6 Best Raised Garden Beds: Take Planting to a New Level
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Raised garden beds can provide an excellent growing environment for plants, flowers, and vegetables. They’re also the best way to quickly and easily expand the amount of area you have for growing.
The best raised garden beds are made from high-quality materials and will last for many, many growing seasons, opening up your backyard to growing a huge amount of produce or a big bloom of flowers. I’ve had amazing results year after year in my raised garden beds because I’m able to precisely control the soil conditions in a way that I can’t anywhere else.
In this article, I’m excited to bring you six of the best raised garden beds that you can buy online. These great products come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and materials, so I’m sure there’s one on this list that will be perfect for your backyard.
Let’s get right into it!
Key Takeaways
My yard looks less like a yard than a patchwork of raised soil beds strung all around, which means that I have a lot of experience when it comes to this gardening method. Based on that experience, along with online research and some consultations with other gardening experts, I was able to build a list with six great options on it.
Overall, I picked the GADI Raised Garden Bed Kit as the best raised garden bed as a result of its heavy-duty construction and its easy installation process. It also provides plenty of space, allowing you to plant a large volume of vegetables or flowers. However, I’ve also included some products that have rather different features, such as the compact and circular SnugNiture Round Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit and the greenhouse-style Quictent Galvanized Raised Garden Bed with Cover. Now, let’s take a look at each of the options in greater detail.
Best Overall: GADI Raised Garden Bed Kit
Why this is a quality choice: The GADI Raised Garden Bed Kit is a top-notch metal raised garden bed, featuring sturdy construction with four metal cross-beams and a galvanized steel exterior coated with two layers of anti-rust paint. Its thoughtful design includes air vents and drainage holes, creating an optimal environment for plant growth.
Who is this for? I’d recommend this raised metal garden bed to anyone seeking to transform their outdoor space into a thriving growing environment.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Some gardeners may prefer squared edges over oval-shaped garden beds like this one, as squared edges can accommodate a few more crops from the extra space they provide.
Size (in.): 67 x 20 x 10 | Drainage: Open bottom and holes on the sides | Material: Galvanized steel | Assembly time: 20 mins
Best Budget: FOYUEE Galvanized Raised Garden Beds
Why this is a quality choice: FOYUEE Galvanized Raised Garden Beds offer ample growing space at an affordable price. These steel beds lack a bottom, allowing plants to extend their roots into the ground and ensuring efficient drainage. With robust construction featuring metal cross-beams and rust-proofing, they are built to last.
Who is this for? I’d suggest these garden beds to anyone who is in need of significant additional space for vegetable cultivation but who also doesn’t want to break the bank.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Although some users have noted that the metal can be prone to bending, especially during assembly, exercising caution during setup can mitigate this issue.
Size (in.): 96 x 48 x 12 | Drainage: Through the open bottom | Material: Galvanized steel | Assembly time: 5 mins
Best Value: MOFEEZ Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit, 2Pcs
Why this is a quality choice: The MOFEEZ Galvanized Raised Garden Beds, available in a convenient two-pack, deliver exceptional value with ample surface area and the flexibility of two separate beds. This setup not only results in a greater growing area, but also allows you to create different growing environments within the different raised beds.
Who is this for? Similar to the budget option, the MOFEEZ Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit is perfect for those seeking to expand their growing space quickly and cheaply.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Some users may find assembly challenging because of the numerous joints that require precise alignment. However, this problem has a simple solution: all you have to do is align everything before fully tightening the bolts.
Size (in.): 72 x 36 x 12 | Drainage: Through the open bottom | Material: Galvanized steel | Assembly time: 5 mins
Best Wooden Garden Bed: BIRASIL Outdoor Raised Garden Bed
Why this is a quality choice: BIRASIL’s Outdoor Raised Garden Bed showcases their commitment to crafting excellent and budget-friendly garden beds. Constructed from fir wood, these beds feature legs that ease gardening tasks and reduce strain on the back. The water-permeable lining fabric ensures optimal drainage while preventing soil erosion.
Who is this for? The BIRASIL Outdoor Raised Garden Bed is an ideal option for gardeners looking to enhance their yard’s aesthetics while adding functional growing space.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Although it may not be the largest raised garden bed available, its quality construction and appealing wooden design justify its inclusion in this list.
Size (in.): 48.5 x 24.4 x 30 | Drainage: Slits in the bottom plate, plus holes on the sides | Material: Fir Wood | Assembly time: 20 mins
Best Small Beds: SnugNiture Round Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit, 3Pcs
Why this is a quality choice: For those lacking ample space, the SnugNiture Round Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit offers a compact yet stylish alternative to the larger and more utilitarian options on this list. These galvanized steel planters, which come in a pack of three, stand out for their smaller footprint, circular design, and the many available color options.
Who is this for? These metal raised garden beds are perfect for individuals who have limited yard space but still desire to cultivate their own garden.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Although a few customers have mentioned slight issues with the edges of the panels not fitting tightly together, this hasn’t been a consistent complaint for all users.
Size (in.): 23.6 x 23.6 x 11.8 | Drainage: Through the open bottom | Material: Galvanized steel | Assembly time: 30 mins
Best Garden Bed with a Cover: Quictent Galvanized Raised Garden Bed with Cover
Why this is a quality choice: The Quictent Galvanized Raised Garden Bed with Cover earns its place on this list because of its unique design. It has a greenhouse-style cover that provides protection against pests, birds, and animals while offering precise temperature control for an extended growing season. The added benefit of a five-year warranty should add to your confidence in the bed’s quality.
Who is this for? This mini-greenhouse raised planter bed is tailored for experienced gardeners seeking meticulous control over growing conditions and enhanced protection for their plants.
Flaws but not deal-breakers: Although it may not be the most budget-friendly option, the Quictent Galvanized Raised Garden Bed with Cover justifies its price through the multitude of features it offers.
Size (in.): 71 x 35.4 x 12 | Drainage: Holes on the sides | Material: Galvanized steel | Assembly time: 50 mins
Buying Considerations for The Best Raised Garden Beds
Size
It won’t come as any surprise that the most important buying consideration for raised garden beds is size. You want to be sure to purchase raised garden beds that maximize your growing space without being too large for your yard.
I’d recommend mapping out your yard’s dimensions on a piece of paper, and then planning out the places where you want your garden beds to go. Then, you can choose the raised garden beds that best fit into the plan.
If you’re more looking for some smaller pieces to accent your yard, then the small and circular SnugNiture Round Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit might be the best raised garden beds for you.
Drainage holes
The way that a raised garden bed drains water is another important consideration. Some raised garden beds allow for drainage only through their open bottom (and into the soil below); others have drainage holes on their sides to facilitate the release of water. Many gardeners can get away with using a raised garden bed that drains only through the bottom, but some factors might encourage one to choose a model that has drainage holes. These include a plan to grow plants that require fast drainage (such as succulents) or the presence of ground underneath a raised bed that doesn’t allow for good drainage (such as concrete or clay-heavy soil).
Assembly time
Finally, how easy or difficult a raised garden bed will be to assemble and install is a significant buying consideration for many gardeners. After all, I’m sure you don’t want to spend several frustrating hours on the job of assembling a raised garden if it can be avoided. I’ve tried to give an indication of how difficult or easy the assembly of the different options on the list above are. You can also take a look through customer reviews of each product you’re considering to see whether other users have had any issues with assembly.
How I Choose These Products
I’ve continually added more and more growing space to my property using various raised garden beds through the years. This experience gives me a lot of insight into the category, since I’ve used a lot of different types of garden beds (small and large, wood and metal, etc.) and tried out products from a lot of different manufacturers.
I also compared notes with some other gardening enthusiasts to hear how they’ve found the raised garden beds that they’ve tried out, and read online reviews as well. All of this thought and research has led me to be able to evaluate things like brand quality, the appropriateness of different products for different use cases, and what types of gardens will benefit from each product. I hope that you’ve found the article insightful and helpful for finding the best raised garden beds for your needs.
Final Verdict
I’ve decided to recommend GADI Raised Garden Bed Kit as the overall best raised garden bed as a result of its high-quality materials, durable construction, and large size. It’s a great way to quickly expand the usable space you have in your yard by making a simple online order and spending a couple of hours assembling them and filling them up with soil. If that sounds like something you’d like to do, then the GADI Raised Garden Bed Kit is a perfect solution.
FAQs
Which type of raised garden bed is best?
Different gardeners have their own preferences about what the best raised garden beds are. Some people will say that they much prefer a wooden construction (maybe even one they’ve made themselves); others swear by metal raised garden beds. And, in fact, many gardeners will say that they don’t really care what material a raised garden bed is made from as long as it’s large enough to hold lots of vegetables or flowers.
What is the best material to make a raised garden bed?
Both metal and wooden raised garden beds are excellent materials for making raised garden beds, and plastic can do the trick as well. When you’re building a raised garden bed from scratch, you want to make sure that you allow for adequate draining—since this will have a much greater impact on the health of your plants than what material you’ve used to make the garden beds. By the same token, you should consider regularly testing your soil to make sure the growing environment in your raised garden beds is ideal for the plants you’re growing.
Are there any disadvantages of raised garden beds?
The biggest disadvantage of raised garden beds is the limited size you have to work with, as well as the investment it takes to buy them and fill them with soil. Most plants will grow as well, if not better, in raised garden beds as compared to the ground.
On the other hand, the biggest advantage of raised garden beds is the amount of control you can have over the growing conditions of your plants, such as by choosing soil with particular qualities, installing soaker hoses, and testing your soil for pH.
