SKILL SHEET

Raised Bed Gardening

Instructor:

Brian Lowell
Next Level Gardening

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 01

 By the time you are done taking this
class you will be able to:
☐ Know where and how to build a raised bed garden.
☐ Understand what kind of soil to put in your raised bed.
☐ Install a drip irrigation system.
☐ Understand the difference between direct sowing seeds and planting
transplants and the benefits and challenges of both.
☐ Extend your growing space by growing vertically.
☐ Extend your growing season by building a hoop house.
☐ Control pests and diseases in your garden with an understanding of
companion planting.

Copyright © 2022 School of Traditional Skills, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this document may be reproduced in any form
without permission from the publisher, except as permitted by U.S. copyright law.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 02

 Meet Your Instructor:

Brian Lowell
Brian Lowell is the owner of Next Level Gardening and the
Next Level Gardening YouTube channel, which has over
550K subscribers and is one of the top YouTube channels
for organic gardening. His YouTube videos teach new
gardeners the essential knowledge for creating successful
organic gardens. Brian has been gardening for over 30
years, and for 10 of those years, he was mentored by a
University of California Certified Master Gardener. He
doesn’t just love gardening, it’s his passion. He wakes up
thinking about it and goes to sleep thinking about it. Brian
lives and gardens in Southern California (Zone 10a) with
his wife Emilie, son Noah and little terrier Boomer. Brian grew up in his grandparent’s garden, and he
remembers the excitement of pulling carrots out of the ground for the first time, running through the
tunnel of beans and seeing ladybugs on the lettuce. Brian’s reason for gardening has changed over
the years. It started as a creative outlet for him and developed into something more profound. When
he went through troubled times, it became an outlet for mental health. Once he got married and had
a family, gardening became a way for him to provide delicious food for his family that was safe and
healthy. Growing it himself guaranteed that. Brian is using YouTube to pass on the gift of inspiration
and knowledge that was freely given three decades ago by a fantastic gardener who probably never
knew just how important a role she played in Brian’s life. He can only hope that he can help you
discover what life-changing past-time gardening can be.

Find Brian here:

Website: nextlevelgardening.tv YouTube: youtube.com/c/nextlevelgardening
Instagram: /nextlevelgardening Blog: nextlevelgardening.tv/blog

Books by brian:
• Companion Planting for Beginners

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 03

Class Supplies List:
There are several types of raised beds available for purchase in stores. Some raised beds are made of
corrugated metal and some of the fabric. Raised beds can be built from cement bricks, stacked stones,
lumber, and even mounded soil and compost with no borders. These supplies are what’s needed to
build a raised bed from lumber.

Raised Bed:
• Three, 8-Foot Long 2 x 8’s - Cut one of the 2 x 8’s in half to form the ends of the bed. In this class,
Brian demonstrates using Douglas Fir. Don’t use pressure-treated wood if you’re going organic.
Pressure-treated wood contains copper azole, which can leach into your soil and possibly your
food. Douglas fir will last 5-10 years. Redwood and cedar will last a little longer, but it’s more of an
investment.
• 22 Cubic Feet of Compost or Raised Bed Soil Mix - get the highest quality soil your budget can
afford, but don’t let good soil be a limiting factor to get started.
• ½ inch 19 Gauge Hardware Cloth - 4 x 8 feet will be used in some situations.
• ¾ Inch Fencing Staples - Use these to attach the gopher wire to the raised bed.
• 12, 3-inch Coated Deck Screws - Three for each corner of your raised garden bed.
• Impact Driver - An electric drill with a screwdriver attachment or an impact driver will make this
job quick.
• Roll of Gopher Wire - Gopher wire comes in four-foot widths, so a four-foot wide bed is perfect.
• Hammer - Use the hammer to pound in the staples, which you’ll use to attach the gopher wire.
• Wire Cutters - Used to trim off the extra gopher wire.

Drip Irrigation System:

• A Water Supply - an outdoor spigot works. If you still want a hose attached to the spigot, get a
splitter so the hose can be on one side and the drip goes on the other.
• Timer - There are a couple of different kinds of timers. In one type, you just turn on the water and
set it for a specific amount of time, and it will turn itself off. The other is a programmable timer that
turns itself on and off without you having to remember. If you already have a sprinkler system with
a timer, you can add another station and instead of running to sprinklers, add a PVC to hose thread
connector and continue with the drip from that station.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 04

• Backflow Preventer - This keeps the system from backing up into the house.
• Pressure Regulator - This takes the pressure of whatever comes out and lowers it to 25 psi. This
will keep your system from blowing off ends and emitters. You’ve got to have this.
• Hose Thread Adapter - This takes your system from a garden hose thread to the half-inch drip
hose. Use Teflon tape on all the fittings to keep them from leaking.
• ½ Inch and ¼ Inch Hose - The ½ inch is the highway. It takes you to the neighborhood where you
want to go. The ¼ inch hose is the street. Once in the neighborhood, it takes you from house to
house or plant to plant.
• ½ Inch Elbow Attachments - Be sure to get the same brand as your hose so they fit snugly and
you don’t have any leaking.
• Drip Irrigation Tubing Hole Punch - Used to punch holes in the ½ hose when inserting the ¼
inch hose.
• Hose Barb Fittings - Use to insert the ¼ inch hose into the ½ inch hose to prevent leaking.
• Optional End Line Valve - Use if you have more than one bed and want to be able to stop the
flow of one of the beds.

Hoop House Frame:

• Two 8 Foot Long 2 x 4’s- These will form the length of the hoop house.
• Two, 41 Inch 2 x 4’s - These will form the width of the hoop house.
• 3 Inch Decking Screws - Use these to attach the boards to the frame firmly.
• ½ Inch PVC - This will form the arches of the hoop house.
• 6 End Caps for ½ Inch PVC - These will hold the PVC frame in place on your hoop house frame.
• Coated 1 ⅝ Inch Screws - Use these to attach the end caps to the frame.
• ½ Inch PVC T-Connectors - Used to connect the four pieces of each arch of the hoop house.
• PVC Cross Connectors - Use for the center arch of your hoop house.
• PVC Cutter - Use to cut the PVC pipe into 16-inch pieces.
• Two 8-foot Long Furring Strips - Used to hold the plastic covering to the frame of the hoop
house.
• Two 43 Inch Furring Strips - Used to hold the plastic covering to the frame of the hoop house.
• 10 Foot by 25 Foot Roll of 6 Mil Plastic Sheeting - Used to cover the hoop house.
• Two 3 Inch Metal Hinges - Used to attach the hoop house to the frame.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 05

• Handle - Any handle will work. This will make it easier to open your hoop house.
• 2 Screw Eyes - Used to secure a rope between the raised garden bed and the hoop house frame.
• Rope - Used to attach the frame of the hoop house and the frame of the raised bed.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 06

Types of Soil
The type of soil you’re building your bed on will determine the depth of your raised bed.

No soil
If there is no soil under your raised bed and it’s concrete or asphalt, or maybe your soil is contaminated,
you want to build your bed 12-15 inches deep. This depth will allow sufficient root run and keep your
beds from drying out quickly.

If you are building your bed over concrete or asphalt, contaminated soil, or weedy soil, you will need
a plastic barrier between the soil and the substrate. Rolls of plastic are easy to find at a hardware
store or on Amazon. Look for the plastic symbol with a 2 or a 4 in it. These plastics are safe to use in
applications like this. Number 5 is a third (but less desirable) option.

Poke as many holes as you can in the bottom of the plastic barrier for drainage. One pencil-sized hole
every foot is good if the plastic is over the soil. You may need more than that if it’s over concrete. Also,
over concrete, it’s a good idea to punch drainage holes around the edge of the bed about four inches
from the bottom. On a hard bottom surface, soil can press the plastic to the bottom and seal off the
drainage holes.

Sandy Soil
Sandy soil feels gritty to the touch and won’t hold together if you squeeze it with your hand when
it’s damp. Silt particles are smaller than sand. It is similar, but the particles are rounder and more
weathered. When wet, it will feel smooth and slippery if you rub silt between your fingers. It also holds
more water than sand. Because of the smaller particle size, the soil will compact if you walk on it when
it’s wet, so you don’t want to walk on it if you can help it.

Plan on building a 6-8 inch deep raised bed for this kind of soil.

Clay Soil
Clay is very firm. It feels slippery and sticky when wet. In fact, if you step in clay soil when it’s wet, it
may just pull your shoe off. If you squeeze clay soil when it’s wet, it won’t only stay in that shape, but
you will be able to see the lines of your hand in the clay.

Plan to build a 12-inch deep raised bed for this kind of soil.

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Loam Soil
Loam is the best type of soil. It’s a mixture of approximately 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay.

Loam can be broken down into light loam and heavy loam. Light loam has more sand, and heavy loam
has more clay. Overall, loam is very fertile, it hangs onto water and nutrients, and at the same time, it
drains well.

If you have loamy soil that isn’t contaminated, you could get away with a 4-6 inch deep raised bed. Go
for the deeper bed whenever possible.

Contaminated Soil
If the soil underneath your raised bed has been contaminated, build a 12-15 inch bed with a plastic
liner with drainage holes in the bottom.

Fill the bottom 3-4 inches of the bed with pea gravel as a buffer between the contaminated soil and
the compost in the bed.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 08

Build, Location & Construction
Benefits of Raised Bed Gardening
• Raised beds warm up more quickly in the spring allowing for a longer growing season.
• The soil doesn’t become compacted because people and animals aren’t walking in your garden
beds. Because the soil doesn’t become compacted, you don’t have to till.
• You’ll have very few weeds in raised garden beds.
• Using the correct soil in your raised bed gardens will provide better drainage than a traditional
garden. Because of this excellent drainage, you can plant more intensively and closer together,
allowing you to grow more food in a smaller space.
• Raised beds are great for people with bad backs and with disabilities. The higher the raised bed,
the less bending you have to do. This dramatically reduces the strain on your back after a long
day in the garden.

Drawbacks of Raised Bed Gardening

• Building raised garden beds costs money. You’ll need to purchase some lumber to build the beds, but
the real money comes in filling the beds with a good raised bed mix. You don’t want to use native soil.
• Since the plants are in raised beds, they are 100% dependent on you to provide the water and
additional nutrients.

Location Requirements
Full Sun
To grow vegetables, you’ll need your raised beds in full sun. Full sun means they need at least 6-8
hours of direct sunlight daily. Those hours can be split up, but most vegetables need 6-8 hours of direct
sunlight daily to produce the huge harvests you want.

Also, ensure your garden is near the house, preferably near the kitchen. This will make it easier when
you need to visit it.

Near a Water Source

For ease of gardening, always build your raised beds near your water source to make it easier to water
your garden.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 09

Plant Location
Should a garden bed run north and south or east and west? A typical answer is north and south if
growing in long rows. That’s not as much of a concern if you’re planting in raised beds.

In raised garden beds, don’t place tall crops where they will shade shorter plants. In the northern
hemisphere, you would plant a tall plant like corn, to the north of a shorter plant like eggplant. That
way, you can be sure the sun will reach both plants.

Bed Depth
If you’re placing your bed on soil, 8 inches is a good depth. If you’re putting your bed on a surface
like concrete, your bed will need to be at least 12 inches deep. Most vegetables have root systems
concentrated to the top 6-8 inches, but root systems can go much deeper.

Eight inches on top of native soil gives an excellent well-draining home for the main root system, but
the full root system can go deeper if needed.

If you’re on top of concrete, 12-15 inches or more will give your crops the best environment to survive.

If you have a physical disability that keeps you from bending over, higher beds will help bring the
garden up to you.

Paths
To move between your raised garden beds, you will need paths. Paths should be at least two feet wide
to kneel between the beds comfortably. If you’re in a wheelchair, map out the garden ahead of time and
practice moving through it so you’ll know you can access all of your raised beds easily.

You may also want to consider items that you’ll want to be able to move between your rows such as
a wheelbarrow or a lawn mower.

Best Size for Raised Beds

You can make your raised beds any size or shape you like, but it is best to keep the beds’ width narrow
enough that you can reach the center of the beds from both sides. You don’t want to walk into your
beds if you can avoid it. A good average width for most people is four feet. If you are shorter, 36 inches
might be more comfortable for you. If you have long arms, you might be able to push it to five feet.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 10

Supplies Needed to Build a Raised Garden Bed
These supplies will build a 4-foot by 8-foot raised bed. This is a good finished size, but it’s also a good
size to create without waste.

• Three, 8-Foot Long 2 x 8’s - Cut one of the 2 x 8’s in half to form the ends of the bed. Douglas Fir
is recommended. Don’t use pressure-treated wood if you’re going organic. Pressure-treated wood
contains copper azole, which can leach into your soil and possibly your food. Douglas fir will last
5-10 years. Redwood and cedar will last a little longer, but are more of an investment.
• 12, 3-inch Coated Deck Screws - Use three screws for each corner of your raised garden bed.
• Impact Driver - An electric drill with a screwdriver attachment or an impact driver will make this
job quick.
• Roll of Gopher Wire - Gopher wire comes in four-foot widths, so a four-foot wide bed is perfect.
• ¾ inch Fencing Staples - Use to attach the gopher wire.
• Hammer - Use the hammer to pound in the staples, which you’ll use to attach the gopher wire.
• Wire Cutters - Used to trim off the extra gopher wire.

Instructions for Building a Raised Garden Bed

1. Cut one of your 2 x 8’s in half to form two four-foot-long sections.
2. Lay your pieces out in the shape of a rectangle.
3. Attach the pieces with three, 3-inch coated deck screws at each corner using an impact driver. Be
sure all your boards are lined up flush on the top.
4. Roll out the gopher wire over the bottom of the bed frame and attach it with ¾-inch fencing staples
using a hammer. Put the staples 8-10 inches apart.
5. Cut off the extra gopher wire when you reach the end, using the line of the wire to get a straight cut.
6. Flip your garden box back over and permanently place it where you want it to be.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 11

Filling Your Raised Bed Garden
Soil
The most important part of your raised bed garden will be the soil. You can scrimp or get by using
free or repurposed materials to build the frame, but do not scrimp on what you put inside. Use quality
organic soil and compost. Native soil alone is not generally a good choice. If your bed is 6 inches tall
or less, you can use a 50/50 mix of native soil with compost or potting soil. More than six inches deep
needs to be a raised bed potting soil or compost.

The taller the bed, the more heavily the soil will compact under its weight, so if your bed is over 15
inches tall, you can fill the bottom with organic material that will break down over the first couple of
years. This can be straw, sticks, or even logs in deep beds. You can even use cardboard. Just make
sure the top 12 inches is compost or potting soil.

Compost
Spent mushroom compost is excellent compost for your garden beds. If you use mushroom compost,
it can be too salty for growing seedlings. Remedy this by purchasing the compost in the fall and letting
it sit uncovered all winter so the salts can leach out.

If you don’t have time for that, you can fill most of the bed with mushroom compost and then put
bagged compost or potting soil on the top three inches. That way, you can direct sow or plant small
seedlings, and by the time the roots reach the mushroom compost, the salt will have leached out.

In your area, it might be easier to find a manure-based compost or a plant or tree-based compost.

Concerns Over Grazon or Herbicide Contamination

Grazon is a broadleaf herbicide that hay farmers use to kill everything but grass. Unfortunately, it
doesn’t end there. If that hay ends up in the compost you’re purchasing for your garden; it transfers
that herbicide to your garden. If cows and horses eat the hay, it will come to you through their manure.

If you have Grazon damage, your plant’s leaves will look grotesquely curled and distorted. You will
know something is wrong. It can take up to three years before it will completely leave your soil. Always
ask if the supplier knows if the raw materials that went into the compost were free from herbicides.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 12

Instructions for Filling Your Raised Bed Garden
1. Fill your raised bed to the top with organic raised bed potting soil or compost.
2. Rake it flat and walk over it to help tamp it down.
3. Come back with another load after you’ve finished tamping it down and fill it to the top again.
4. Ensure that the soil in the bed is thoroughly moistened before planting.

Drip Irrigation
If you’ve spent hours out in the hot sun watering your plants, drip irrigation can make your life so
much easier. Watering is the lifeblood of your garden. Inconsistent or poor watering will make or
break your garden. Plants watered unevenly or too infrequently will develop health issues, leaving
them vulnerable to a multitude of pests. Watering by hand is a commitment, and depending on your
responsibilities, it may or may not be something you can stick to.

Take one big job off your plate and consider drip irrigation. Take the plunge, and you’ll see that it’s not
difficult at all. It’s a game-changer.

Supplies Needed to Build a Drip Irrigation System

• A Water Supply - an outdoor spigot works. If you still want to have a hose attached to the spigot,
get a splitter so the hose can be on one side and the drip goes on the other.
• Timer - There are a couple of different kinds of timers. One type is where you just turn on the water
and set it for a specific amount of time and it will turn itself off. The other is a programmable timer
that turns itself on and off without you having to remember. If you already have a sprinkler system
with a timer, you can add another station and instead of running to sprinklers, add a PVC to hose
thread connector and continue with the drip from that station.
• Backflow Preventer - This keeps the system from backing up into the house.
• Pressure Regulator - This takes the pressure and lowers it to 25 psi. This will keep your system
from blowing off ends and emitters. You’ve got to have this.
• Hose Thread Adapter - This takes your system from a garden hose thread to the half-inch drip
hose. Use Teflon tape on all the fittings to keep them from leaking.
• ½ Inch and ¼ Inch Hose - The ½ inch is the highway. It takes you to the neighborhood where you
want to go. The ¼ inch hose is the street. Once in the neighborhood, it takes you from house to

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 13

 house or plant to plant.
• ½ Inch Elbow Attachments - Be sure to get the same brand as your hose so they fit snugly and
you don’t have any leaking.
• Drip Irrigation Tubing Hole Punch - Used to punch holes in the ½ inch hose when inserting the
¼ inch hose.
• Hose Barb Fittings - Use to insert the ¼-inch hose into the ½-inch hose to prevent leaking.
• Optional End Line Valve - Use if you have more than one bed and want to be able to stop the
flow of one of the beds.

Instructions for Building a Drip Irrigation System

1. Locate your outdoor water supply source.
2. Attach a splitter if you still want to run a hose from the spigot as well.
3. Attach the timer to the splitter.
4. Attach the backflow preventer after the timer
5. Next, attach the pressure regulator.
6. Attach the hose thread adapter to take your system to a ½-inch hose.
7. Attach the ½-inch hose and run the hose to your raised garden bed.
8. To make your bed look neater, run the hose to one corner of the bed, cut the hose and attach an
elbow attachment to fit it snugly to the lower corner of the garden box.
9. Cut a piece of ½-inch hose the height of the box and attach the second elbow attachment.
10. Cut a piece of hose approximately four inches and attach it to the upper elbow.
11. Run the hose around the inside of the raised garden bed, putting in an elbow attachment at each corner.
12. At first, you will need to weigh down all four corners of the hose with bricks. Once the sun has
shone on it and water has run through it for a while, the hose will lay down nicely on its own. You
can also use the fencing staples to attach it permanently to the box.
13. Run four equally spaced ¼-inch hoses lengthways in the bed by punching a hole in the half-inch
drip line with the tubing hole punch. Connect the ¼ inch into the ½ inch using hose barbs. You will
hear a click when the barb is fully engaged.
14. If you have more than one bed and want the option of turning off the water to individual beds, install
an end line valve to your hose where it comes up the side of your raised garden bed.
15. Let the water run for a couple of hours and thoroughly moisten the soil, and you’ll be ready for planting.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 14

Seeds and Transplants
When it comes to planting your garden, you’re either going to plant from seeds or transplants.

Transplants
Transplants are easy for the beginner, but you want to be sure you’re bringing home plants that will
thrive. There are a few things to look for at the garden center. Look for green, healthy plants. You don’t
want to see any presence of pests or disease. Look at the top and the bottom of the leaves. Don’t be
afraid to pop one of the transplants out of the pot and look for roots spread evenly throughout and not
wrapped around the bottom where there are more roots than soil.

Seeds
Seeds give you more bang for your buck and more options when it comes to varieties. There are four
types of seeds, and you should know what you’re looking for.

GMO
GMO seeds are not created through natural processes and don’t occur in nature. They are made in
labs by inserting specific genes from one organism directly into the genetic information of a plant.
The good news for the home gardener is that you have a minimal chance of sowing GMO seeds.
When you see GMO on a seed packet, they are stating the truth, but GMO seed companies keep tight
control on their seeds, and they cannot be sold to home gardeners. They are sold only to commercial
growers.

Hybrid
Hybrid seeds are simply the result of one plant’s pollen reaching another plant and pollinating it. This
is done every day in your garden by bees and the wind. It’s also done by plant hybridizers who want
to bring the desirable traits from one plant and combine it with the desirable traits in another plant in
hopes that their offspring will have both desirable traits.

When you cross-pollinate two types of tomatoes in a controlled environment, you get the direct offspring
which is an F1 hybrid meaning it’s the first-generation hybrid. Sungold cherry tomatoes are an F1 hybrid,
but if you save the seeds from the Sungold cherry tomatoes, they will not produce Sungold cherry
tomatoes. Instead, the plant grown from the seed will take on the characteristics of one of the parent
plants.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 15

While some hybrid varieties are outstanding and bred for flavor, it’s also the reason that grocery store
tomatoes have next to no taste. Those tomatoes are not bred for flavor but for their shape, color, fast
growth, and ability to be shipped long distances.

Open Pollinated Seeds

Open-pollinated seeds are pollinated by nature, insects, birds, and the wind. These seeds will grow
true to type, meaning that if you protect them from being cross-pollinated by other varieties, you can
collect them and plant them next year and get the same product.

Heirloom
A seed variety must exist for 50-100 years to be considered an heirloom seed. Heirloom seeds must
be open-pollinated, but not all open-pollinated seeds are heirlooms. In essence, they are varieties
passed down from generation to generation.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 16

Planting
It’s planting time. There are a couple of different ways you can go about getting started. You can grow
from seed indoors; you can directly sow your seed into the garden or bring home transplants from the
garden center.

Transplants
Transplants are easy because you go to the garden center, pick out what you want, and have a head
start on the season. After all, the plants are generally a few weeks old already. There are perks to
purchasing transplants since you don’t have to care for the seedlings.

However, the drawback of purchasing starts is that the varieties are limited to what your garden center
carries, whereas a seed catalog will provide you with dozens of varieties. Cost is also an issue. A
packet of seeds will be $1-$3 and grow 20-60 plants, whereas transplants will run you $4-$5 for a
pack of six.

Seeds
In nature, seeds get sown directly onto the soil. The ones that land in the right spot with good
conditions will grow and produce fruit and more seeds. We can sow seeds the same way, directly
sowing them into the garden exactly where we want them to grow. This is a wonderful way of doing
things if you have a long enough growing season.

If you want to maximize a shorter growing season, check the packet to see how soon you can start
them indoors before your average last frost date. It’s usually around six weeks. Growing your own
transplants from seed saves you money since you’re growing from seed, but it also provides you with
the varieties you want.

Dates You Must Know

There are two dates that you must know to be a successful gardener. The first is your average last frost
date, and the second is your average first frost date.

The average last frost date is the final spring frost in your location. This date will depend on where you
live, your elevation, and whether you live in an urban or rural environment.

The average first frost date is the approximate date when you’ll get your first frost in the fall. Again,
this depends on your location and other factors.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 17

Starting Seeds Indoors
If you have a short season and are starting your seeds indoors, there are a few things to know to be
successful. First, you should sow your seeds in a good potting soil or seed-starting mix. Well amended
garden soil works well when you are direct sowing seeds outdoors, but when you’re asking a seed to
germinate in a tiny container indoors, you need excellent drainage and moisture. Additionally, garden
soil that’s not sterilized can bring bugs you probably don’t want inside. You can use any sterile potting
soil to sow indoors. The container you use will dictate which method of sowing you will use.

Broadcast Sowing
If you want to use half a milk carton, a flat restaurant take-out container or something similar, you’ll be
broadcast sowing. In broadcast sowing, you sprinkle the seeds across the surface of the potting mix
and then thin them later or transplant them into their own cells for growing.

Station Sowing
If you’re using modules, peat pellets, re-used six-pack garden containers or purchased cell trays, you’ll
most likely be using station sowing, which means you’ll plant one or two seeds per station and you’ll
leave them in those stations until it’s time to put them in the garden.

Light Requirements for Starting Seeds Indoors

If you’re starting seeds indoors, natural light is usually not enough to make your seeds grow, unless
you have a location that gets direct sunlight for 6-8 hours per day. You’ll need a grow light if you don’t
have this kind of location. Large professional grow lights can do the job efficiently, but they can be
expensive.

When shopping for a grow light, look for lumens and kelvin. Lumens are how bright or how intense the light
is. Buy bulbs that are between 1500 and 2000 lumens. Kelvin represents the light’s color temperature,
meaning how cool or warm the color of the light is. You’ll want something that mimics the color of the sun.
Look for a kelvin number between 4500 and 6000 kelvin. If the package has both numbers, it doesn’t
matter what light bulb it is. You can use CFL, LED or the long shop light fluorescent tubes.

The strength of this light will not be the same as a professional grow light, so the bulbs will need to be
placed within three inches of the tops of the seedlings. A professional grow light can be placed a foot
or more above the seedlings depending on the strength of your light. If your seedlings are too far from
the grow light, you will see the main stem stretching toward the light. If this happens, your seedlings
often can’t be saved, and you’ll need to start over.

Skill Sheet: Garden Raised Bed Gardening | 18

Using a bottom heat source can help you get faster germination. You can get bottom heat by setting
your seeds on top of an appliance like a clothes dryer, on a windowsill above a radiator, or with a
heat mat. Heat mats are invaluable for starting seeds indoors and provide a gentle heat source that
accelerates germination. Heat mats are relatively inexpensive but spend the extra money to get one
with a thermostat that you can control. 75℉ is the optimal temperature for starting most seeds.

Moisture Requirements
It’s best to pre-moisten your potting soil before you sow your seeds. If you squeeze your potting mix and
you can get a couple of drops of water to come out, that’s perfect. If water is pouring out, it’s too wet.

After sowing your seeds, it’s best to water your seedlings from the bottom to ensure the entire planting
medium is watered, not just the tops. You can do this by placing a seed tray in a container of water and
letting the planting medium soak up water from below.

Remove the humidity dome once the seeds have sprouted. Too much moisture will stay in if you leave it
on, and disease can start. To prevent over-watering, let the top of the potting soil dry out before watering
again. This top layer is where fungus and mold will grow, which contributes to damping off. Damping off
is when your seedling stem withers just above the soil level and falls over, killing the seedling.

Transitioning Seedlings From a Controlled Environment to the

Garden
This starts a process called hardening off, and it will help your seedlings get used to the new outdoor
environment. Even the strongest grow light is no match for the sun’s rays, so you’ll need to build up
the plant’s tolerance.

Day One of Hardening Off

Set the seedlings outdoors in the shade for a couple of hours on the first day. Set them up on a table
to be safe from animals, slugs, and snails. Then take them back indoors.

Day Two of Hardening Off

Place the seedlings in the sun for an hour and then move them to the shade for two or three hours.
Then take them back indoors.

Day Three of Hardening Off

Place the seedlings in the sun for two hours, then in the shade for two or three hours, and then take

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them back inside. Continue this process until the seventh day, when they will be ready for full sun and
can be planted in your garden.

Spacing Your Plants

When putting your plants in your raised bed garden, you can place them closer together than in a
typical garden because you have excellent drainage and ideal soil. Seed packets will list plant spacing
and row spacing. Since you aren’t planting in rows, just pay attention to plant spacing.

Helpful Tips For Successful Transplants

Place your transplants into your raised bed garden in the early morning or later evening when the
weather is cool. This will give your plants the best chance to get accustomed to their new home before
the day’s heat hits them.

Plant pepper transplants about a foot apart and about two feet from the tomatoes. Peppers get sun-
scalded by the hot sun directly on the fruit. The hottest sun is typically in the afternoon, so plant peppers
on the opposite side of something that will shade them in the afternoon, like tomatoes. Peppers need
staking, so use some simple bamboo stakes with string or green tape to tie them up.

Tomatoes are actually one of the only plants you can plant deeper than they were planted in their
starter container. The great thing about that is that the deeper you plant them, the more roots will
grow and the stronger the plant will be. Remove some of the lower leaves and bury them deep. Just
keep some of the leaves out for photosynthesis. If you’re planting tomatoes in a shallow bed, you can
actually plant the roots sideways and gently bend the stem to stick out of the soil.

As you’re planting, get some nutrients into the roots immediately. Neptune’s Harvest Crab and Lobster
is ground-up crab and lobster shells, and it works very well. Also, add some kelp meal which is loaded
with valuable nutrients.

Direct Sowing Seeds

Bush Beans
Bush beans do not need a trellis. Plant them close together, which will help provide support for each
other. Plant your beans every three inches along your drip system. Dig the trench about an inch deep
and place some fertilizer in the trench with the seeds. Organic fertilizer is gentle and won’t burn your
seeds or transplants. Cover the seeds back up.

Yellow Crookneck Summer Squash

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These seeds are wide and flat. If you live in a very wet climate, plant these seeds up and down. If you
plant them flat, they may collect water on them and rot.

Plant two seeds every eight inches. You want an insurance policy in case one seed doesn’t germinate.
Dig a one-inch hole and add some fertilizer to the hole and then add your seeds and cover the hole.

Once you get your seeds in the ground, give them a good watering with the hose. Even though you
have the drip system installed, give them a good soak. This will also help remove any air pockets from
planting the seeds.

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Vertical Growing
Growing in raised beds with excellent drainage and great soil will allow you to grow plants closer
together than you would in the ground; however, some other space-saving tips can help you get more
out of a small space.

Interplanting
In the cool season, some crops take a long time to produce. Many of the brassica family, for example,
broccoli and cauliflower, grow tall and take a long time to develop edible florets. Stripping some of the
bottom leaves off when they reach a foot or two high will make room to plant faster-growing plants like
lettuce and spinach. Lettuce and spinach also appreciate the shade that the taller plants provide. You
can get 2-3 harvests of lettuce and spinach before the brassicas are ready.

You can also plant pumpkins under corn. Pumpkins are sprawling plants that like to spread out, so
planting them under your corn is a great way to let them do their thing while the corn grows happily above
them. The pumpkins’ large leaves shade the ground, help retain moisture, and keep weeds down.

You can also plant pumpkins, melons, and cucumbers at the edge of your raised garden beds and let
them meander down the side and into the paths if you don’t mind stepping over them.

Corded Method for Tomatoes Using a Trellis

You can grow indeterminate tomatoes using the corded method. Grow them single stemmed up a cord
or a stake. Single stemming means removing the side branches that grow out at a 45-degree angle
between the main stem and the leaf. These side branches don’t produce as much fruit as the main
branch, taking a lot of energy away from the plant.

Attach a string to the base of the plant. Run the string up to the trellis above. This is a simple trellis with
two upright supports, a piece of lumber across the top, and smaller pieces that support each string.
Growing tomato plants this way allows you to grow them 12-15 inches apart instead of three feet apart.

You can also use this method to grow cucumbers and small melons. Not all watermelons are enormous.
Certain varieties, like the sugar baby, can be trained up a stake and take 90% less bed area than
growing them on the ground.

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Zucchini as a Vertical Grower
Zucchini is one plant you might not think of as a vertical grower. You can train it to grow up a stake.
Pound a stake into the ground next to your zucchini plant and tie it to the stake as it grows. Tie it every
six inches with something stretchy because the zucchini stalk will get bigger as it grows.

Keep removing the lower leaves as they start to look bad, and you will end up with a little zucchini tree.
This saves a lot of space since the zucchini plants usually snake their way throughout the entire bed.

Growing them up like this also brings the blooms up where the pollinators can more easily see them.

Teepees
Teepees are great for beans, but you can also grow cucumbers, small melons, and winter squash on
them. Beans will fill in a teepee during the growing season, but as for squashes and melons, some
leaves may die off as they grow. This will leave space below to add some fast-growing crops like
lettuces, green onions, beets or small carrots.

Extending the Growing Season

Raised beds have an advantage over in-ground beds because they warm up faster in the spring and
stay warm longer into the fall. When your soil is too frozen to plant some early crops in the ground,
your raised beds will be thawing. The soil in your raised beds can be up to 20 degrees warmer. Just
that alone extends the amount of time you can grow crops outside, but if you want to extend your
season by several weeks, learn how to add a hoop house cover to your raised garden beds.

If you don’t live in an area where snow and frosts are an issue, there is a twist to this add-on that will
help add shade on hot summer days, or it can be used to shield your plants from unwanted pests like
the cabbage white butterfly, squash vine borers — or even rabbits, cats, and birds.

Supplies Needed to Make a Raised Bed Hoop House

• Two 8 Foot Long 2 x 4’s - These will form the length of the hoop house.
• Two, 41 Inch 2 x 4’s - These will form the width of the hoop house.
• 3 Inch Decking Screws - Use these to attach the boards to the frame firmly.
• ½ Inch PVC - This will form the arches of the hoop house.
• 6 End Caps for ½ Inch PVC - These will hold the PVC frame in place on your hoop house frame.

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• Coated 1 ⅝ Inch Screws - Use these to attach the end caps to the frame.
• ½ Inch PVC T-Connectors - Used to connect the four pieces of each arch of the hoop house.
• PVC Cross Connectors - Use for the center arch or your hoop house.
• PVC Cutter - Use to cut the PVC pipe into 16-inch pieces.
• Two 8-foot Long Furring Strips - Used to hold the plastic covering to the frame of the hoop
house.
• Two 43 Inch Furring Strips - Used to hold the plastic covering to the frame of the hoop house.
• 10 Foot by 25 Foot Roll of 6 Mil Plastic Sheeting - Used to cover the hoop house.
• Two 3 Inch Metal Hinges - Used to attach the hoop house to the frame.
• Handle - Any handle will work. This will make it easier to open your hoop house.
• 2 Screw Eyes - Used to secure a rope between the raised garden bed and the hoop house frame.
• Rope - Used to attach the frame of the hoop house and the frame of the raised bed.

Instructions For Building a Raised Bed Hoop House

1. Lay your boards out around the top of your raised garden bed.
2. Attach the boards at the corners using 3-inch deck screws.
3. Using your drill, make a hole in the bottom of each PVC end cap.
4. Use the 1 ⅝ inch screws to attach the end caps to the frame of the hoop house. There will be one
in each inner corner and one in the center on each side. Between the two caps on the end is 91
inches, so the center point will be 45 ½ inches.
5. Cut your PVC into 16-inch pieces. You will need four for each arch, so cut a total of 12 16-inch
pieces.
6. Using three ½-inch t-connectors, attach the four pieces of your first arch, ensuring all of the t’s
point in the same direction.
7. Make sure that all the t’s are pointing toward the center of the bed, place one end of your PVC arch
into one PVC cap and then slowly bend it to the cap across from it.
8. Do the same for the other end of your hoop house.
9. For the center arch of the hoop house, do the same but use PVC cross connectors instead of the
t-connectors. Make sure the cross connectors face the hoop’s two end arches.
10. Measure between the arches and cut PVC pipe to form the cross arms, inserting them into the
t-connectors and the cross t’s.

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11. Put your furring strips on the hoop house frame outside the PVC caps.
12. Pre-drill three holes in the end furring strips and five holes in the length of the furring strips.
13. Remove the furring strips.
14. Roll your plastic out over the hoop house, ensuring it extends to the ground on both ends.
15. Unfold the plastic and make sure all sides are covered.
16. Match the seam in the middle of the plastic up with the top PVC pipe to make everything square.
17. Take the furring strips and use them to tighten the plastic down on both sides.
18. Using 1 ⅝ inch screws, screw together the frame, then the plastic, and then the furring strip on top.
Use one hand to pull on the plastic to ensure it’s tight.
19. On the ends, gather the plastic together in the middle and then screw it down the same way you
did on the sides, being sure to pull the plastic tight as you go.
20. Go around the edges with scissors to trim off the excess plastic. Leave an inch all the way around.
21. Figure out which side is the front so you can add hinges to the back.
22. Using two 3-inch metal hinges, attach the hoop house to one side of the frame. Place the hinges
approximately a foot and a half in from the end.
23. Attach a handle on the opposite side of the hinges to make it easier to open your hoop house.
24. There may be warm spring days when you want to open your hoop house, but you don’t want it to
fall open on the PVC pipe. Attach a screw eye to the frame and one to the hoop house frame and
tie a rope between them to keep the hoop house frame from crashing backward. If you want to vent
your hoop house, just use a piece of scrap wood to prop it open.
25. This can lengthen your growing season by 6-8 weeks. Also, if you have it on your bed in the spring,
it will warm up your raised bed soil much earlier, so you can get started gardening much earlier.
26. If you live in a hot environment, you can replace the plastic with shade cloth to provide your plants
with shade in the heat of the summer.

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Companion Planting
There are six principles of companion planting that you can find in Brian’s book Companion
Planting for Beginners: Pair Your Plants for a Bountiful Chemical-Free Vegetable Garden by
Brian Lowell/Lampkins

Let’s look at three of those principles:

1. Avoid Monoculture
Monoculture is growing one crop in a big space in a bunch of rows. You don’t see rows of any kind in
nature. You also don’t see vast expanses of one type of plant in nature. Nature is diverse. When you
look at a forest, you might first only see the trees, but the forest floor is covered in ferns, berries, and
wildflowers. All of those plants serve a purpose in that environment. Companion planting works like a
forest where all plants work together.

Monoculture is like a beacon to pests to find an unlimited buffet of their favorite food. Intermixing
different crops confuses pests. If they find their favorite plant, it’s not a matter of just hopping to the
next one in a row. They have to begin their search over again.

2. Crop Rotation
Plants have pests that love them and only them. In the soil, some pests and pathogens also prefer one
type of plant. They overwinter in the soil and are ready to attack when you plant the same crops next
year. Crop rotation is the practice of mixing it up year after year so that each bed grows something
different each year. The easiest way is to spread the following categories out over four beds.

Legumes:
Legumes include peanuts, alfalfa, beans, cowpeas, clover, and peas.

Leaves:
Leaves include lettuces, greens, herbs, spinach, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower,
mustard greens, kohlrabi, collard greens, and kale.

Fruits:
Fruits include tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, squash, melons, gourds, and cucumbers. For the sake of
crop rotation, we are going to include potatoes.

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Roots:
Roots include garlic, radishes, turnips, carrots, and beets.

3. Interplanting
Interplanting is the process of mixing flowers, herbs, and perennial plants into your vegetable garden.
They should be on full display. This creates a more beautiful garden space, and those plants attract
beneficial garden insects. The good insects keep the pests under control.

Flowers:
Different types of flowers attract different good bugs. You want to grow umbel flowers like yarrow and
carrot flower. These attract hoverflies, lacewings, and ladybugs.

Daisy-shaped flowers like zinnias or echinacea will attract hoverflies and parasitic wasps. They also
attract pollinators like bees and wasps.

What to Companion Plant with Tomatoes:

With tomatoes, companion plant basil, and alyssum. The scent of the basil masks the scent of the
tomatoes, which is important because it confuses the moth, which lays the eggs that become the
dreaded tomato hornworm. Alyssum attracts parasitic wasps. These wasps are tiny and not the kind
that stings you. They lay their eggs under the skin of the tomato hornworm and then eat the worm from
the inside.

What to Companion Plant with Beans:

Common pests of beans are aphids, white flies, and spider mites. Plant cosmos to attract lacewings
which make a ladybug look tame. The larva injects the pests with a paralyzing venom so they can suck
out their bodily fluids. Not pretty but effective.

What to Companion Plant with Peppers:

Peppers don’t have many pests, but they have one that can be destructive: leaf miners. Leaf miners
are hard to control with pesticides because they eat between the two outer layers of the leaf. Parasitic
wasps can inject them right through the leaf with an egg, and when that egg hatches, the baby will eat
the leaf miner. So alyssum, which attracts parasitic wasps, is a good companion plant for peppers as
well.

What to Companion Plant with Squash:

Alyssum also covers squash because parasitic wasps can help control the larva of squash bugs and

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vine borers. If squash bugs and vine borers are a real problem in your area, plant a trap crop of blue
hubbard squash. This variety of squash is known to be the favorite of these two pests, so planting the
blue hubbard squash 10-20 feet away from the rest of your squash will draw the pests away from the
ones you want to eat.

Don’t get stuck in the wishing phase of gardening. Take the first step and get started. There will be
mistakes. Brian has been gardening for 30 years, and he still makes mistakes. If you enjoy the process
and learn from your mistakes, you’ll come to realize that gardening, while very productive, is also a
very therapeutic and calming pastime. Just keep going. In the meantime, you will create a space
where you will be happier and healthier.

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Troubleshooting/FAQ
Do I need to worry about cleaning out the roots from last season?
Don’t worry about getting all the roots out of the bed from last year’s plants. Get the crown out; the
remaining roots will help the soil even further. The worms will eat those, and the roots will open up
spaces for water to get down deeper in the soil.

How do you maintain soil health after each season?

To maintain healthy soil season after season, you must amend it. If you live in a climate where you
can grow year-round, amend your soil before spring planting and before fall planting. To do this, add
some compost to renew the soil life. If you are building your bed over concrete, add a few shovelfuls
of native soil to help add some worms that wouldn’t otherwise be able to crawl through the concrete.

How much compost should I add each planting cycle?

Add one to three inches of compost to your raised beds each planting cycle. This will ensure a thriving
ecosystem year-round.

How do I keep grubs out of my raised beds?

Grubs can be an issue in raised beds. If your garden is off-season, let chickens in there to pick the
grubs. Chickens will clean them up quickly. If it is your growing season, you can pick the grubs by hand
by sifting through the soil. Another option is to purchase some beneficial nematodes and apply them
to the soil. They will take care of the grubs for you.

How do you maintain soil health when not growing in the beds or in empty spots?
If you live in an area where you have months where plants aren’t growing in your raised beds, they
should be mulched heavily. The mulch can be straw, wood chips, or any sort of mulch to protect the
soil through the winter.

Another option is to plant a cover crop like clover, alfalfa, or winter wheat that you can start 6-8 weeks
before your first frost date. This will grow and then slow down over the winter but still encourage the

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biology in your soil. Clover is a nitrogen fixer, so it will be adding nutrients simultaneously.

Is crop rotation absolutely necessary in raised beds?

Crop rotation is a good idea if it’s possible for you. If you only have one bed, that’s not possible. If, for
instance, you have a trellis system built for your tomatoes, you will not be rotating those. You can do a
few things to ensure you won’t need to worry about crop rotation.

Adding a minimum of three inches of compost per year will help bury pathogens in the soil.

Watering your raised beds with drip irrigation minimizes that splash back from the soil to the leaves,
which also helps to cut down on disease.

How do I keep tree roots or bindweed from entering the bottom of raised beds?
Bindweed or any perennial weed is hard to keep out of your raised beds. To prevent this, you may use
garden fabric to keep weeds from growing. But keep in mind that if weeds can’t grow up, then the roots
of your plants can’t grow down. Because of this, you’ll need 12-15 inches of soil.

To prevent tree roots, use the same method. Put the landscape fabric down first and build the bed over
it so that are no spots where the tree roots can snake their way in.

If you’re using landscape fabric, add a couple of shovelfuls of your native soil to the raised bed to
ensure it has those beneficial worms and insects.

How should I winterize my beds and drip lines?

In a cold climate where you get freezes, ensure all the drip lines are dry before the winter. Take off the
end caps and ensure it’s completely dried out before a freeze.

What should I do if the soil in my raised beds becomes hard?

If your raised bed soil is becoming too hard, you probably have the wrong type of soil in your bed. If
you use native soil, it could contain clay which will compact. This will not allow for nutrient uptake or

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good drainage. If you have native soil that is anything but loam, you don’t want to use it exclusively for
your raised beds.

What if my soil has become hydrophobic?

Hydrophobia is a situation where soil no longer absorbs water and the water just puddles on top of
the soil. It is not allowing the water to absorb. In situations like that, soak the soil and mulch it to help
hold moisture in.

What is the best type of raised bed for a hot climate?

The best type of raised bed for a hot climate is any type of bed that’s very insulated. A metal raised bed
is very thin and will draw heat into the bed. Fabric beds are also very thin and will draw heat from the
outside. The best bet is brick or wood because they are thicker and radiate heat away from the raised
bed soil. Lumber will be the most simple and affordable option.

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schooloftraditionalskills.com

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