Food growing · Design beds, crops and systems · food-5

Choose your bed types

Pick bed designs to match your soil, climate and body. Raised beds, keyhole beds and wicking beds each solve a different problem.

How

Raised beds: good for poor, wet or contaminated native soil. Oregon State Extension notes they drain better and warm earlier in spring. Keep framed beds to a maximum of about 1.2 m (4 feet) wide so you can reach the centre.
Plan paths of at least 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 inches), wider if a wheelbarrow must pass, and mulch or pave them.
Keyhole beds: a bed with a notch cut into it so you can reach many plants from one spot. NC State lists them as a permaculture technique for small, intensive Zone 1 areas.
Wicking beds: a sealed reservoir in the bottom feeds water upward to the roots. University of Kentucky notes this keeps the surface drier, cuts evaporation, and established beds may need refilling only every 4 to 7 days without rain. Use them where water is scarce or you are away often.
Choose frame materials. Oregon State advises against railroad ties and older pressure-treated timber because they can leach chemicals into food; untreated rot-resistant timber, concrete blocks or stone are alternatives.
Draw your bed layout to scale on the zone map, with bed sizes, path widths and the irrigation main.

Safety: Do not use railroad ties, creosote or old pressure-treated timber for food beds.

Raised Bed Gardening (FS 270). Oregon State University Extension, accessed 2026-11
Extension Gardener Handbook, Appendix G: Permaculture Design. NC State Extension, accessed 2026-11
Raised Wicking Bed (AEN-158). University of Kentucky Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, accessed 2026-11