Raised Garden Bed: My Review of Vego Garden Modular Planters

I've waited almost three full years to sit down and write this review, but the time has (finally) come! As an avid gardener with more than two decades of experience, I've developed some strong opinions and expectations when it comes to raised beds. Keep reading and I'll spill all of the tea in Raised Garden Bed: My Review of Vego Garden Modular Planters.

Raised garden beds that are a perfect fit for my space must have long-lasting quality, a beautiful aesthetic, and be easy to assemble by myself. Did Vego Garden measure up?

Jump to:

• My Gardening Experience
• Our First Garden
• My Introduction to Vego Garden
• Pros of Vego Garden raised beds:
• Cons of Vego Garden raised beds:
• ​Are Vego Garden Beds Hard to Assemble? 
• How to Fill a Vego Raised Bed: Step-by-step Instructions
• 5 Benefits of Growing in Raised Beds
• FAQ
• Get Growing with Vego Garden!
• More Garden Posts You'll Love!
• Comments

My Gardening Experience

If you've been a reader for a while, you're probably very familiar with our garden space.  If you're new, welcome! I'm Meg, and you can catch up by browsing my Garden highlight or scroll through my posts & reels on Instagram.  

A short 5 minute walk down a dirt road lined with hedge apple trees, irises and lilacs separated our house farm from my grandparent's. If I had a time machine to 1990, it would be my dream property for raising my family today! They had an old red barn with a terracotta tiled silo, acres of gardens and a forsythia bush on the corner that always had kittens playing under it.

My mother worked outside of the home, so my sister and I spent a lot of time with our grandparents. We learned baking, canning and how to 'help' them in their huge garden. Back in those days, they produced enough food to *almost* avoid the grocery store all together. Her mason jar filled pantry would leave you drooling.

You might say they planted a seed in my heart to follow in their footsteps one day!

Our First Garden

Aaron and I married right after college, and I immediately began testing out my green thumb.  We've tried new methods, designed, moved, and built some more. Now our garden sprawls over several acres and consists mainly of raised beds.  

I hurt my neck about five years ago and had a fusion. It really impacted my ability to pull weeds and harvest veggies in the way I was used to.  To minimize the stress on my neck, we transitioned from 'in the ground' style gardening to a raised bed garden. We used a combination of cedar wood beds and regular galvanized steel beds trimmed with treated wood.  

One thing to consider as you are building your dream garden is that you might fall more in love with the hobby than originally anticipated! At least that's what happened to me.  Our original garden space is a close distance to the house and is surrounded by a fence, chicken run and several old (gorgeous) trees.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to expand this raised bed garden. We had to create a second garden area when I began chasing my garden-to-table dream of being self-sustaining.

Spoiler, we aren't there yet! Between the greenhouse, Jersey milk cows, kune kune pigs, meat chickens and laying hens, we get closer every year!

My Introduction to Vego Garden

Now we've arrived at why I purchased vego garden beds. When we built our original garden we were younger (ha!), had a bigger budget (both working) and had plenty of time to spend building metal garden beds.  One other thing I need to mention, and I will hopefully dedicate an entire post to in the future, is that our galvanized beds that we built from scratch almost ten years ago have deteriorated significantly.  The galvanized metal has corroded.It's going to be quite a project to repair or replace them in the near future.  Considering the amount of effort it took to build them, I knew I couldn't make more if they weren't going to last.

I was contacted via instagram by Vego Garden and they offered to send me one raised bed in exchange for an instagram reel. This was several years ago, long before my account gained popularity and grew so big. I was incredibly excited to try out Vego beds! About six months after this initial interaction, I was very happy and satisfied with the raised beds and began regularly creating content for Vego Garden to share across their social platforms. This is NOT a sponsored post, they have no idea I'm writing it and they are not paying me or gifting me product to do so. These opinions and observations are entirely my own.

Let's start or list of the pros and cons of modular garden beds, shall we?

Pros of Vego Garden raised beds:

1. Made from corrosion resistant metal and eco-friendly. You can expect a 20+ year lifespan.
2. Made with food-safe, anti-rust materials, ensuring that your plants remain uncontaminated.
3. These beds are built to last, durable, and resistant to weathering and degradation.
4. No complicated instructions here, just snap together and you're ready to garden in about 40 minutes or less.
5. They come in various sizes and shapes, fitting different garden layouts.
6. Maintenance-free: Unlike wood beds, no need to worry about rotting or pests.
7. Modular design provides many different shapes and possible configurations.
8. The top edge is covered with a flexible safety edging. No sharp corners!  

Cons of Vego Garden raised beds:

1. While some may like the industrial look of metal beds, others may prefer a more natural appearance in their garden.
2. They might be pricier upfront compared to DIY wooden beds.
3. Metal can absorb heat, which might affect plant roots in hot climates. But I'm going to debunk this a little later, so keep reading!
4. Metal doesn't provide as much insulation as other materials like wood. This can lead to temperature fluctuations in the soil.
5. I usually consider myself to be a fast decision-maker, but it took me FOREVER to decide between the various configurations and colors. Decision paralysis is apparently real, even in something as simple as gardening!

Have I scared you yet? I hope not.  Let's keep going!

​Are Vego Garden Beds Hard to Assemble? 

​Cross my heart, no, they are very easy to put together. The box comes with a clear instruction guide and it's about like assembling a very beginner-friendly lego kit. I have two suggestions for making assembly easier.

First, try to do this on a tall surface, such as a picnic table.  Squatting, bending or kneeling get old fast.  My second tip is to tighten the screws and, cap nuts and nuts with your fingers. Then use an electric drill to snug them up! Put the drill on the outside of the screw and twist the hand wrench tightening tool provided in the kit.  A quick little gentle pulse of the drill will make this go so fast!

​They are so easy to put together! I've included links to 2 reels in the FAQ section that show me putting together a few different vego beds.

• Read instructions and prepare panels for assembly.
• Make sure you take the protective plastic off of both sides before you start to assemble. Trust me!
• Screw panels together to make your desired shape.
• Apply protective edging.
• Fill with soil and get planting!

How to Fill a Vego Raised Bed: Step-by-step Instructions

I'm a big fan of saving money where I can! Especially if it also boosts my soil and promotes strong root growth! I fill my raised beds using Hugelkultur. The hugelkultur method is a gardening technique that involves creating raised beds filled with decaying wood and organic matter. These thoughtful layers create a nutrient-rich environment that retains moisture and promotes healthy plant growth. As the wood decomposes, it releases nutrients into the soil, making it ideal for sustainable and low-maintenance gardening.

• Fill the bottom of the bed with a few inches of coarse material like gravel or small rocks. This helps with drainage.
• Lay down a weed barrier fabric to prevent weeds from growing up into your soil. I use cardboard and feed bags! Consider adding a rodent-proof barrier as well.
• Fill the bed with a mix of good quality soil, compost, and organic matter.  If using Hugelkultur, start with logs or large branches. These provide a base for the bed, aiding in aeration and moisture retention. Then add smaller branches, twigs, and woody debris fill the middle of the bed. Finally add compost, soil, and other organic materials cover the woody layer. This provides a growing medium for healthier roots, plants and seeds. 
• Use a rake or shovel to level the soil. Lightly tamp it down to remove air pockets.
• Give the soil a good soak to ensure it's evenly moistened. We added a DIY drip irrigation system to our raised beds that are set on a timer.  This is a lifesaver when we aren't home in the evenings. It's also saved me when I've had to be gone for the day when it's hot out. 
• Add 1-2 inches of compost or mulch to the soil to protect it from the sun and drying out.

5 Benefits of Growing in Raised Beds

1. Raised beds allow for better control over soil composition, drainage, and aeration, resulting in healthier plant growth.
2. Raised beds can be filled with weed-free soil. The elevated design makes it harder for weeds to invade your garden space.
3. The raised design ensures excess water can easily drain away, preventing waterlogged soil and root rot.
4. Raised beds warm up faster in the spring, allowing for earlier planting. They can also be covered to protect plants from frost, extending the growing season.
5. Raised beds are easier to reach. This makes gardening more accessible for individuals with mobility issues, or those who prefer not to bend down as much. (like me!)

FAQ

Get Growing with Vego Garden!

Here are a few more products from Vego that I love. The self-watering tomato planter and herb planter are so cool! I planted a Sweet 100 tomato in mine back in the early spring, and it is growing like crazy!

Aaron also installed a hose reel from Vego Garden that has been a game changer. Before I had a hose reel, I would coil the hose on the ground. It was such an eye sore. Okay, let's be honest, I rarely tidied it up.  Now I can reach my entire garden! Give it a gentle tug to neatly put the hose away!

Thanks for reading my Vego Garden raised bed review! If you'd like to do any shopping I'd love for you to use my affiliate link! My family sure appreciates it when you purchase through our shopping pages and links.  It doesn't add any cost to you, but we are grateful for the added benefits or income it provides us.

- Meg

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