5 Plants to Avoid for a More Productive Raised Garden Bed

Have you ever wondered if you could be planting the wrong crops in your raised garden bed? Although raised garden beds can grow healthy plants, not every crop type fits this category. Some large plants, like corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and even grains, can create issues that will negatively affect the growth of your garden.

These plants can overwhelm the area and fight for nutrients, resulting in less healthy plants. This article will provide the reasons for not having these plants in raised beds and help you find better alternatives for having a successful garden instead.

Check out some plants that you must not include in a raised garden bed:

• Large Plants
• Corn
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Grains

1. Large Plants

Raised garden beds are great for growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers in one spot. However, not all plants, especially the larger ones, are appropriate.

Plants such as corn, broccoli, and cauliflower can damage your plants because they are large and can cause blockage. As a result, smaller-sized plants will not receive sufficient sunlight and nutrients.

Hence, if your raised bed looks too crowded or isn't producing anything, you might want to remove larger plants. Knowing which plants to avoid will help improve your garden and support the growth of all your plants.

Read: Top Raised Garden Layout and How to Choose the Right One for Your Garden

2. Corn

Growing corn in raised beds, as I tried some years ago, will leave you highly disappointed with the results. Relocate the corn elsewhere and conserve your raised garden bed space for other plants that benefit from these conditions.

Corn and grains require vast space to expand and long rows to do well. This is because most corn types are wind-pollinated, the less space between corn stalks, the more successful pollination will be.

3. Broccoli

Also, while broccoli is a highly nutritious vegetable, it does not do well in raised garden beds. It requires ample space because its broad leaves spread and shade neighboring crops.

Sometimes, broccoli can be a heavy feeder, too, draining the soil nutrients that other plants in your bed require. It also does best in cooler regions but takes a long time to mature.

Hence, it may use a lot of space for fast-moving crops. Broccoli is not worth the trade-off if you are dealing with closed space.

Selecting more suitable plants will help maximize your garden's potential.

4. Cauliflower

Cauliflower is a nutritious and burgeoning vegetable. However, planting it in a raised garden bed is not advisable.

This plant has large leaves and heads, which require a large amount of space around it so other plants can grow, and space is not a constraint.

Additionally, Cauliflower is a hefty eater, absorbing nutrients from the soil that other crops nearby require to survive.

Moreover, it takes a long time to grow and mature, which can decrease the yield of your vegetable garden.

Cauliflower is too much of a negative for raised beds for small gardeners. Try growing more nutritionally beneficial crops to get the most out of your garden.

5. Grains

Growing grains like wheat, rice, or oats in a raised bed garden is a good idea, but it is seldom practical. Producing grains involves a lot of space to be productive, and raised beds are meant for growing crops with smaller acreage.

Furthermore, grains are heavy feeders and often exhaust the soil. This means your garden bed will have reduced fertility for subsequent plantings.

The prolonged growing season also restricts those chances when planting successively or using crop rotations. If raising productivity is your focus, grains are the lowest yield raised bed crops.

Grow these crops and grains for herbs and vegetables instead.

Factors That Cause Problems in Raised Garden Beds

Overcrowding

One significant error in raised garden beds is cramming excessive crops into a confined area. There is always competition for sunlight, water, and nutrients, stunting all plants within that space.

This is especially the case when low- and high-growth plants are mixed.

Hence, always plan your garden layout properly, ensuring all plants have sufficient room to grow and flourish.

Poor Drainage

Proper drainage is essential for the healthy growth of plants nurtured in raised beds. Plants in the worst-drained soil tend to develop root rot or other water-related issues.

This is particularly true when big plants need lots of water but cannot stand having free-standing water in the soil.

So, always use well-drained soil, and don't forget to put a layer of gravel in the bottom of your bed.

Inadequate Sunlight

Photosynthetic processes heavily rely on sunlight. In its absence, plants have a hard time growing and flourishing.

Raised bed gardens should be placed in full-sun areas with at least 6-8 hours of natural sunlight daily. Avoid placing them in areas that don't receive full sun, which causes the plants to grow tall, leggy, and weak.

Lack of adequate sunlight may hinder development and diminish yields, particularly for sun-crazed crops like tomatoes and peppers.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Is it possible to grow corn in a raised garden bed?

It is possible, but corn should be grown in large open areas in long rows so that they can successfully pollinate, which makes raised garden beds impractical for corn.

Why is broccoli not good for raised garden beds?

Broccoli is a heavy feeder and broad-leaved, which means it needs a lot of space. This could pose issues for other smaller plants since they can get severely shaded, making it difficult for them to survive. Broccoli is not ideal for smaller raised garden beds, as it can serve as it will rapidly drain the nutrients from the soil.

What's wrong with planting cauliflower in a raised bed?

Cauliflower is a slow-growing plant with large leaves and heads, so it needs a lot of space. It is likewise a thick-leaved, nutritionally needy plant, which means it could use up a lot of the nutrients in the soil.

Final Thoughts

Raised garden beds create perfect new opportunities for creativity in gardening. When designing one, keep in mind the dimensions of the design and the plants that will suit the setup. Though tempting, corn, broccoli, cauliflower, and grains require more nutrients and other growing conditions than these beds can offer.

Additional markers, such as poor drainage, overcrowding, and lack of sufficient sunlight could negatively affect one's garden and are critical to consider when caring for it. Such issues can, however, be managed by selecting the right portion and quantity of suitable plants.