What is a raised bed? Everyone defines a raised bed a little bit differently. It has been my experience that the semi-permanent raised beds of market gardeners, like Eliot Coleman and JeanMartin Fortier, work great in high intensity systems, utilizing manual labor over tractors. Even if you aren’t growing from market, I have still found that semi-permanent raised beds are great low-cost way for beginning gardeners to get started. This season, I’m dedicating my backyard garden to showing how home