Martha Says Raised Beds Are the Only Way She's Growing Vegetables From Now On—Here's Why

Since purchasing her iconic 156-acre farm in Bedford, N.Y., Martha has completely changed her approach to vegetable gardening. While she has historically opted to grow most of her vegetables in the ground, our founder recently revealed there is only one way she grows her vegetables now, and that's in raised beds.

"Last year, I changed my whole attitude towards vegetable gardening," she said during an event announcing her partnership with Miracle-Gro to introduce the new Miracle-Gro® Organic Raised Bed & Garden Soil. Rather than growing her vegetables directly in the ground, Martha decided she wanted raised beds, which helps keep her organized and prevents over-planting. "I'm not going to eat more than a cabbage a week...so, don't plant any more. Plant something else," Martha said.

Along with her head gardener, Ryan McCallister, she dedicated a half acre of her donkey paddock to her new gardening project, and got to work creating 56 large raised beds for her vegetables. Martha used fresh-cut white oak for her beds because—most importantly–it's rot resistant, but also because of its charming character and color. Other suitable options include mahogany and cedar, but keep in mind that those types of wood can be quite expensive.

Once the building and and planting were complete, the most amazing thing happened, Martha said. "We had artichokes in a month and a half. We had 10-pound cabbages within two months. I couldn't believe what was happening in this garden," she said. "We had a crop of asparagus the first year—you never have that. They tell you to wait three years before those roots will produce asparagus."

Martha and Ryan were so impressed with their yield that they started to weigh everything as it was harvested. "I vowed I would never ever, ever plant any way else than in raised beds for vegetables."