In this video, I’m sharing 7 raised bed mistakes that can cost you time, money, and years of frustration in the garden. Some raised beds fail right away… others slowly stop performing over time. After rebuilding my own raised bed garden, I’ve seen both.
If you’re building raised beds for the first time—or rethinking the setup you already have—this video should help you avoid some of the most common problems gardeners run into.
🌱 Vego Raised Beds: https://shop.nextlevelgardening.tv/search?q=vego&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
🌱 Raised Bed Gardening Course: https://join.nextlevelgardening.tv/raised-beds
🌿 Follow the SkyRidge garden rebuild: https://www.youtube.com/@UCYtX1fIuWDjm8qNAxWlmhyQ
CHAPTERS
0:00 Why Raised Beds Fail
0:36 Raised Bed Layout Mistakes
2:53 Raised Beds That Are Too Shallow
5:27 Choosing the Wrong Materials
9:15 Filling Raised Beds the Wrong Way
12:14 Not Refreshing Your Soil
13:24 Why You Should Mulch Raised Beds
15:18 Protecting Raised Beds in the Off-Season
17:01 Final Thoughts & SkyRidge Garden Rebuild
19 Comments
If you’re building raised beds for the first time—or rethinking the setup you already have—this video should help you avoid some of the most common problems gardeners run into.
🌱 Vego Raised Beds: https://shop.nextlevelgardening.tv/search?q=vego&options%5Bprefix%5D=last
🌱 Raised Bed Gardening Course: https://join.nextlevelgardening.tv/raised-beds
🌿 Follow the SkyRidge garden rebuild: https://www.youtube.com/@thegardensatskyridge
Voles and moles come up through tunnels if you don't use hardware wire under your raised beds in Minnesota.
I have Vego beds and they are very nice. I had to get the screens for our beds because we have a squirrel problem that we cannot resolve. The screen makes getting into the beds difficult for the squirrels and for me.
I also shifted from wood to adding the Vego beds. They are now 5-6 years old, and they look the same as when I put them in (mid PA). I didn't bother with the expansion rods, as the beds are keeping their shape. As of now, I have had no problem with the bottom fillers I've used. All beds have lots of worms, and produce nicely. One thing I have done differently last year and this year is bury the kitchen scraps and even early spring weeds and debris in the boxes. When I check, the stuff is "gone" in a few weeks at the most. Oh, in the fall, stuff from the chickens goes on top. Also, at that time soil gets added if needed, and leaves tossed into them.
It is easy to imagine that fails can happen. Mostly made the shift from in-ground to raised beds because this body got old.
I have vego beds too. As a TX resident, for me, the best feature of these beds is the inner lining. Totally heat resistant. 👍
What type of mulch should I get? My zucchini is doing great, but my tomatoes look like they are dieing.
I’m excited to see your new layout and how you do your trellis system for your tomatoes in the new metal beds.
And in Michigan.
The Vego bed may be nice, but for the average budget conscious person, they are way too expensive.
Timely advice Brian! Like you, I'm rebuilding my garden because I've made many of these exact mistakes. I'm replacing woods beds with metal, adjusting layout, and replacing soil. Layout has been the biggest mistake and I wish I had paid more attention to this upfront. Your advice is solid!
Great video!
Luv your new raised beds
Thanks for passing on your years of knowledge ❤
you are giving good advice.
if only everyone in society would learn and then give freely good advice.
we can learn from mistakes and help others not make the same mistakes.
my garden is scaled down to around my patio: balancing on the fence, on top of rollers, and on top of shelving and tables – all in various shapes and types of planters.
i have learned that each one of these work better in different placements, and with different plants and watering schedule.
i have successfully overwintered on this south-facing patio a Silverberry Petunia in a larger planter for THREE YEARS, and boy is it huge this May! One plant that cost me about $5 in 2024 is over 2 feet ball right now.
i also mix herbs, bulbs, perennials, annuals, bushes, and flowers.
i find that it can protect one plant from burning its leaves and another from being eaten by bugs if there is diversity in each one.
so while i cannot make a raised bed, like one, you have to build it up over time, keep maintaining it, and know what to plant and where to put the planters so that your garden works for you and you do not have a dead ugly mess.
One thing about living in a climate with prolonged deep freezes in the winter is that materials prone to rot, in this case wooden raised beds, will last much longer. Maybe twice as long or so. Hey, I'll take the small wins where I can! 🤣
I live in a high desert climate. 1st year doing raised beds. I have planted in ground 50+ years. We are heading into our 3rd year of drought. Thanks to my neighbor throwing his leaves and grass clippings over the fence I have all the mulch material I need. I already started a hugelkultur system made with rotten trees and rotting fire wood with coco coir to fill in around the logs. I have found several minor stag beetles in my rotting logs already breaking them down quicker. Raised bed soil tops it. To the top before mulching I added soil savior's to the logs and top of beds to get the microbial action going. Because of the rotting logs I anticipate having to add 4-6" of compost next spring. How much of my assumptions are true? All except 1 of the raised beds are in a passive solar heated high tunnel. Would planting cover crops every other year be enough? I would like to plant at least 1/2 of the high tunnel to cold crops in the winter. PS all my beds are Vego
My 22" high raised beds are filled with fall leaves, wood bark, straw, and compost for the first 12 inches. I filled the rest with a Raised Bed mix. The following year, I added fresh compost and 4-4-4. I topped the bed with fine straw. This year, I upgraded to a drip irrigation system.
Good video, but you never mention irrigation. Hoping your other channel addresses it in more detail. If not, could you do a video on irrigation for raised beds, considering there are so many options and details? I can see you've done prep over your shoulder. Drip tape, sprinklers, misters, pressure regulators, tubing options, etc… It's all overwhelming.
Great information. Thank you for your insights! I am learning as I go and I appreciate all your videos as well as the opportunity to see how your gardens are evolving.
Thank you Brian. What do you think about a Smart Pot PVC 2' by 4' raised bed. Is that deep enough for carrots? I still haven't started planting yet because here in Florida we are in an extreme drought. I have to hand water.
We put in Vegega beds two years ago and made two of the mistakes. We wanted to avoid the massive, heavy work of wheel barrowing and shoveling the soil and opted for a blended soil to be blown in instead. That was a huge mistake because my plants struggled in that soil. The second mistake was logs and twigs in the bottom of my deep 32" bed. The soil in that bed drops alot every year. Bright side is at least good soil is replacing the blended soil now😊