Planting pre-grown plants in the raised bed

Raised beds are becoming increasingly popular and simplify successful gardening thanks to their ergonomics and reduced work and maintenance requirements. They offer the opportunity to break out of everyday life and spend a few minutes with nature, which is playing an increasingly smaller role in everyday tasks in our increasingly digital world.

Raised beds are available in different designs, as I describe in more detail below. The common denominator is the practical separation from other parts of the garden so that no weeds can grow into the bed. They are suitable for both adults and children and fit into the concept of a low-maintenance garden. They show their advantages especially (but not only) in combination with robotic mowers and clear area boundaries.

Raised beds are filled according to the scheme shown and enable both (natural) drainage and strong plant growth.

In this article, you will first find out how to pre-grow your plants so that you can then transplant them into the raised bed.

Pre-growing plants for the raised bed

The pre-growing of plants, including Pre-growing is an ideal method for giving seedlings an early growth advantage. Especially in cooler climates, this method is often used to get plants growing early. This extends the growing time of plants so that they have sufficient time to flower and bear abundant fruit. 🍈

Still in the January / February of the year, you can start with the propagation of cuttings and let them grow protected from frost, cold, wind and rain.

Particularly important here is a Consistent water supply and Light. Young seedlings in particular react sensitively to too much or too little moisture and without sufficient light they grow poorly.

1. Greenhouse attachment for your raised bed
2. Cultivation tray for indoors included Plant lamps
3. Autonomous system like a Plantui Smart Garden

Personally, I opted for one of the many other advantages of a Plantui Smart Garden decided to work with the Pre-grow tray my seedlings in advance and then plant them in my raised beds plant as soon as the temperatures allow.

With the Plantui Smart Garden, I get the following benefits:

• Automatic, optimum irrigation
• Optimized, patented plant lighting
• Hydroponics, i.e. no soil / pests in the house
• A wide range of other options (see also my experience report)

There are various options for Herbs such as rosemary, thyme or mint which can move into your raised bed after about a month. Also Vegetables such as cucumbers, pumpkin or pepperswhich is grown indoors for a little longer - around six weeks - benefits from constant conditions. When planting out later, it is important to gradually acclimatize the plants to the outside temperatures and sunlight. Young plants should therefore first be placed outside for hours at a time or protected by fleece. Watering with the usual nutrient solution after transplanting also makes it easier for them to acclimatize. The result is robust seedlings that later grow luxuriantly in raised beds and give abundant harvests or beautiful flowers.

The HOFGARTEN raised bed is of the highest quality

So which raised bed to choose? You can find numerous raised beds on the internet. These are divided into categories such as:

• Material (wood, metal) and material thickness (I recommend >0.5mm for metal)
• Stability (some raised beds deform after filling and are therefore no longer dimensionally stable)
• Coating and quality of the materials used
• Scope of delivery including instructions
• Complexity of the structure
• Enclosed accessories (tools, plants, tips, ...)

I would like to have beautiful raised beds for my garden in the long term, which is why, after much comparison, I decided on HOFGARTEN raised beds I came across:

These are characterized by excellent customer support - which we have experienced ourselves - as well as a particularly high quality out. You can also use the raised bed modular in six different shapes and are therefore dedicated to any changes in your garden in the long term. That convinced me and so I bought two HOFGARTEN raised beds.

Care and maintenance of your raised bed

The most important basis for long-term fun with your raised bed, apart from the substrate, is the Quality of your raised bed. There are numerous raised beds made from different materials. Particularly durable and dimensionally stable are those made of stable, >0.5 mm thick corrugated sheet metal with high-quality coatings, such as that from YARD GARDEN.

Regular Care tips for your raised bed:

1. Ensure a good Irrigationby avoiding waterlogging but keeping the soil moist.
2. Give your plants regular organic nutrients from the second year onwards. Fertilizerso that they grow magnificently. In the first year, there are usually already sufficient nutrients in the soil. I can recommend Oscarna Soil Activator and Oscarna Animalin garden fertilizer. You can find further information on the Raised bed theme page from Oscarna.
3. Remove weedsand do this regularly so that your raised bed always looks nice and the weeds don't compete with your plants for space and nutrients.
4. Metal raised beds themselves require minimal maintenance (compared to wooden raised beds): Remove dirt regularly (e.g. with a broom with soft bristles) and remove dust and fine deposits with a sponge or microfiber cloth.

With these tips, you'll be well equipped to grow your plants in raised beds and enjoy them in the long term. 🌱