Grow a Healthy Vegetable Garden

Seattle Tilth's Laura Matter responds to the top 5 questions posed on its hotline (206-633-0224) by gardeners nationwide

Q: What should I use to build raised beds?

A: There are lots of options: naturally rot-resistant wood, such as cedar or juniper (avoid treated wood); concrete or granite blocks; bales of straw sprinkled with a nitrogen source, such as alfalfa meal, and covered with a thin layer of topsoil (next spring, the bales can be kicked apart and mixed into the soil); or no edging at all—just mound up the soil to create a berm.

Shown: Peppers grow best from transplants, so the family starts seeds indoors in January.