Every garden at Freighter View Farms starts in a raised bed. Not because raised beds are trendy — because they solve the three biggest problems Michigan gardeners face: cold soil, wet springs, and a season that is never quite long enough.
Why Raised Beds in Michigan
Raised beds warm up two to three weeks earlier than ground-level soil. In Zone 6a, where our last frost hovers around May 15th, those two weeks are the difference between transplanting tomatoes in mid-May and waiting until June. The soil in a raised bed drains faster too, which matters in a Michigan spring when the rain does not stop for weeks at a time.
How I Build Mine
My beds are 4 feet wide, 8 feet long, and 10 inches deep — untreated cedar boards on a base of cardboard over grass. The fill is equal parts compost, peat moss, and coarse vermiculite, amended each spring with fresh compost and a top dressing of worm castings. After three years, the soil in these beds is better than anything I have seen in the ground.
What Grows Best
Everything grows better in a raised bed, but some crops benefit more than others. Root vegetables — carrots, beets, radishes — love the loose, stone-free soil. Tomatoes love the warmth. Lettuce loves the drainage. Even flowers perform better: my zinnias in the raised beds are a foot taller than anything I have grown in the ground.
For variety recommendations, see The Best Heirloom Tomatoes for Michigan. For the full planting calendar, see the Michigan Zone 6a Garden Planner.
— Chris Izworski, Freighter View Farms, Bay City, Michigan
Chris Izworski is a Michigan gardener, writer, and AI technologist based on Saginaw Bay. He writes at Freighter View Farms about Zone 6a gardening, seed saving, and practical AI in public safety.
Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski 
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