Which raised bed: balcony, patio, side yard or family plot.
Four things decide the size: the space you have, the hours of sun it gets, what you want to grow, and who is doing the gardening. Below are the sizes that fit each kind of space, with the growing area and the soil each one takes, both read from the drawings rather than rounded for the page.
Two rules run through all of it. Growing area is the interior of the box, and it decides what you can plant: we count by the square-foot method, one tomato or pepper to a square foot, four lettuces, nine beans, sixteen carrots. Soil volume is the interior times the fill depth, and it decides what you carry: every 28 litre bag is about a cubic foot and weighs 20 to 30 lb wet. A Deep bed takes half again as much soil as a Standard bed of the same footprint and grows everything the Standard grows; the Standard exists for salad, herbs and strawberries, and for balconies where the bags and the weight matter.
Balcony
Narrow 24 or 36 Standard. Light, one row of greens and herbs, and it leaves the walkway. The whole question on a balcony is weight, so the number to take to the property manager is the filled weight on the size page, not the size. Eight inches of soil is the right depth for the crops a balcony grows well, and it is two bags fewer to carry up than the Deep version of the same bed. Check that the carton fits your elevator (the longest piece is the long board), put a paver under each foot on a membrane, and set the bed against the wall so drips stay off the railing.
- Narrow 24 Standard1.6 sq ft · 29 L · 2 bags
- Narrow 36 Standard2.4 sq ft · 45 L · 2 bags
- 18 inch planter box1.9 sq ft · 54 L · 2 bags
- 24 inch planter box2.6 sq ft · 73 L · 3 bags
Patio
Wide 48 Deep, or a planter box beside the seating. Twelve inches of soil at working height for a row of tomatoes or peppers with basil and lettuce in front, and herbs and flowers at seat height beside the chairs. A patio is the easiest place for a bed: level, near the tap and the kitchen door, and the pavers take the filled weight without a thought. If the patio gets sun only in the afternoon, put the Deep bed where the last light lands and give the box the morning side.
- Wide 48 Deep5.3 sq ft · 151 L · 6 bags
- Wide 36 Deep4.0 sq ft · 112 L · 4 bags
- 36 inch planter box4.0 sq ft · 112 L · 4 bags
- 48 inch planter box5.3 sq ft · 151 L · 6 bags
Side yard
Narrow 72 Deep along the wall. A single row the length of the yard, deep enough for anything, and it leaves the path. Side yards are shaded for part of the day by the house or the fence, so the Deep bed matters here: more soil holds more water through the sunny hours and does not dry out in the shaded ones. Put the trellis on the wall side and the bed a hand's width off it so air moves behind the plants.
- Narrow 72 Deep4.9 sq ft · 139 L · 5 bags
- Narrow 60 Deep4.1 sq ft · 115 L · 5 bags
- Narrow 48 Deep3.2 sq ft · 91 L · 4 bags
Family vegetable plot
Two Wide 72 Deep beds or three Wide 48 Deep beds. That much growing area, sown in succession, is a season of tomatoes, peppers, beans, greens and herbs for four; the size pages print the square feet and the calculator adds up the bags. Leave a walkway of at least 30 inches between beds so a wheelbarrow passes, run the beds north to south so both sides get sun, and give the tomatoes the bed farthest from the house, where their height shades nothing you want.
- Wide 72 Deep8.1 sq ft · 229 L · 9 bags
- Wide 60 Deep6.7 sq ft · 190 L · 7 bags
- Wide 48 Deep5.3 sq ft · 151 L · 6 bags
Herbs and flowers
A planter box: 24 inches tall, 12 inches of soil, at the door, on the step or along the rail. Twelve inches is more depth than any herb needs, which is the point: the box holds water through a hot day where a window box is dry by noon. Perennial herbs (chives, thyme, sage, oregano) overwinter in it in most of southern Ontario if the soil goes into winter on the dry side; basil and the annual flowers are replanted each May.
- 24 inch planter box2.6 sq ft · 73 L · 3 bags
- 36 inch planter box4.0 sq ft · 112 L · 4 bags
- 60 inch planter box6.7 sq ft · 190 L · 7 bags
One bed or two
Two short beds give the same growing area as one long one with more edge to reach from, and each moves on its own. One long bed uses less floor and costs less per square foot. Stairs, doorways and who is carrying it decide; the size pages print the price difference for the pair, and the FAQ on each 48 and 72 inch size works the pair out in numbers.
Growing area, soil, weight and price, in one table.
Weights are estimates from the drawings until the first units are weighed; the filled weight assumes moist mix at 75 to 100 lb per cubic foot. Prices are founding prices before tax with shipping across Canada included.
| Size | Soil depth | Growing area | Soil | Empty | Filled | Knotty | Clear |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wide 24 Deep (18 × 24 in) | 12 in | 2.6 sq ft | 73 L · 3 bags | 41 lb | 235 to 299 lb | $172.99 | $181.99 |
| Wide 36 Deep (18 × 36 in) | 12 in | 4.0 sq ft | 112 L · 4 bags | 48 lb | 344 to 443 lb | $183.99 | $193.99 |
| Wide 48 Deep (18 × 48 in) | 12 in | 5.3 sq ft | 151 L · 6 bags | 56 lb | 456 to 589 lb | $176.99 | $185.99 |
| Wide 60 Deep (18 × 60 in) | 12 in | 6.7 sq ft | 190 L · 7 bags | 63 lb | 566 to 733 lb | $239.99 | $252.99 |
| Wide 72 Deep (18 × 72 in) | 12 in | 8.1 sq ft | 229 L · 9 bags | 71 lb | 677 to 879 lb | $260.99 | $276.99 |
| Wide 24 Standard (18 × 24 in) | 8 in | 2.6 sq ft | 49 L · 2 bags | 36 lb | 165 to 208 lb | $149.00 | $159.00 |
| Wide 36 Standard (18 × 36 in) | 8 in | 4.0 sq ft | 75 L · 3 bags | 42 lb | 240 to 306 lb | $159.00 | $169.00 |
| Wide 48 Standard (18 × 48 in) | 8 in | 5.3 sq ft | 101 L · 4 bags | 48 lb | 314 to 403 lb | $163.99 | $179.00 |
| Wide 60 Standard (18 × 60 in) | 8 in | 6.7 sq ft | 127 L · 5 bags | 55 lb | 390 to 502 lb | $220.99 | $231.99 |
| Wide 72 Standard (18 × 72 in) | 8 in | 8.1 sq ft | 152 L · 6 bags | 61 lb | 465 to 600 lb | $233.99 | $245.99 |
| Narrow 24 Deep (11.5 × 24 in) | 12 in | 1.6 sq ft | 44 L · 2 bags | 37 lb | 154 to 193 lb | $166.99 | $174.99 |
| Narrow 36 Deep (11.5 × 36 in) | 12 in | 2.4 sq ft | 68 L · 3 bags | 43 lb | 223 to 283 lb | $175.99 | $184.99 |
| Narrow 48 Deep (11.5 × 48 in) | 12 in | 3.2 sq ft | 91 L · 4 bags | 50 lb | 292 to 373 lb | $167.99 | $175.99 |
| Narrow 60 Deep (11.5 × 60 in) | 12 in | 4.1 sq ft | 115 L · 5 bags | 57 lb | 361 to 463 lb | $224.99 | $235.99 |
| Narrow 72 Deep (11.5 × 72 in) | 12 in | 4.9 sq ft | 139 L · 5 bags | 64 lb | 432 to 554 lb | $243.99 | $256.99 |
| Narrow 24 Standard (11.5 × 24 in) | 8 in | 1.6 sq ft | 29 L · 2 bags | 33 lb | 111 to 137 lb | $129.00 | $134.99 |
| Narrow 36 Standard (11.5 × 36 in) | 8 in | 2.4 sq ft | 45 L · 2 bags | 38 lb | 158 to 198 lb | $133.99 | $139.99 |
| Narrow 48 Standard (11.5 × 48 in) | 8 in | 3.2 sq ft | 61 L · 3 bags | 43 lb | 204 to 258 lb | $149.99 | $156.99 |
| Narrow 60 Standard (11.5 × 60 in) | 8 in | 4.1 sq ft | 77 L · 3 bags | 49 lb | 252 to 320 lb | $207.99 | $217.99 |
| Narrow 72 Standard (11.5 × 72 in) | 8 in | 4.9 sq ft | 92 L · 4 bags | 54 lb | 299 to 380 lb | $218.99 | $229.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 18 in | 12 in | 1.9 sq ft | 54 L · 2 bags | 30 lb | 172 to 219 lb | $158.99 | $166.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 24 in | 12 in | 2.6 sq ft | 73 L · 3 bags | 33 lb | 227 to 291 lb | $163.99 | $171.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 36 in | 12 in | 4.0 sq ft | 112 L · 4 bags | 39 lb | 335 to 434 lb | $171.99 | $180.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 48 in | 12 in | 5.3 sq ft | 151 L · 6 bags | 45 lb | 445 to 578 lb | $194.99 | $203.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 60 in | 12 in | 6.7 sq ft | 190 L · 7 bags | 51 lb | 554 to 721 lb | $216.99 | $227.99 |
| Planter box 18 × 72 in | 12 in | 8.1 sq ft | 229 L · 9 bags | 57 lb | 663 to 865 lb | $229.99 | $241.99 |
Every size page prints what its price is made of, and the compare page sets each size beside the launch price and the market, dated.