What do you plant in a raised bed garden? You can grow almost anything, provided that the growing conditions like sunlight, spacing and temperature are right for your plants.
Raised Garden Bed Vegetables and Fruits
Tomatoes
Tomatoes love to dig their roots into the soil and are eager to eat a lot. They are great additions to raised gardens and love full sun. Be sure to plant tomato plants in the back of a raised garden because they can grow very tall! To support the tomato plants, try adding tomato cages.
Legumes
As they grow, legumes add nitrogen to your soil. This doubles their role in the raised garden beds. Legumes increase the soil’s nutrient level and produce abundant harvests. Both climbing and freestanding varieties can be found:
- Chickpeas
- Bush and Pole Bean Variety
- Peas
- Lentils
Kale and Swiss Chard
In raised beds, kale and Swiss chard are great late-season crops. They prevent soil compaction and thrive in cooler temperatures. You can cover them with hoop houses and cold frames to extend their growth season, and they might even provide you with a fall or winter harvest!
Lettuce and Spinach, Mixed Greens
Mixed salad greens, such as spinach and lettuce, thrive in warm soil conditions and well-draining raised beds.
Brassicas
Brassicas are great for first-round crops in raised beds. They are prone to bolting in hot conditions and they love the controlled soil temperatures raised beds offer. When the soil is kept warmer, it can extend the season for both earlier and later-season crops. Just cover them easily with raised beds to make it easier to harvest a fall or winter harvest.
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Arugula
- Cabbage
- Kale
- Brussel Sprouts
Peppers and Eggplant
Eggplant is the most popular choice for raised bed gardens. They are heavy feeders of nutrients and thrive in warm soils like raised beds. Raised beds make it easier to maintain these abundant producers’ nutrient- and watering needs.
Carrots
Raised beds allow carrots to grow in loose, well-draining soil that is not restricted by rocks. They can be easily tucked into taller plants’ protection because they produce fruit beneath the soil.
Beets, Radishes
Radishes and other root vegetables are beautiful and easy to grow in loose soil. They are great succession-planted crops because of their rapid maturation.
Cucumbers
Raised beds are ideal for cucumbers. To maximize space, allow them to cascade up or over trellises.
Celery
Celery just needs to settle in a raised garden. It can be finicky and needs plenty of moisture, cool temperatures and nutrient-rich soil. It also requires a long growing season.
Potatoes
A raised garden bed is a good choice for potatoes. Well-drained soil prevents rot and allows tubers to grow fully unimpeded by rocks and dense soil.
Melons
For juicy melons, warm, well-drained soil with a pH balance is ideal. You can allow these vining plants to grow out of raised beds, or train them to climb trellises and other climbing structures to make the most of space.
Strawberries
Strawberry plants thrive in warm soil and lots of sunlight. Raised beds provide these ideal conditions and protect strawberries plants from the menacing slugs who love succulent fruits.
Squash and Zucchini
Bush varieties of these veggies are great additions to raised bed gardens because of their open habits. You can also allow vining, quick-growing plants to grow out of raised beds. Or you can add trellises to encourage them to climb.
Raised Bed Garden Flowers & Herbs
Raised beds are also great for growing herbs and flowers! They are great companion plants and can attract beneficial insects to your garden beds, as well as protect them from pests.
Idea: Create a Pizza Garden!
You can make gardening fun with your family by creating a pizza garden in a raised bed area or dedicating a whole raised bed to the topic of pizza. It will be easy to harvest all your homegrown ingredients from one location. Did you know that basil, oregano and parsley can also enhance the flavor of your tomatoes when planted in close proximity?
- Tomatoes
- Parsley
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Basil
- Other options: Broccoli, onions, peppers, and eggplant
Idea: Make a Salad Bowl!
Plant your own salad ingredients and greens in the same raised garden bed if you eat salads often. These salad bowl classics are great to plant.
- Spinach
- Mixed lettuce varieties
- Garbanzo beans
- Peppers
- Cucumbers
- Radicchio
- Lemon Basil or Lime Basil
- Cherry tomatoes
- Red onions
- Carrots
All in All
Raised garden beds offer gardeners a variety of garden styles, simplify garden chores, and help with gardening! Give some of these ideas a try!
