Raised beds offer a perfect opportunity for growing crops in smaller spaces. It opens up the chance for anyone with a deck, patio, courtyard, or balcony to grow their own. The truth is, many are used solely for summer growing, but having a cover extends the season and widens the possibilities.

Anyone can take their raised bed growing to a new level simply by adding a cover. It protects crops, extends the harvest season, and broadens the range of vegetables you can grow. It is not just in fall when it comes to the fore, though, as a cover widens the season at both ends, so any small vegetable garden becomes super-productive.

I found this strong, durable Vego Garden greenhouse frost cover that fits different raised bed configurations or can even be used to protect crops in the ground. It is simple to install and will protect your vegetables against the worst of the winter weather. If you have wondered how to protect raised beds from frost, a cover is the simple solution you’ve been looking for.

Why Raised Bed Covers Work

Growing vegetables, herbs, and flowers in small raised beds for compact gardens is a great way of making any space really productive. It looks good, is satisfying to maintain, and you get delicious homegrown harvests to enjoy.

For many people, the raised bed will be used from late spring to early fall – the prime months when the temperatures are ideal for planting vegetables. Not much extra kit is needed to widen those ambitions, as simply adding a protective cover extends the season in which you can sow seeds outdoors and harvest your crops.

The growing season can start earlier in spring and end later in the winter, or even last all year long. This is because the cover creates a greenhouse effect. The soil will warm earlier in spring, stay warmer later into the year, and the added insulation keeps plants protected from frost.

It even impacts what you can grow in raised beds. The greenhouse cover can remain in place to grow more heat-loving crops, such as bush tomato plants or compact peppers, and a wider range of cool-season crops can be grown through winter. You’ll be able to keep picking more winter lettuces and hardy leafy greens even after the temperatures drop and the bed is usually cleared for winter.

The Vego Garden greenhouse frost cover is made with a reinforced mesh layered inside UV-protected fabric. It is thick enough to provide an insulating layer against frost and trap warmth to winterize raised garden beds.

The cover lets sunlight through, but keeps water, wind, hail, and snow out. It has straps to seal the cover in place, so heat is retained in the greenhouse and cold winds don't get in. It also has vented windows that can be opened to help with air circulation and prevent plants from overheating if the greenhouse is used during the summer.

Throughout the year, many pests will be attracted to your crops. Raised bed covers provide a screen to stop unwanted pests from destroying plants. The Vego Garden greenhouse frost cover will do just that. However, there are alternatives for lighter covers if you don’t need the warming greenhouse effect, such as insect netting (available at Amazon) to put over vegetable garden hoops (available at Walmart).

A good cover should be simple to install. The good news is that the Vego Garden greenhouse frost cover is just that. It’s strong-but-lightweight steel poles push together into fittings and the cover is attached to the frame with hook-and-loop straps. The frame bolts to a Vego Garden raised bed. The manufacturer claims it should take under 30 minutes to set up.

There is a great selection of vegetables you can plant in a fall raised bed to provide harvests throughout the colder months. Cool-weather crops such as spinach, arugula, corn salad, winter lettuce, and Asian greens like mizuna and bok choy can be grown in the fall to thrive under such a cover and be harvested well into winter.

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