When some wooden rectangular frames about half a metre high were erected on a spare patch of land at my children’s school this week, I was heartened to discover that the pupils are going to be growing their own veg in raised beds this year.

It prompted me to think that if you haven’t got space for a vegetable patch in your garden, a raised bed must be the answer.

It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate – you can buy ready-to-assemble DIY raised beds, or just make a simple baseless frame out of some planks of wood, cut-off fenceposts and galvanised screws.

Raised beds don’t have to be really tall, as 15cm is enough to warm the soil earlier in the spring and improve drainage, which allows you to plant sooner in the year and benefit from earlier crops.

However, if you build them higher, they will be great for people with creaky backs and make gardening easier, and will allow you to grow root crops such as carrots which need stone-free, deep soil to stay straight. Plus, you can do all the work from the edges, without ever treading on – and therefore compacting – the soil.

They’re particularly good for gardens with wet, heavy clay soil as they improve drainage and warm up faster in spring.

Raised beds don’t have to be dug over every year like regular borders. Just put a 10cm layer of compost on the surface each year, and the worms should help it work its way in.

They’re great if you have poor soil, because you can just fill them with richer soil with added organic material to help the veg on their way.

Raised areas are also generally easier to manage than full-blown veg plots, which have to be planned and maintained.

When placing your raised bed on the ground, fork over the soil in the bottom, removing all weeds, and make sure the ground is level before siting your raised bed and filling it. You’re best off growing veg in a sunny position.

You need to be able to work your patch without having to step on the soil, so beds should be no wider than 1.2m (4ft) and no longer than 3m (10ft).

If your soil is light and free-draining, incorporate lots of garden compost or composted bark to help it retain moisture. If it’s heavy or badly-drained, mix in both composted bark and sharp gravel.

Choose high-yielding and fast-growing crops such as radishes, baby carrots and lettuces to give you several harvests each season, and make sure you sow enough seeds to give you replacement plants to fill the spaces when the first crop has been picked.

Try to go for the veg which don’t take up masses of space. Perennials such as artichokes and asparagus should be avoided in small spaces, while crops like cabbages take a long time to mature and will use up valuable space in your bed.

Make the most of adjoining walls and fences to use for climbing beans and peas.