Are you a gardening newbie? Try a raised garden bed

You don’t need a sprawling lawn to be a gardener. Any outdoor space — be it a balcony or small patch of grass — can be home to a raised garden bed. And while gardeners of all levels find them useful, raised garden beds are particularly good for beginners. They allow you to control factors like garden size and soil conditions, making it feel like “gardening with training wheels,” says Carmen DeVito, a certified New York State landscape professional and founder of Garden Cult, a garden and landscape design company.

We talked to experts about the benefits of raised garden beds and compiled some tips for how to make your plants thrive in one. We also rounded up highly rated raised garden beds across different sizes, styles and price points from Best Choice Products, Jumbl, Vego and more.

SKIP AHEAD The best containerized raised garden beds | The best supported raised garden beds | Types of raised garden beds | How to shop for raised garden beds

How we picked the best raised garden beds

While shopping for raised garden beds, experts recommend thinking about the following factors:

• Type of bed: There are three types of raised garden beds. Raised ground beds are flat-topped mounds of soil that are six to eight inches high and do not have elevated support frames. Supported raised beds consist of a mound of soil surrounded by a supportive edge or frame. Containerized raised beds are essentially large planters or pots that have taller sides and a base.
• Size: Survey your outdoor space and think about how much of it you want to dedicate to a raised garden bed, as well as where you want to position it.
• Material: Metal and plastic beds are usually longer lasting than wood beds, and fabric beds are an affordable option some people prefer.
• Drainage system: A drainage system allows excess water to be released from containerized beds, helping prevent plant roots from rotting or developing fungus and bacteria. Many containerized beds have drainage holes drilled into their base, while others have spouts you can open and close to let water out, or small spaces between wood slats for water to trickle through.

The best raised garden beds to shop in 2024

We used our experts’ guidance to round up highly rated containerized and supported raised garden beds. All of the wood options below are warp-resistant, according to the brands’ descriptions, and all of the containerized raised beds have built-in drainage systems.

The best containerized raised garden beds

Best Choice Products Raised Garden Bed

This raised garden bed comes with a liner that separates the weather-resistant, Chinese fir wood from the soil, preserving the structure’s condition over time, according to the brand. Best Choice Products also makes a similar raised garden bed on wheels if you’re looking for portability.

Material: Wood | Size: 34x18x30 inches, 48x24x30 inches or 72x23x30 inches | Color: Natural, Acorn Brown or Gray | Rating: 4.5-star average rating from over 9,666 reviews on Amazon

Jumbl Raised Canadian Cedar Garden Bed

Jumbl’s weather-resistant, red cedar wood bed comes with all the parts and hardware you need to assemble it, as well as liner for your plants. There are pinholes in the liner and small spaces between the wood slats that allow water to trickle out. Step-by-step instructions are included with the bed for an easy assembly process.

Material: Wood | Size: 34x18x30 inches, 49x23x30 inches, 49x34x30 inches or 72x23x30 inches | Color: Cedar | Rating: 4.4-star average rating from over 2,343 reviews on Amazon

Edostory Vertical Garden Planter

Vertical gardening allows you to plant upwards instead of outwards, making it suitable for narrow or small spaces like balconies and patios. This vertical raised garden bed comes with five containers on five different levels — if you’d like, you can make one level a vegetable garden, one level an herb garden and one level and flower garden, for example. It sits on wheels so you can move it around your space and lock the wheels once you’re happy with the bed’s positioning. You’re also able to remove the containers from the frame when you want to add or tend to plants. Digging claw gloves, a trowel and pruning shears are included with the bed.

Material: Alloy steel frame and plastic containers | Size: 26x28x53 inches | Color: Brown or Green | Rating: 4.6-star average rating from over 245 reviews on Amazon

Foyuee Raised Planter Box

Since it’s built with two wheels and a handle, you can roll this raised garden bed like a wheelbarrow when needed, making it a highly portable option. The bed has a shelf on the bottom and hooks on the side to store your gardening tools, extra mulch or a bag of soil mix.

Material: Galvanized steel with an anti-rust coating | Size: 40.6×15.6×31.6 inches | Color: Black | Rating: 4.6-star average rating from over 5,949 reviews on Amazon

Giantex Raised Garden Bed

Giantex’s raised garden bed adds a pop of color to your deck or yard, and its steel frame is easy to clean — you can hose it off or scrub it down with dish soap once the season is over. The bed has a deep interior space and comes with all the hardware you need for assembly.

Material: Steel | Size: 25x13x18 inches, 25x13x31.5 inches or 40x13x31.5 inches | Color: Farmhouse Green | Rating: 4.3-star average rating from over 569 reviews on Amazon

Keter Urban Bloomer 12.7 Gallon Raised Garden Bed

The planter box of this raised garden bed has divided sections, allowing you to separate different types of plants. There’s a storage shelf on the bottom, plus the bed comes with a seed sprouting tray. It’s also self-watering. The raised garden bed is designed with a water reservoir that keeps soil moist, a water gauge that indicates how much water is in the reservoir and a drainage tap that removes excess water when needed.

Material: Resin | Size: 32.3×14.7×30.7 inches | Color: Dark Grey | Rating: 4.5-star average rating from over 2,693 reviews on Amazon

Aulock Raised Planting Bed Grow Bag

These planters come in a set of two and each have three compartments, giving you a total of six grids to organize and grow plants in. The planters have drainage holes on their bottoms and handles on their sides, giving you a place to grip if you’re transporting them. Make sure these planters are always filled with soil while you’re using them to prevent them from collapsing, according to the brand.

Material: Polyethylene (plastic) | Size: 15.7×35.4×11.6 inches | Color: Green | Rating: 4.3-star average rating from over 491 reviews on Amazon

Azaiah Metal Outdoor Elevated Planter

This elevated planter is rust-resistant, with vents on its side and base to allow roots to grow without fear of overwatering. It’s also made to be durable in all weather conditions, including frost and rain, according to the brand.

Material: Steel | Size: 28.25×49.5×321.5 inches | Color: Brown | Rating: 4.8-star average rating from 200 reviews on Wayfair

The best supported raised garden beds

Land Guard Galvanized Raised Garden Bed Kit

Land Guard’s raised garden bed is made of heavy duty, anti-corrosion metal and it’s oval shaped, differentiating it from the square or rectangular shaped beds you typically see. Nikki Brown, NBC Select SEO editor, has two of these beds in her yard, and says they’re lightweight and easy to assemble. “I’ve had these beds through two growing seasons so far and they’re holding up beautifully,” she says. “Plus, in my experience, the thin edges are super ideal for attaching netting when I want to keep squirrels and other small animals away from my crops.”

Material: Metal | Size: 4x2x1 ft., 6x3x1 ft. or 8x4x1 ft. | Color: Silver, Grey, Green, Brown or Blue | Rating: 4.5-star average rating from over 7,574 reviews on Amazon

Foyuee Galvanized Raised Garden Bed

This bed provides you with enough space to plant a large garden filled with your favorite greenery, vegetables, herbs and flowers. It’s built with crossbars that add stability and have an anti-rust coating, helping them stand up to the elements season after season, according to the brand.

Material: Galvanized metal | Size: 8x4x1 feet | Color: Silver I Rating: 4.6-star average rating from over 6,345 reviews on Amazon

Vego Garden 6 in 1 Modular Metal Raised Garden Bed

Since this raised garden bed is modular, you can build it in six different configurations depending on the space you have available. Its height (11 inches or 17 inches) is optimized for root growth and health, according to the brand, and it’s made from 100% recyclable, food-safe, anti-rust metal. Vego sells add-ons for its raised garden beds separately, like attachable solar-charged lights, an arched trellis system, a wall trellis system, a tool box and a garden cover system.

Material: Metal | Size: 3.5 x 5 feet, 2×6.5 feet, 3.5×3.5 feet, 2×5 feet, 2×3.5 feet, 2×2 feet | Color: Pearl White, Olive Green, Modern Gray,  British Green, Sky Blue, Terra Cotta or Sunlit Oak | Rating: 4.9-star average rating from over 3,250 reviews on Vego

Greenes Fence Raised Garden Bed

Greenes Fence’s wooden raised beds come in over a dozen shapes and sizes, letting you choose the style that best fits your property. All beds can be assembled without tools — their walls slide into posts to create the frame. You can also stack beds on top of each other to add height, or arrange them next to one another to create longer and wider areas to garden in.

Material: Pine wood | Size: Depends on shape you choose | Color: Light Brown and Spruce | Rating: 4.3-star average rating from over 822 reviews on Amazon

King Bird Reinforced Card Frame Raised Garden Bed

You can assemble this garden bed without tools. Its frame is made from thick, two-ply reinforced steel, making the walls durable and stable. The exterior of the bed has vertical stripes, giving it some visual interest, and multiple layers of paint to prevent rust from building up over time. You get two pairs of gardening gloves and gardening tags included with your purchase.

Material: Galvanized steel | Size: Six sizes available, smallest being 68x36x12 inches and largest being 101x36x24 inches | Color: Dark Grey, Green or Ivory | Rating: 4.4-star average rating from over 2,569 reviews on Amazon

YaheeTech 3 Tier Raised Garden Bed

You can stack the boxes of this garden bed to create a three-tier structure, or use each box individually on the ground. The bed comes with all the hardware needed for assembly.

Material: Fir wood | Size: 47x47x22 inches | Color: Natural wood or gray | Rating: 4.6-star average rating from over 1,500 reviews on Amazon

Types of raised garden beds

The first step involved in shopping for raised garden beds is deciding which type works best for your space. There are three types of raised garden beds: raised ground beds, supported raised beds and containerized raised beds. All three work to lift plants and their root systems above the ground, but from there, they differ in style and construction.

Raised ground beds

Raised ground beds are flat-topped mounds of soil. They’re typically six to eight inches high and do not have elevated support frames. Raised ground beds are the simplest above-ground gardening option since they only require soil, and they’re sometimes referred to as built-in raised beds, says Venelin Dimitrov, senior product manager for Burpee, a gardening company. He notes that they’re specifically useful for gardeners who have large areas for planting but do not want the added expense of building support frames.

Supported raised beds

Supported raised beds consist of a mound of soil surrounded by a supportive edge or frame. These beds are especially useful for sloped or uneven ground, says Dimitrov — you can use them to build a flat surface on top of an uneven surface. Many brands sell edges or frames for supported raised beds, but to save money, you can also DIY your own  with materials like bricks, concrete blocks and large stones.

Containerized raised beds

Containerized raised beds are essentially large planters or pots, and they’re typically what most people think of when they talk about raised garden beds, according to our experts. Containerized raised beds have tall sides and a base, and they can be used on lawns, walkways, decks, patios, driveways and porches. Always make sure the area you put this type of raised garden bed can tolerate its weight and the moisture it may give off, says Dimitrov. You also may need to use more soil to fill a containerized raised bed, but they’re versatile and work well in high-traffic areas, he says.

How to shop for raised garden beds

After deciding what type of raised garden bed works best for you, further narrow down your options by considering factors like material, drainage holes and liners.

Material

Raised garden beds are commonly constructed from wood, metal or plastic —  metal and plastic beds usually last longer compared to wood, which may rot over time, says DeVito. Some people may prefer wood, however. In those cases, she suggested investing in a pressure-treated or rot-resistant wood bed, and looking for those made from Ipe or Cedar wood.

Some companies sell raised garden beds made from fabric, which are a more affordable option, says DeVito. If you’re opting for fabric, she recommends using smaller sized beds since they’re easy to move. Fabric raised garden beds should be put on top of gravel, soil or stone — they would make a deck too wet if you placed them directly on top, says DeVito.

Drainage holes

Like indoor pots, outdoor planters (such as containerized raised garden beds) need drainage holes to allow extra water to drain out the bottom. This ensures that water does not gather at the base of the planter, which can cause plant roots to rot or fungus and bacteria to build up, experts told us. A lack of drainage puts plants at risk of staying wet for a long period of time, and too much water is just as harmful to plants as too little, says DeVito.

Liners

Some raised garden beds come with liners, which you place at the bottom of your bed before adding soil. DeVito typically does not suggest using liners inside raised garden beds unless there’s a reason for it, like soil contamination, tree roots or aggressive weeds. Liners can also come in handy if you’re putting a raised garden bed on a wood, stone or concrete surface — this can help protect the surface from staining, says DeVito.

Meet our experts

At NBC Select, we work with experts with specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.

• Carmen DeVito is the founder of garden and landscape design company Garden Cult and a certified New York State landscape professional.
• Venelin Dimitrov is a senior product manager for gardening company Burpee.

Why trust NBC Select?

Zoe Malin has been covering indoor and outdoor gardening products since 2020 at NBC Select and has published guides about gardening tools, indoor planters and raised gardening beds. 

Ashley Morris is an NBC Select associate SEO reporter covering wellness, home and kitchen and more. 

For this piece, Malin interviewed two gardening experts and researched dozens of raised garden beds on the market.

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Source: nbcnews.com