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What height and width should an accessible raised bed be?

24 to 27 inches high for a wheelchair user, 3 feet wide if you can reach from both sides and 2 feet from one side, with 4-foot paths. The figures extension services and the ADA standards give.

Seated forward reach, 15 to 48 in012243648in24 inWheelchair27 inComfortable36 inStandingSide reach over a wall: up to 34 in
UGA’s 24-inch wheelchair bed, Minnesota’s comfortable 27 inches and UGA’s 36-inch standing bed, against the ADA’s seated reach. The ADA figures are written for buildings, not gardens.

The short answer

For gardening from a wheelchair, the University of Georgia Extension gives a bed 24 inches tall and 3 feet wide for an adult, and the University of Minnesota Extension says 27 inches is generally a comfortable height. For gardening while standing, UGA says a bed 36 inches off the ground helps avoid bending. Leave paths 4 feet wide.

The figures in one table

Raised bed and path dimensions for seated and standing gardeners
MeasurementFigureSource
Bed height for wheelchair access24 inUGA Extension
Comfortable height for wheelchair users27 inUniversity of Minnesota Extension
Height that avoids excessive bending36 inUGA Extension
Bed width, wheelchair access, adults3 ftUGA Extension
Bed width, wheelchair access, children2 ftUGA Extension
Bed width, reaching from one side / both sides2 ft / 4 ftVirginia Cooperative Extension
Path between beds for carts, wheelbarrows and wheelchairs4 ftUGA Extension
Elevated planter depth, on legs or blocks10 inUGA Extension

Reach and space from the ADA standards

The ADA Standards for Accessible Design are written for buildings, not gardens, but their measurements describe what a seated person can reach. An unobstructed forward reach runs from 15 to 48 inches above the ground. Reaching sideways over an obstruction such as a bed wall works when the obstruction is no more than 34 inches high and 24 inches deep. Knee clearance under a surface is the space between 9 and 27 inches above the ground, and work surfaces sit 28 to 34 inches high.

For moving around, the standards give a clear floor space of 30 × 48 inches beside each thing you use, a 60-inch circle to turn a wheelchair, and walkways at least 36 inches wide.

Which kind of bed

A bed you roll up beside and reach into from the side needs its wall low enough to reach over: 34 inches or less by the ADA side-reach figure, and narrow enough to reach the middle. A table-height planter on legs, like UGA’s 10-inch-deep planter raised on blocks, lets a seated gardener pull in with knees underneath, if the space below is clear from 9 to 27 inches.

The layout planner checks the reach you enter against each bed, and our bed listings give elevated planters with their overall height and planting depth. These figures help you plan; they are not an accessibility certification.

Try it with your numbers

Put in your own bed and the raised bed layout planner works out the answer as you type.

Open the raised bed layout planner

References