You can use Gardener's soil calculator to estimate how much of each component you will need to buy or prepare for your garden. Using the compost from discarded fruit and vegetable scraps is an excellent way to create a mini-circular economy in your own backyard. This can save you money, time, and energy spent buying retail compost or fertilizer. 

4. Choose Efficient Irrigation Systems

Long gone are the days when you and your neighbors would stand outside for hours in the hot sun, watering your gardens with a hose that wastes about half as much water as it delivers. Today, many options are much more efficient for watering your garden. Drip irrigation systems provide water by a slow drip, directly to the plants' roots, eliminating water loss by evaporation, wind, and runoff. This method of concentrating the water straight to the roots can help your plants grow faster and more plentiful while reducing the chance of disease spreading by wet leaves. A drip irrigation system will save unnecessary water waste (and the cost of that water), especially with multiple garden beds that have dead space between them.

For further water efficiency, consider the pioneering SkyDrop Irrigation System. SkyDrop has smart technology that can connect through your home's Wi-Fi to your local weather forecast to self-program when to water your lawn or garden. SkyDrop also considers elements such as the types of vegetation,  sprinklers you use, shade and slope of the yard, as well as the wetness of the soil measured by in-ground sensors.

For non-food garden beds, there are even more innovative irrigation system alternatives. A rainwater harvesting system, for example, stores rainwater runoff from your roof in a large cistern, ready to be used for lawn and garden irrigation.  Blackwater or greywater system may be used to recycle water from toilets, sinks, and showers that are filtered and decontaminated before reuse. Black water and greywater systems, however, should not be used for food gardens, as even the filtered and decontaminated water is not safe for human consumption. 

Make the Most of Your Raised Garden Beds

Gardening in raised beds can help boost your lawn's productivity while alleviating many typical gardeners' woes. Consider these tips to be more efficient, obtain more yield, and optimize your garden beds even further.

Do you have your own raised garden bed tips? What are your favorite foods and flowers to grow in your raised beds? Tell us about your raised garden beds below!

Samantha Aimone is a student at Fordham University pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with dual concentrations in finance and social innovation. Samantha is a change maker, and she is driven to help businesses attain sustainability through disruptive innovation.