My brother-in-law called my raised beds a 'waste of space' and it got me thinking.

We were having a beer in my yard in Tacoma and he pointed at my three 4x8 foot cedar beds. He said, 'You could fit three times the food if you just planted directly in the ground and used that wood for trellises.' I mean, I spent like 300 bucks on that cedar. But he's got a point about maximizing a small yard. Has anyone else switched from raised beds to in-ground planting and seen a big difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

hernandez.emma1mo ago

Oh man, that comment about waste of space would get under my skin! Honestly, the big win with raised beds for me is the soil control. My backyard dirt is basically clay and rocks, so I'd be fighting it forever. Filling the beds with good compost and soil mix meant my plants actually grew. Maybe your brother in law has great dirt already, but mine is terrible. For a small yard, maybe a mix is smart? Keep one or two beds for things that need perfect soil, and plant directly for stuff like beans or zucchini that don't care as much.

foster.charles1mo ago

My dirt is so bad I could grow bricks, not beans.

loganthompson1mo agoTop Commenter

Yeah exactly, I read somewhere that soil quality is the biggest hidden factor people don't talk about. If you've got good dirt like your brother-in-law, sure, skip the raised beds. But like @foster.charles said, some of us are starting with literal garbage soil. My first year trying in-ground, everything was stunted because the ground was so packed and sad. Building a few raised beds for my tomatoes and peppers was a game changer since I could control that mix. It's not a waste of space if it's the only way your plants will actually live, lol.

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