If you are someone who wants to have a steady stream of healthy, organic vegetables and herbs but doesn’t want to go through the trouble of digging through compacted, rocky soil, then raised garden beds are what you need.
Now you can create a raised bed for gardening at home with almost any material you want as long as they are sturdy enough to support your plants and don’t have any harmful chemicals.
If you are going to create a raised bed, you should most definitely stay away from using treated wood. Anything from bricks, cement blocks to untreated lumber will do for framing. And you can even use pine for raised beds.
However, the problem with using pine for garden beds or raised beds is that they aren’t that everlasting, so you will need to replace them every five years or so. So if you were wondering, “can you use pine for raised garden beds?” Then the answer is yes, but should you? Well, we at Trending Up believe you should choose something better.
At Trending Up, we specialize in providing a wide range of products that will make your life better, and one of the products we sell is raised beds designed to make your home gardening efforts a breeze.
Due to our experience working with home gardening products, we often encounter questions about using plastic sheeting for raised garden beds. So should you use them?
Well, we believe they are perfect for your home garden, and in the following passages, we will list out all the benefits so that you understand why we think so. So without any further delay, let’s check them out!
What Are The Benefits Of Using Plastic Sheeting For Raised Garden Beds?
Using a polyethylene film for your raised garden is one of the best things you can decide on. The USDA coined a term of its use, plasticulture. Plastic sheeting is known to expedite your planting date earlier, more convenient. It ensures the soil moisture stays more stable, effectively minimizing root damage and soil compaction.
If you use a landscaping film, then you’ll see it acts as an excellent insulator keeping the soil warm during the day and staving off the cold during nights. Plastic sheeting can be the difference between sickly green or ripe, red tomatoes, moldy or luscious strawberries, or a good harvest of melons or nothing at all.
So here in the following passages, you’ll find some of the benefits of using plastic sheeting for your raised garden beds. Let’s check them out!
Plastic Sheeting Keeps The Soil Warm
It’s the perfect option for warming up the compost pile and soil for vegetable crops like tomatoes, strawberries, pumpkins, and melons, basically, crops that like the heat.
The North Carolina State Extension stated that black plastic mulch could raise the temperature by 4 to 5°F measured at a depth of 2-inches. At the same depth, infrared transmitting (IRT) raised the temperature to about 5 to 8°F, and clear mulch raised the temperature to 8 to 10°F.
Faster Plant Growth
Carbon Dioxide is an essential part of photosynthesis, and black plastic mulch significantly reduces the ability for CO2 to pass through the plastic. That means there’s more CO2 under the sheeting, and it escapes through the holes in the plastic mulch with a “chimney effect,” meaning there’s an increased local concentration of CO2 ensuring better growth.
Usually, the crop time from planting to harvesting is around 2 to 21 days, but it’s earlier for crops grown “under mulch.” This way, you can extend the growing season by ensuring you get a jump on the season by planting earlier and growing crops longer into the season.
Low Evaporation & Moisture Control
Plastic sheeting is excellent at holding moisture within the raised garden bed that would evaporate. That means less irrigation will be required for optimal plant growth. So why does that happen? Well, it’s been observed that plants are grown in mulch often grow twice the size of crops grown on bare soil, and larger plants need more irrigation.
In addition, plastic sheeting provides you with greater control of soil moisture as excess water runs off the sheets into the rows. That means you can quickly reduce the water and keep the plants from drowning.
Reduces Risk of Disease
Plastic sheeting ensures reduced contact of leaves with the soil and puddles. That means the plant is a cleaner, healthier crop, meaning your plants are less likely to get diseases and spread them by splashing water and root rots.
Reduces Your Weed Problem
Plastic mulch is a fantastic deterrent to weeds. Some studies show that plastic sheeting blocks weed growth and thwart the reproduction of a wide range of pathogens and pests. However, remember that clear plastic lets in light, so you may need some herbicide to control weeds.
Better Harvests
Using plastic sheeting in your raised garden beds can mean better retention of fertilizer for the crops as there’s no competition for food from weeds, plants, or pests.
In addition, plastic sheeting ensures things like warm soil, better soil moisture control, reducing crops battling weeds for moisture and fertilizer, better use of water, and fertilizer not being leached. So that means you are guaranteed to get better yields with each harvest.
Lowers Soil Erosion
With plastic sheeting, you can ensure minimal soil erosion and make sure that the soil doesn’t become compacted. That means plastic sheeting on your raised garden bed allows the roots to enjoy improved oxygen exchange and excellent microbial activity. Also, the soil under the mulch remains loose and well-aerated.
Looks Cleaner
Using plastic sheeting on your home’s raised garden bed ensures your garden keeps looking like a million bucks. In addition, it creates a cleaner garden, and you get to enjoy it without all the extra dirt.
The Right Place To Buy Raised Garden Beds
So there you go, those are the benefits of using plastic sheeting in your raised garden beds. As you can see, plastic sheeting can provide plenty of benefits for your crops and plants. We’ve already mentioned above that you can use pine for your raised bed, but there’s a chance it will start to rot and hamper your garden.
So we always recommend buying a good quality vertical raised bed for your home garden, and that’s where we can help you out. Our curated list of the best-raised garden beds will make sure you have the perfect place to plant your crops, and if you invest in some plastic sheeting for your raised garden beds, then you’ll see fantastic harvests, so get in touch with us, and we’ll help you find the right one.
Also, if you have any other questions about home gardening or any other questions about raised garden beds, drop them in the comments below or hit us up on our socials, and we will answer them all for you. And with that being said, that’s about all we have for you today. We will come back with something new for you soon. Until then, see ya!
