Since most people are working from home, many of them have picked up gardening to sustainably grow their own veggies. However, everyone may not have a backyard, that’s why many are opting for raised beds to grow their produce. Before you search for “topsoil near me” let’s check out some of the best growing vegetables from seed in raised beds:
The Vegetables
Onions – Onions may not sound like an exciting crop. However, they are responsible for adding flavor, texture, and at times crunch to your meals. You can eat them raw, pickle them, make them a base for your soup or gravy or fry them. However, you need to make tall and wide raised beds for growing onions since the roots can spread deep.
Radishes – If you’re in a hurry and want to grow something as quickly as possible, radishes are the ideal choice. They are quick-growing crops with red shoulders and can pop out of the ground within a month after sowing. They are very versatile since you can use them in salads, pickles, or even stir fry them. Moreover, they are nutritious and good for your health.
The best thing about radishes is that you can grow a lot of them in a small area. The gap between two radishes can be as small as 2.5 cm on your raised bed. They don’t demand a lot of maintenance either. Perfect for beginners who live in an urban environment.
Carrots – Carrots are one of the most flavorful and nutritious among root crops. While the store-bought carrots taste great, home-grown produce is even better. You don’t even need to stick to the orange variant. Try growing yellow, white, or even purple varieties to add color to your meals. They are also well suited for raised bed growth since they don’t do well on the ground where the soil is stony or has compacted too much. You can also get rid of pests organically when you grow carrots on raised beds since carrot flies can’t fly much higher than ground level.
Beetroot – Beetroot is one of the titans of the food world. It’s low in calories and fat and full of minerals, vitamins, and powerful antioxidants to keep you healthy. Homegrown beetroot is an amazing delight since they are sweeter than the store-bought variants. They are also the perfect plants for raised beds. You can sow them every two weeks till June so that you can harvest them throughout the coming months. Like carrots they can also be found in colorful varieties. Try out golden and white and pink striped beetroot if you’re feeling adventurous.
Chard – After beetroot comes the leaf beet, or Chard. For raised garden beds, they are an easy crop that have colorful stalks. You can slice them into thin strips and cook them in butter or olive oil with light seasoning as an enticing side dish. However, you need to have good drainage for your raised beds since chard likes moist soil. Once they grow in your garden you can pick a few leaves periodically and thin out seedlings for salad.
Spinach – Spinach is another vegetable that’s very rewarding when grown on raised beds. They can be used in cuisines from all parts of the world and are rich in iron. They also pack a lot of other nutrients to give your diet a healthy boost. To harvest them throughout the year, you need to plant them every month till the first frost of winter. Also, make sure to protect them from hot temperatures by adding light shade. If you grow them in hot weather, they will taste bitter.
Rocket – If you find your salads to be boring, it’s time to spice them up with the kick of the rocket plant. They are one of the best veggies to grow on a raised bed. They grow very quickly with abundant water and rich soil. When you grow them on the ground they may not grow well unless you thin out the plants consistently. The flavor also differs depending on the time of harvest. If you pick young leaves, they give a mild flavor while older leaves give a rich strong kick.
Lettuce – Sow lettuce seeds early in spring on your raised beds and they will grow wonderfully. If the soil is warm the seeds will germinate quickly, and they will grow unhindered even during the winter season. You can also harvest the whole plant or pick a few leaves at a time.
Tomatoes – If you love Mediterranean food, you can’t do without tomatoes on your raised bed. Tomatoes love well-watered and rich soil and that’s easily achievable in a raised bed compared to the ground. You don’t even need to create deep raised beds for these plants since the roots spreads out horizontally, not vertically. So, they will grow without hindrance even in the shallowest of beds. Sow them in early February and if the weather is on your side, you can start harvesting them from July.
Patty pans – While they belong in the squash family, they are round vegetables that can be eaten without peeling the outer layer. You don’t need to stick to the green variant either. Try out yellow or white varieties along with green in a raised bed. Apart from their rich nutty flavor, they are also a productive plant with fruits that can grow very big until maturity. If you harvest a large patty pan, you can even stuff them with other ingredients for a delicious baked dish. However, you need to be mindful of the size of your raised beds since they can grow up to 2 feet tall and can spread as wide as 3 feet.
Conclusion
These are some of the best vegetables you can grow in raised beds. Raised beds are very versatile since you can quickly change the soil composition according to your needs and grow the plants you want. Now you should search for “topsoil near me” to make some raised beds in your yard, or on the balcony or roof of your apartment.