The Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay region has the reputation of being a delightful place to live. That is, if you live in Talbot County on the East side of Route 50.  Homes on the West side of Route 50 , along the bay, are built on Mother Nature’s version of cement, otherwise known as clay. Dried clay is rock hard, wet clay is a sticky and unmanageable, resisting any attempt to install a decent garden or to beautify your property.
 
Adding tons of compost, shredded leaves and other forms of organic matter is the only way to transform less-than-ideal soil into something truly fine. Unfortunately, however, the transformation can take years, while replacing or refining the soil can take its toll on your back or your bank account.
 
Rather than try to create a garden from the bottom up, why not create one from the top down by using raised beds. You can garden in raised beds with any soil type, but if your soil is rocky, compacted or full of clay, raised beds may be the best option.
 
Why Gardeners Like Love Raised Garden Beds
 
Raised garden beds are perfect for small plots of vegetables, flowers and landscaping plants. You can have a big garden in a small space and they bring more order, charm and pleasing geometry to your garden. Raised garden beds can extend your gardening season. They tend to warm up a little sooner in the spring while remaining productive later in the fall. By raising the soil level, raised beds also reduce back strain when bending over to tend the bed.
 
Perhaps the most important advantage is greatly reduced soil compaction along with improved drainage. Plant roots need air. In an ordinary garden, you can’t avoid stepping in the garden bed occasionally when doing your everyday gardening. Plants can be spaced a little closer together in a raised bed because you don’t need places to step. This increases productivity per square foot of bed and reduces weeding when the plants begin to mature. Various studies have shown that raised garden beds produce 1.4 to 2 times as much vegetables and flowers per square foot as ordinary beds, due mainly to these features. You can have a smaller and more manageable garden that produces more goodies for your table.
 
Raised beds are easy to build, or there are ready-made models available. We like to use cedar dimension lumber (untreated) 2 inches thick by 12 inches high and 10 or 12 feet long. A width of four feet is ample space to grow yet easy to maintain, otherwise known as the “lean-over factor.” If you are not handy, purchase a kit that includes all of the materials that you need to connect the boards. After you have laid out the bed location, turn over the native soil and lay a weed barrier down, so that you can sleep a little longer on Saturday mornings and dream about the delicious fresh foods only steps away from your home.