Raised bed gardening

[DaveSoMD]

I have been using raised beds for about 5 years now. These are 2 really good books that I used when I started out:

Square Foot Gardening / New Square Foot Gardening

Cubed Foot Gardening

[Claire]

If I might make a recommendation, Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholemew is a good place to start.

This is an excellent way to garden in the south. In Florida the soil is not really great in most places; ditto Hawaii. We used wood for raised beds in Hawaii; purchased prefab synthetic ones in Florida (purchased, I think, from Home Improvements). In both places we dug in a few inches, then mixed the native soil with purchased stuff (you need your local extension service to tell you what you need), and worked it over years. Every year requires you to look at what you have and buy what you need. And trust me, if you think you need a little, double it.

It is worth it. In Florida, every year surprised me. But it worked. The year the national lettuce cropped failed, I had lettuce and my extended family lived on it. Ironically, I'd never had success with lettuce before.

I wish you sucess!