Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners: Everything You Need to Know to Start and Sustain a Thriving Garden

by Tammy Wylie

Start a thriving garden with the beginner's guide to raised bed gardening

Are you interested in creating a bountiful garden but worried that you don't have enough space? Raised-Bed Gardening for Beginners shows you how simple it can be to plan, build, and grow your own raised-bed garden in whatever space is available. Learn to build your bed, select the right plants, grow your own vegetables, and much more. This book makes it easy for even inexperienced gardeners to serve up freshly picked vegetables and herbs in no time.

Plant a flourishing garden in minimal space

Learn basic methods that will get you growing fast using this easy guide to raised-bed gardening.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Reference, Food, Education, Lifestyle, Nature

142 pages, paperback

Published July 9, 2019

Reviews

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Raised Bed Gardening for Beginners is a new tutorial gardening guide by Tammy Wylie. Released 25th June 2019 by Rockport, it's 168 pages and available in paperback and ebook formats.

Gardening is enjoying a well deserved surge in popularity. It provides so many positive health benefits including stress reduction, exercise, meaningful stewardship of natural resources and healthy food & beauty for the gardener and their family and friends. This is a good introduction to raised bed gardening, its benefits and limitations. The book has an easy to use, logical layout starting with an introductory chapter which makes a compelling case for using raised beds for growing; less weeding, higher yields, healthier plants, better drainage, etc.

The next chapters cover planning and siting a garden, building raised beds, soil, planting, growing & harvesting, and ends with an alphabetical list of plant profiles.

Worth noting for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is included in the KU subscription to download and read for free.The ebook format also has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. The links and references are mostly slanted toward readers in the USA. A google search will provide equivalent resources in the reader's local geographical area.

There is scant photography or illustration in the book and the photos which are included are mostly stock photos (credited). The hardiness map which was included in the resource section is very vague and only covers the US. Gardeners in search of this info would do well to check their local extension agency for more specific information. USDA hardiness zone maps are really only needed in the case of perennials, and more general info for expected high temps and annual rainfall for use with annual crops is widely available locally.

I am a fanatical gardening enthusiast and I love this book's 'you can do it' vibe. Gardening is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and provides so many benefits.

Four stars. There is some good info here for all gardeners, not only beginners.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Natalie Park · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the perfect book for anyone new to raised bed gardening. It provides basic step by step instructions and also provides a section with how to grown popular veggies.

[Sheri Maxwell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a quick read and helpful guide but it is really just the basics. Would have enjoyed more personal tips or stories an out planting each type of plant she showcased.

[Topanga✨📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

very informative and straightforward!

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish there was a quick start version available! I just finished and feel rather overwhelmed at the too-short explainer on block vs. row planting especially after reviewing the way the individual plant profile pages were written (plant this far apart when planting in row style; had nothing about block planting!). It would be great if there were one consolidated list of items you will want as you start - rain gauge, pH meter, landscape cloth, cages, whatever. I wish there were some examples of layouts that work. I get that I’m supposed to plant what I’ll use, but it would be great to have an example or two. I am glad this resource was short and accessible - every chapter can stand on its own for later reference. Not at all comprehensive to start a raised bed, but not a bad resource by any means.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was good basic information that is helpful to beginning gardeners. The zone map at the end of the book is pretty to look at but is not very accurate. The photos are nice throughout but there are few of them.

[Rebekah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard for me to rate this because Ive never made a garden - but it made it seem doable & provided helpful information to get started.

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 I would have given it a 5 if it included sample veggie layouts, plotted out like little maps for inspiration.

Easy to read, and to the point. A good book to get the beginner gardeners thinking.

[Brynna King · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple to read, informative and a good baseline for gardening! Not exhaustive by any means, but I feel much more confident getting into gardening for the first time.

[Liv Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A super simple guide.
Just enough info to get started with a mini backyard garden. It helped me grown my own tomatoes, cucumbers, and jalapeños. Boy, they were delicious!!

[Michele]

New hobbies in 2025

[Rene Stehlik · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good beginner book to raised bed gardening and planting like with like. Taking a few tips from it for sure for this year!

[Alexandria · Rating 4 out of 5]

great reference, found myself going back over and over to the companion plants table

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Half the book are 2 pages per plant. Will be like a handbook once I get everything going. Helpful information in the beginning for planning, building, and planting.

[Brandy Jennings · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very quick read. You could read it all in an hour or two. Super basic information. I think it needed more substance.

[Polly · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good primer for the beginning gardener (which I am). It's not fascinating or clever, but it doesn't seem to aspire to be.

[Nursebookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, Author Tammy Wylie and Rockridge Press for allowing me to read and review this ebook as an ARC.

This book is amazing for anyone needing reference or resource for starting and sustaining a raised bed garden. I love the organization of the book, starting with planning, building the structure, soil, planting, then growing and harvesting. Final chapters deal with plant profiles and additional resources. I enjoyed the clear instructions for any novice gardener to attempt a raised bed garden. I was very interested in this as an aspiring home cook interested in growing their own herb garden and plant varieties. Zoning and spacing is very clearly explained in order for the garden to thrive. I believe that anyone trying to start this raised garden from scratch without any prior experience should pick up this book and will be certain to have a thriving raised bed garden.

5/5

[kateema seales · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great and easy rwad

This was an awet beginners book. I was able to use it throughout my entire growing season for help and guidance. This was my first year gardening and with this books help I had seven successful tomoto plants, three squash plants, ten pepper plants, nasturtiums, marigolds, and sunflowers.

[Annelie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Helped me set up my own vegetable garden in a couple of days. Great guide. Thank you!

[Justin Roote · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good resource for beginners, as advertised. It's really succinct and passes right over most of the finer details that you probably don't care about the first time you try growing vegetables. It's definitely a great starting point, but beyond the basics of knowing how to build/prepare the beds, plant seeds and seedlings, maintain the plants, and harvest, you'll need to seek out other resources. Some of the methods here contradict what I've read in other books in terms of maintenance, and Wylie recommends a wait-and-see approach to insects you're not sure about in particular. Obviously more knowledge about what you're finding in your garden is ideal, but you may not know as a beginner and ultimately that's okay. You'll just need to expand your gardening library as you expand your skills.

[Jasper Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has some terrible ideas that are harmful to plants and the environment. Don't use pressure treated wood for raised beds. The chemicals leech into the plants and harm them. Peat moss is harmful for the environment. Coco coir is a friendly alternative. Fewer insecticides could be used at the suggestion of proper companion planting, which is not labeled in any of the plant sections. The information on individual plants is helpful, but one is better off Googling it or checking out Companion Planting: The Beginner's Guide to Companion Planting.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really liked this beginner’s guide, as someone considering switching to raised beds, it made it feel very doable. Easy to read format, not overwhelming with too much in-depth information, but still gave a thorough overview. I liked the companion plant chart, I can see that being very useful, as well as the second half of the book of plant profiles. Overall, I think this would be a useful reference to have on hand for beginners.

[Jake B-Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

Useful if you’re preparing to do some raised-bed gardening—as I am—but ultimately it’s very much a “beginners” volume and operates on a surface level. One odd contradiction is that some terms and references that beginners wouldn’t know are left undefined, especially with pests and pest control. How is a beginner supposed to beat back the cabbage worms if cabbage worms are never actually described in detail? Still, it’s a constructive (and beautifully illustrated) little book.

[Kristie J. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple, straightforward guide to starting to grow vegetables in a raised bed garden. I really liked the plant profiles at the end of the book and the table about companion planting. They were a good summary of the variety of vegetables that can be grown and basic information about each one. Good, basic information although I felt like I wanted more: more info about drip irrigation, more options for buying raised beds, more detail on where to set up raised beds in my yard, more pictures.

[Abby · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has very little content or depth. I understand it’s a beginner book, but I expected a lot more information from a guide like this. Each chapter is at best a broad and vague overview of the topic, and literally half the book is a plant guide with limited descriptions that are not specific to raised beds. There are many other resources out there with a lot more detail and I was disappointed by this guide.

[Tyler Trotter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Has a decent amount of information that can be easily and readily accessible. Despite the title, the book doesn't go into too much detail about why raised beds are the best and the types of raised beds. I was expecting more. I really like the last section of the book and will be revisiting it regularly as I prepare for next growing season. Only took me an evening to read the entire book so don't be afraid to check it out!

[Neil White · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for starting a raised bed garden, and if you don't know where to begin this is a good beginning which covers building the bed and the basics of planting. There are other books with a lot more detailed information for those who have already built their beds and looking to improve their knowledge, but this book does cover a lot of the basics.

[Stephanie Glass · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very simple instructional guide for gardening. Certainly geared toward the novice/beginner gardener. It was exactly what I needed for a preliminary introduction to raised bed gardening, with nothing extraneous. Because of its simplicity, I will be able to refer back to this for information very easily.

[Tab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very Informative

I started reading this book and could not stop. She writes simple and understandable for everything you want to know about gardening. I read her book here online, but it was so good, I ordered a paperback for my home as well. I have never sit down to read a gardening book in my life! But this one was definitely the one to begin with. I highly recommend!!

[Amaryah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book for true beginners. Simplified information in clear and concise steps. Gardening books can be overwhelming so I liked that this was not too much.
On the other hand, if you have some gardening experience, you might find this to be too short. I wished there was just a bit more in each section. Overall though a good resource, would recommend.