Raised beds
Best vegetables for raised beds
The short answer
By spacing alone, the crops that fit most into a raised bed are the close-spaced ones: salad radish, carrots, onions, garlic, beetroot, spinach and lettuce, each dozens to a bed. RHS itself names strawberries, thyme and rosemary for raised beds on heavy soil. Courgettes and squash need about a square metre each, so a 2.4 × 1.2m bed holds two; RHS puts them, and potatoes, in the weediest parts of a new plot instead, to smother the weeds.
A raised bed is small, warm, well drained and quick to dry out. Those four facts, and the spacing each crop needs, decide what is worth putting in one.
What a raised bed changes
- Better drainage on heavy soil, and a longer season when sticky soil is workable.(RHS, RHS)
- Warmer soil in spring.(RHS)
- Faster drying. Plants in raised beds suffer from drought more quickly and more severely.(RHS)
- Shallow depth. 30cm is enough for salad leaves and strawberries; most plants need 45cm or more.(RHS)
What fits in a 2.4 × 1.2m bed
At RHS spacing, the closest end of the range. Worked out with the plant spacing calculator.
| Plants per bed | Crops |
|---|---|
| 30 or more | Radish (summer) (768), Carrots (384), Onions (sets) (144), Onions (from seed) (144), Radish (winter and oriental) (128), Cauliflower (mini) (128), French beans (dwarf) (128), Shallots (from seed) (108), Beetroot (96), Spinach (96), Shallots (sets) (72), Garlic (64), Leeks (64), Parsnips (64), Lettuce (loose-leaf) (64), Broad beans (40), French beans (climbing) (40), Lettuce (hearting) (32), Cabbage (spring) (32), Cabbage (summer and autumn) (32), Runner beans (climbing) (32) |
| 10 to 29 | Sweetcorn (21), Chard (20), Kale (20), Broccoli (calabrese) (20), Potatoes (first early) (16), Potatoes (second early) (16), Runner beans (dwarf) (16), Cabbage (winter and savoy) (10), Cauliflower (summer and autumn) (10), Tomatoes (outdoor) (10) |
| 5 to 9 | Potatoes (maincrop) (9), Strawberries (9), Broccoli (sprouting) (8), Brussels sprouts (8) |
| 4 or fewer | Cauliflower (winter and spring) (3), Courgettes (2), Pumpkins and winter squash (bush) (2), Pumpkins and winter squash (trailing) (1) |
Crops RHS names for raised beds
- Strawberries: on poor or heavy soil it is preferable to plant them in raised beds, for drainage and rooting depth.(RHS)
- Thyme and rosemary: on heavy or damp soil, a raised bed or container gives the drainage they need.(RHS, RHS)
- Garlic: same 15cm spacing in the ground, raised beds or pots.(RHS)
- Salad leaves need only 30cm of depth.(RHS)
Better in open ground
- Courgettes, pumpkins and squash need about a square metre each; trailing squash 1.5m apart.(RHS, RHS)
- The same crops smother weeds, so RHS puts them, and potatoes, in the weediest parts of a new plot.(RHS)
- Mint: in a bed, RHS plants it in a bottomless container or a pot with large drainage holes sunk into the soil.(RHS)
Pots and beds, on one plan
Add your pots and beds to Vercro with what is growing in each. It keeps the record, and Today shows the few jobs that matter each morning.
Keep going
Where this comes from
The growing advice on this page comes from the published sources below, each linked beside the point it supports. Where two good sources disagree, we show both rather than choosing the convenient one. Reviewed 19 September 2026.
- How to Make a Raised Bed, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- What to consider when starting an allotment, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- How to grow strawberries, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- How to grow Thyme, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- How to grow Rosemary, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- Garlic: grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- Courgettes: grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- Pumpkins: grow your own, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.
- How to grow Mint, Royal Horticultural Society. Read 19 September 2026.