How to Grow All Year in Raised Beds
One of the best things about raised garden beds is that they provide the opportunity for year-round gardening. With a little planning and the right techniques, you can continue growing fresh vegetables and herbs through all four seasons.
Whether you live in a colder climate or a warmer one, raised garden beds can help you extend your growing season. Let me show you how I grow year-round here in Colorado! And even if you aren’t wanting to grow all year, you can make your seasons longer with a few simple steps!
Ok. Let’s get started!
Spring & Summer Gardening in Raised Beds
Spring and summer are the prime growing seasons, especially in raised garden beds. Raised beds warm up faster in the spring, which allows you to plant earlier than traditional ground gardens. You can install simple season extenders over your raised beds to warm the soil up earlier and to plant earlier in the season.
During the summer months, raised beds may dry out more quickly, so consistent watering is important. Consider using a drip irrigation system or soaker hoses to ensure your plants receive even moisture. Additionally, mulch the surface of your raised bed to retain water, suppress weeds, and keep soil temperatures stable.
Fall & Winter Gardening in Raised Beds
Fall and winter gardening in raised beds may seem challenging, but with the right strategies, you can keep growing crops even during the cold months. I have grown leafy greens through the winter here in Colorado in raised beds using simple season extenders – even with temperatures below -15℉!
Cold Frames and Cloches: These simple structures trap heat and protect your plants from frost. A cold frame is essentially a mini greenhouse that fits over your raised bed, allowing you to grow cool-weather crops like kale, spinach, and cabbage well into the fall and winter.
Row Covers: Lightweight fabric or plastic row covers can be draped over your plants to protect them from freezing temperatures while still allowing light and air to pass through.
Use of Hoop Houses: A hoop house is a more permanent structure that can be used to extend your growing season significantly. It works by trapping heat and creating a warmer microclimate within your raised bed.
During winter, focus on growing hearty, frost-resistant crops such as carrots, beets, and winter greens. These crops can survive cold temperatures and are ideal for winter gardening.
Using Season Extenders over Raised Beds
The key to gardening year-round in raised beds is the use of season extenders. They are a simple and convenient way to extend your growing season for months at a time.
Spring: In the spring you can put in a season extender and some incandescent holiday lights to warm up the soil months earlier than it would warm naturally. Once the soil is warm, you can plant directly into it, and then keep the season extenders in place to protect tender seedlings. Additionally, you can place pots and seed starts in a season extender and use it like a greenhouse to allow them to grow on or even as a place to harden them off.
Fall: In the fall, a season extender can ward off those early frosts and allow you to keep growing for extra weeks or months.
Winter: a season extender can keep the growing happening all winter long – especially with cool-season crops like leafy greens. Begin starts inside and then transition them into the season extenders for faster growth, and if you are in a very cold climate, put in a strand of incandescent holiday lights to keep the soil and tender plants a little warmer.
For more ideas and details, check out this guide to using Season Extenders.
With a little ingenuity and the right techniques, raised garden beds make it easy to grow fresh produce year-round. Whether you’re starting in the spring or continuing through the winter months, you can enjoy homegrown vegetables throughout the seasons. By using row covers, cold frames, and other methods, you can create a continuous gardening cycle that allows you to make the most out of every season.
If you have questions or ideas, drop them below!
And Happy Gardening!