Jennifer Carroll asked 13 years ago
Is it ok to put a raised bed on a patio – am worried about how to ensure proper drainage and that the patio is not wrecked from it. Might be building it and if so what should I use as a base? The one I have seen for sale is of solid wood and I cannot recall if it has any drainage holes in the bottom – would this be a problem If I do decide to buy something similar instead?
1 Answers
Gerry Daly Staff answered 6 years ago
A raised bed on a paved area, for flowers or vegetables, should be set on the soil below the paving. Remove a suitable area of the paving, along with the hardcore base, down to the underlying soil, which should be broken up, and then build the raised bed. The bed can then drain down into the soil and plants can send down roots.
A raised bed placed on top of paving is just a large pot and will need close attention to watering and it will drain onto the paving.
