & Strawberries improve pollination and overall fruit yield.

By integrating flowers into your vegetable beds, you create a more resilient garden that requires fewer interventions and enjoys better productivity.

Ongoing Garden Care & Maintenance

  • Water Deeply: Aim for 1-2 inches per week, preferably in the morning.

  • Mulch & Weed Regularly: Suppress weeds and retain moisture by using straw, wood chips or even sheep’s wool.

  • Fertilize as Needed: Use fish emulsion, compost tea, or organic liquid fertilizers for extra nutrients.

  • Deadhead Flowers: Regularly removing spent blooms encourages continuous flowering.

Our Recommended Varieties for Your Raised Bed Garden

Here are some of our favorite picks from Baker Creek Seeds, Botanical Interests, and Johnny's Seeds to help you get started:

  • Tomatoes: 'Paul Robeson' (Baker Creek), 'Kellogg’s Breakfast' (Johnny’s)

  • Peppers: 'Shishito' (Johnny’s), 'King of the North' (Baker Creek)

  • Eggplant: 'Thai Long Green' (Baker Creek)

  • Beans: 'Dragon Tongue' (Johnny’s), 'Royal Burgundy' (Botanical Interests)

  • Cucumbers: 'Poona Kheera' (Baker Creek), 'Marketmore 76' (Johnny’s)

  • Squash: 'Black Futsu' (Baker Creek)

  • Corn: 'Glass Gem' (Baker Creek)

  • Herbs: 'Tulsi Kapoor' (Johnny’s), 'Giant of Italy Parsley' (Johnny’s)

  • Cut Flowers: 'Queen Lime Red' Zinnias (Johnny’s), 'Apricot Lemonade' Cosmos (Baker Creek)

  • Pollinator-Friendly Flowers: 'Dara' (Johnny’s), 'Chocolate Lace Flower' (Botanical Interests)

  • Perennials: 'Blazing Star' (Johnny’s), 'Rudbeckia Campfire' (Baker Creek)

These selections not only add diversity to your garden but also support pollinators and beneficial insects while providing a mix of food and flowers.

Starting a raised bed garden is both a science and an art. By combining vegetables, herbs, and cut flowers, you not only maximize productivity but also create a visually stunning, ecologically friendly growing space. Whether you have a greenhouse or not, thoughtful seed starting, smart succession planting, and companion planting will ensure a thriving garden throughout the season.

Delaney Royer
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