Benefits of Using Cedar for Raised Garden Beds    è Looking for ways to increase the productivity and efficiency of your garden? è So, why are raised garden beds better and cedar in particular? Let’s get into it. Let’s discuss the benefits. There are many advantages to using cedar raised beds to grow your vegetables. Did I  mention:     * Increased Soil Drainage · Increased Soil Temperatures · Longer Growing Season · Reduced Compaction · Reduced Erosion · You Can Position Them Anywhere · Less Bending Over and strain on your back · Fewer Weeds · Fewer Pests · Easy Way to Remedy Poor Soil · Well Suited to No Till/No Dig/Lasagna, Square  Foot Gardening  Methods · Can be More Aesthetically Pleasing · Really Easy to Set up Garden Infrastructure Let’s discuss one by one!!! Before we do that , let’s first go over the benefits of using cedar in building your raised beds. Cedar has several major advantages over pine and other woods. Cedar is rot resistant even when in contact with dirt .Cedar is also naturally insect resistant because of the oils in it. This also gives it that great smell.  ADVANTAGES: 1-Increased Soil Drainage:  Cedar wood Raised beds naturally have better soil drainage as a result of sitting above ground level.  Heavy rains won’t result in water-logged soil and lead to unhappy crops as the excess water will naturally be drawn down into the ground. This is particularly beneficial if you live in a marshy or boggy area that is prone to flooding in the winter.  Better drainage means that your soil will be healthier, resulting in healthier crops,  more produce, and less problems with fungal diseases. 2-Increased Soil Temperatures  Cedar wood Raised beds typically allow for the soil temperatures to remain a couple of degrees higher than the ground.  This means that depending on where you live, you can reap the benefits of warmer growing conditions for your crops. Heat-loving plants will have a better time in the summer, and your winter crops will also cope better with the cool winter temperatures.  This also means that you’ll have increased productivity and more food from the same amount of garden space!   3-Longer Growing Season:  A longer growing season is one of the biggest advantages of raised garden beds.  The combination of better drainage and warmer soil temperatures means that warm weather crops can be planted earlier in the spring and will  last longer into the fall, meaning you can enjoy more fresh produce .  A longer growing season also means you’re more likely to have surplus produce which means plenty left over for preserving and storing for winter.   4-Reduced Compaction  As a result of keeping foot traffic away from your garden beds.  This means that the soil stays nicely aerated which allows for better transport of water and nutrients, and it’s easier for both worms and roots to make their way through.  Compacted soil reduces soil health and usually results in nutrient deficiency. Nice, loose, loamy soil,  means healthier plants and higher yields. 5-Reduced Erosion  Keeping the soil contained in your cedar raised bed also means that you lose less organic matter to erosion from wind or rain.   Raised beds can make a garden possible on even the steepest of gardens.  You also avoid  water run-off. 6-You Can Position Them Anywhere  Cedar Raised garden beds can allow for much more customization of your garden design, and allow you to have a garden where you otherwise may not have.  For example, raised beds can be placed in places where there isn’t already soil, like on a concrete patio, or a rooftop.  Provided they get enough sunlight through the day,  you can place a garden box almost anywhere! 7-Less Bending Over  Cedar raised garden beds are much easier on your back, knees, and body in general. Gardening takes a toll on your joints with all that bending over into unnatural positions. Having a raised bed means that you don’t have to bend over as much which can mean your body is subjected to less wear and tear over time.  Kneeling on a comfortable piece of thick foam or using knee pads will keep your knees protected and comfortable.  Kneeling, rather than standing and bending over, also means that you don’t have to bend as far to reach your raised bed. You can keep your back straighter which is better for your posture in the long run. 8-Fewer Weeds  Since you most likely brought in your soil and compost from a garden store, setting up a raised garden means that you’re starting with no, or very few, weeds right from the get go.  Rather than having to gradually reduce the seed stock of weeds over time with regular weeding, you can keep the weeds down in your garden just by staying on top of any seeds that might arrive in the wind, keeping all bare ground planted with cover crops and mulching.  If you’re new to the concept of mulching, get yourself up to speed on all of the benefits of regularly putting a layer of mulch over your garden. Your garden will thank you. 9-Fewer Pests  Pests like slugs have a harder time reaching your plants in a raised bed and as the journey is longer, it’s easier to catch them and remove them.  There are many old wives tales touting various ways to deter slugs and snails from your garden, but at the end of the day, the most reliable and effective method is hand picking  using a lamp and tossing them more than 60 feet away. 10-Easy Way to Remedy Poor Soil  If your garden has poor soil quality, or is particularly sandy or heavy with clay, using a cedar raised bed can be a quick way of overcoming this barrier.  By simply piling up compost and dry matter, you’ll have a healthy growing medium in a matter of hours that will turn to beautiful, healthy soil over time  11-Well Suited to No Till/No Dig/Lasagna,SFG Gardening Methods  Raised garden beds are perfect for ‘no dig’ gardening.  Not digging or tilling your soil allows it to maintain its integrity and keeps all of the little critters that are essential to soil health alive and healthy as well. You can also grow more food in a smaller area .If you haven’t checked out SFG than give it a rty and I assure you you’ll love the results.  By regularly adding a layer of mulch and compost to the surface of your garden bed, you can promote soil health and keep weeds at bay without needing to partake in any back-breaking or soil-killing digging.  If you have your own compost, this is even more sustainable, as you’re not bringing in material each time. Get set up with a compost tumbler for the most hassle-free composting and turn your food waste into organic matter that will support your soil health and help you to grow more food. 12-Can be More Aesthetically Pleasing  The soil is easily contained within the garden boxes, with nicely defined pathways of mulch, grass or gravel in between. The whole setup also feels less like a farm and more like a garden, which could be preferable if you have fussy neighbors.  Furthermore, if you’re renting and not allowed to create a permanent garden, raised beds can easily be dismantled, the soil spread over the lawn and reseeded, and then you can take the raised beds with you!   13-Really Easy to Set up Garden Infrastructure  The wooden framing of raised garden beds makes it really easy to attach things like hoop houses, cold frames, trellises and frames for climbing plants.  You can simply screw some PVC piping to the corners of your raised bed frame and bend them over for a hoop house, or create an arch trellis over the pathways between your raised beds and train your climbing plants over them.  Setting up irrigation systems is really easy with raised garden beds as well. The hoses and sprinklers can be anchored to the framing which keeps them in place, and there’s no risk of running over them with the lawn mower. You can set up drip irrigation cheaply and quickly. Summarization  As you can see, the benefits of using  cedar wood for raised garden beds are endless. From being more convenient and comfortable to improving soil quality and crop yields, and having a longer growing season.  Happy Gardening!! Delfin .F.  CI SFG  Owner. MGR. Let’s Grow Our Own Food  Link to my store below Cedar raised garden beds and much more.    https://www.letsgrowourfood.com/