Aug 04, 2026

The Essential Accessories You Need for Your Raised Garden

If you've invested in a 18"x48" cedar raised garden bed or 18"x72" planter box, you already understand the importance of high quality materials. The difference between an average harvest and a thriving one often comes down to what you plant in, and the accessories you pair with your setup. From season-extending greenhouse covers to watering on auto pilot with Ollas, the right accessories can extend your growing for months. Here is a round up of some of our favorite essentials, and why we think you'll love them.

Extend Your Season with Greenhouse and Winter Covers

A greenhouse cover helps extend your season by creating a micro climate directly over your raised bed. This contains the extra heat, protects tender seedlings from late frosts, and shields crops from wind, hail, and critters. For gardeners in colder climates, a greenhouse cover can add several weeks of growing time in many seasons, meaning earlier spring planting and a longer fall harvest.

Once the growing season truly ends for some, winter covers take over. Purpose-built for both 30" tall raised garden beds and 24" tall planter boxes, these covers protect your garden from the weather over winter months. Cedar is naturally rot-resistant, but a well-fitted cover extends the lifespan of your plants and garden bed.

Protect Your Patio and Deck with Platform and Sleeve Feet

Raised garden beds become heavier once filled with soil, and that weight sits directly on the surface they're placed on, often soft soil, a deck, or composite patio. Platform feet support the structure, and prevent any further sinking into the ground.

Sleeve feet serve a similar aesthetic function but are designed slimmer, without any extra platform support to prevent sinking. Both accessories provide protection in different ways, and for anyone growing on unstable surface, or newly finished deck, they're close to essential.

Extra Protection with Osmo UV Oil

Cedar's natural oils give it excellent resistance to rot and insects, but prolonged UV exposure will still patina the wood over time. Using Osmo oil penetrates the wood grain to lock in moisture and block the suns harsh rays, keeping your cedar looking rich for years if this is preferred over the natural end finish. For gardeners who want to match their planter to a deck, fence, or exterior color scheme, Osmo's Stain Kits come in a range of colors!

Upgrade Your Watering Strategy with Ollas

Consistent watering is one of the most common failure points in raised bed gardening, especially during hot, dry stretches or when you're away for a weekend. A self-watering clay Olla offers a low maintenance solution rooted in centuries-old irrigation practice. Buried in the soil with just the neck exposed, the unglazed terracotta slowly seeps water directly to the root zone through capillary action, responding to the soil's actual moisture needs rather than a fixed schedule.

This method reduces water waste (no evaporation loss from surface watering), discourages fungal issues that come from wetting foliage, and can dramatically cut down on how often you need to manually water tomatoes, peppers, and other thirsty crops. For anyone who's lost seedlings to a missed watering day, an Olla pot is one of the highest-impact, lowest-effort accessories available.

Get the Right Tools for the Job

No cedar raised garden bed setup is complete without hand tools sized and suited for close-planting. A Hori Hori garden knife is a multi-purpose blade used for transplanting, dividing perennials, cutting through roots, and even weeding — a favorite among serious gardeners for its versatility. Pair it with a trowel for digging planting holes, garden hand clippers for pruning and harvesting, and a garden hand rake for cultivating soil and clearing debris between plants.

For gardeners who prefer a curated starting point, the Garden Tools + Grow Bags Essentials bundle combines core tools with flexible growing containers, making it a smart choice for beginners equipping a new bed for the first time.

Add Flexible Growing Space with Grow Bags

Even with a garden in a raised bed, grow bags which come in multiple sizes for growing flexibility are also a great option. Fabric grow bags allow for air flow, meaning healthier roots and superior drainage anywhere from a yard, patio, or balcony, without committing to anything permanent.