Raised Vegetable Beds: Turning an Unused Lawn Into a Productive Garden

I turned an awkward, sloping patch of lawn into raised vegetable beds and used the space to grow vegetables, herbs, berries and flowers.  The raised beds made the area far more productive while reducing bending, digging, and weeding.  Eight years later, the beds are still in excellent condition.

What is more useful, this odd shaped piece of grass on a gentle slope which fits a guinea pig house nicely and takes time to mow every now and again?  Or a jungle of many different organically grown fresh herbs and vegetables?

An awkward patch of lawn doesn't necessarily need to remain lawn.  In my case, converting the lawn into raised vegetable beds created considerably more useful growing space without increasing the overall footprint of the garden.

2026 update: 8 years later These raised vegetable beds have now been in use for eight years.  They are still in excellent condition and continue to be a productive part of the garden.  What started as an awkward, difficult-to-mow patch of lawn has become a productive growing area for vegetables, herbs, berries, and flowers. 

The odd shaped piece of lawn before was not very useful

Raised vegetable beds, they look great plus they produce organic food

Let's take a look from another angle.  Here is the odd shaped piece of lawn again.  It was wasted space that took time and effort to mow.  The lawn clippings were useful in the compost and the weeds that grew in there attract beneficial insects, but other than that it had little use.  

I took a photo before vegetable beds, then I stood in much the same spot and took a photo after the raised vegetable beds were installed.

The patch of lawn before converted into raised vegetable beds

That same small patch of land overflowing with fresh organic vegetables

Let's have one last look, I stood in much the same spot to take both pictures for comparison purposes.

Guinea pig house protecting vegetable seedlings from birds on the odd shaped plot of lawn

The same plot with lawn killed, guinea pig house moved, and raised vegetable beds installed

Don't make any mistake here, it took some work filling the beds with soil, planting seeds and seedlings, watering etc.  All of that work is more than worth while.  The raised vegetable beds became very productive very fast.  Being raised beds means I don't have to bend as much, which is easier on my back.  

If you read my blog you will see that I grow many rare vegetables as well as dabble in vegetable breeding.  I can still do this because we converted a wasted lawn into a reasonable sized vegetable garden.  These raised vegetable beds are great, they mean far less bending, less digging, less weeds and less work.

I largely grow perennial vegetables, berries, and edible herbs in these raised garden beds, which can be particularly useful in a productive home garden because they don't need to be replanted every year.  Getting up off the ground has also meant fewer weed issues.

Planting seeds and seedlings

Look how neat and tidy they all look

Even at this early stage they were productive

It didn't take long before that almost worthless piece of lawn became a jungle of delicious organic vegetables, amazing berries, fresh herbs, and a few pretty flowers for the kids.

Many people have never eaten fresh food.  Some foods are too soft to transport, so they are picked not yet ripe and can never taste their best.  The sugars in sweet corn convert to starch noticeably within 15 minutes of being picked.  If you want fresh food you must grow it yourself.  Food from the markets is not fresh and it will never be as good as food you can grow on an otherwise useless piece of lawn.

All of this fresh organic food had zero food miles, it was watered from the water tank which collected water from the roof, it was fertilised with compost made from lawn clippings and chicken manure from my property.  Does it get any better than this, yes it does!

To make things better my kids know where food comes from as they help me plant seeds and tend the vegetables, they help harvest and eat the food, and they help me save seeds (and dabble in a little plant breeding) each year.  Most adults I know have no idea how to save seeds. 

My kids have grown and eaten many fruit and vegetables that most people have never heard of.  They have eaten delicate and tender foods that could never survive transport.  All of this is possible because we destroyed a weird shaped part of our lawn and made it into something better.

Many vegetables are growing here

Raised vegetable beds - far more productive than lawn

Was converting the lawn into raised vegetable beds worth it?

Absolutely.  What was once an awkward patch of lawn that needed mowing became one of the most productive parts of the garden.

The raised beds gave me more usable growing space without needing a larger garden.  They are easier to work in than the original ground, require less bending and digging, and make it possible to grow a surprisingly wide range of vegetables, herbs, berries, and flowers in a relatively small area.

The biggest test is time.  Eight years after building the beds, they are still in excellent condition and are still producing food.  Looking back, I would much rather have a productive vegetable garden producing rare and incredible types of food, than spend those years mowing an awkward piece of lawn.