As you keep adding compost to your raised veggie bed, you can build up the sides and eventually you need not bend to weed and plant.

This is the option that we went for after considering the varied options for a small vegetable garden.

Our raised bed vegetable garden was planned on 5 door frame sized plots. We left enough space in between each plot for a foot path, which we eventually covered with gravel to control the weeds.

The frames were built with just one beam across the uprights but the uprights have enough space for 2 more lengths to be added as the beds start to overflow with raised organic material.

If you prefer square foot gardening, you will then plan your boxes in a very similar way but you will then demarcate your square foot sections with twine once you have built the frames.

Planting up your raised vegetable garden is best planned on a rotation system to prevent planting the same vegetable over in the same place.

I divided our 5 frames on paper into two halves each and labelled A – J. Each section that had a heavy feeder plant grown was followed by legumes (peas, beans) and each root crop was followed by a leafy crop. In this way I made sure that we rotated our vegetable planting.

We found that the 5 beds were enough for our family of 6 to maintain and we were limited by space. On average they took about 2 – 3 hours a week for all of us to maintain and weed.

Remember no matter what type of vegetable garden you decide to plan, ensure that you meet the basics of choosing a sunny position, adding plenty of good compost and planning what vegetables to plant carefully so that you get the most of your season.