GRAND RIDGE, Ill. — For those who grow vegetables or flowers but don’t like kneeling to tend their plants, raised-bed gardening could be the way to go.

Raised-bed gardening extends the growing season on both the early and late ends. It also lends itself to more production in a smaller amount of space, such as with beets. Nine beet plants can be grown in 1 square foot of space in a raised garden.

This is something that cannot be done in a conventional row garden, Susan Hayward of Ottawa, Ill., noted.

“Also, I can get four cuttings off any type of lettuce if I start cutting when the plants are about 3 to 4 inches high,” she told listeners at the recent Cabin Fever Reliever put on by the La Salle County Assoc. for Home and Community Education, University of Illinois extension.

“Raised-bed gardening is something anyone can do. Basically, a raised garden is a box without a bottom and filled with good soil, hopefully organic, in which you plant your vegetables or flowers. As you become more confident in what you are growing, you can add more and more depth to your garden.”

There are many forms of raised beds for gardening, depending on the topography of the land where they are situated. Although raised beds can be fashioned in any shape, most are rectangular and placed on flat ground or land that’s been leveled off for that purpose.

Raised beds can be temporary or permanent, with the latter a more satisfactory choice in most cases. They aid the development of the plant root systems because the soil is not waterlogged or compacted. Compost and other organic compounds can be used to help boost the soil structure, drainage and ability of the plants to retain nutrients.

Better root growth produces better food crop yields. Also, more plants can be grown in a smaller area than with conventional row cropping because no space is wasted between rows.

Perhaps best of all, raised-bed gardening means less stooping and bending to weed, water and manage the plants. This is because they are growing above the level of the walking pathways through the garden.

“There’s lots of advantages to raised-bed gardening,” Hayward said. “For one, you can plant a whole lot more in less space. Also, there’s less compaction of the soil, plus there’s conservation of soil and water.

“You can stagger your plantings and easily keep track of your plant rotations from beginning season to end season. You can easily convert the bed into a mini-greenhouse and extend your garden season even further.”

Hayward grew up on a farm in rural Grand Ridge and has always loved having her hands in the soil. A large 20-by-40-foot utility easement is in place on the ground where she and her family live in urban Ottawa. Nothing permanent can be installed on the ground protected by the easement.

Hayward worked around this by situating temporary raised beds on the easement surface. “They can be taken apart and moved, so I didn’t go down into the ground,” she said.

She uses raised-bed gardening for her perennial flower plants, too.

When it comes to maintenance for the gardens, Hayward recommended composting to keep the soil moist and the plants from becoming dry. “Make a big pile of compost and keep turning it over daily for two weeks,” she said.

“After two weeks, turn it over weekly to have compost ready for use in three months. Mix, mash, moisten and move are the ideal composting conditions.”

For Japanese beetles, Hayward recommended placing the bug catcher on a post a distance away from the garden instead of close to the plants.

“With a raised garden, you can place stakes in the ground, raise the top a couple feet above the plants and put netting around the bed to keep the beetles out,” she said.

The main advantage of temporary raised beds is their simplicity. There is no expense involved to construct a framework. Also, they are less labor-intensive to build than permanent beds.

Because there is no wall to hold the soil in place, though, temporary beds will flatten down each year, which means reconstructing them the following year, the University of Missouri extension stated in a 2003 publication.

Four feet is a good width for raised garden beds. The length depends on the ground space that is available, although long distances should be divided into shorter beds. The soil depth is pretty much up to the gardener. Most plants, however, need at least a root zone of 6-12 inches.

Stakes to hold the bed walls in place should be twice the height of the bed. Walls can be constructed of non-treated lumber, preferably, or cement blocks or stones. Walking pathways from one bed to another should be about 1 foot wide throughout the garden.

Hayward caught her listeners’ attention by displaying three favorite gardening tools. One was a regular circle hoe, another a large, sharp knife and the third a pair of lightweight kneepads.

She also showed two publications that are her favorite resources for gardening tips and solutions. One was Rodale’s All New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. The other was All New Square Foot Gardening by Mel Bartholomew.

Hayward doubts that any downsides exist to raised bed gardening. “I don’t think so,” she said. “But I love doing it, so I can’t think of any downers,” she chuckled.

“It can be expensive if you don’t want to take the time to build your own bed or find or someone to help you build it. You can just buy beds that you put together, but they are expensive.”

More than 100 people attended the 15th annual day-long Cabin Fever Reliever, which included 45-minute sessions on baking, decorating foods, decorative wheat straw weaving and beneficial dragonflies, all topped off with a generous luncheon and door prizes and raffle giveaways.