Just Another Raised Garden Bed Tutorial

Welcome back to the Garden Chronicles! Last time I wrote was about starting seeds in egg cartons. Well, my little seedlings are just barely starting to emerge and I am so excited to see them! Before long they will be outgrowing their first little home on my windowsill and needing to stretch out their roots in some real dirt. *sniff* they grow up so fast! Anyway, if you read my first Garden Chronicle post, you’ll remember the piece of ground that was tilled up for the garden years ago and the dream I had for it.

Well, this weekend that dream became a bit more real as we built three huge raised garden beds.

The reason for going with raised beds is this:

• Better drainage for the soil
• Looser soil
• Better control of the type of soil
• Easier weed control
• Not as much bending over
• Cleaner, more organized look

Now, I just want to explain the title, “Just Another Raised Garden Bed Tutorial” really quickly. There are tons of tutorials out there for raised garden beds and I am in no way an expert (hence the premise of this entire series). My tutorial here is by far not the best out there, in fact, I’ve debated on whether I should call it “How Not to Build Raised Garden Beds”, but decided against it as they haven’t been given the chance to prove themselves yet. While it may not be the most professional information about raised beds out there, it is given by a total beginner, which means: if I can do it, so can you!

So, let’s begin with the materials. I’m going to give the list for one bed, although we made three:

• Four 1(2)x12 treated or cedar 10 foot boards. I put the 2 in parenthesis because we got 1 inch boards and I really wish we would have gotten 2 inch. Oh well.
• 8 Stakes. We used leftover pieces of a spool and pallets, so any board will do as long as they can go past 12 inches to be buried in the ground.
• 2 inch decking screws
• Circular Saw

Measure and cut two of the 2x12s in half. These will be the short sides of the bed.

Technically, the best width of a raised garden bed is four feet and under to be able to reach to the center with ease.Our space was so large I didn’t think we would mind that extra one foot. Choose to do what you like and we’ll see if I regret my decision.

Next, with your father-in-law’s help, screw the stakes into each corner along with an extra supporting piece for added strength.

The stake will drive into the ground, but the extra supporting board shouldn’t go past the bottom of the bed.

That’s one down with two more to go.

This really was a one day project, shopping included. We haven’t filled them with dirt yet (I can only haul so many wheelbarrow loads by myself while watching a just starting to walk toddler), so we are already behind on planting some of the hardier plants. Oh well.

Hey, lucky duck! You get a sneak peak at my next post: A tunnel trellis, but that’s all you get for now

If you are considering gardening for the first time like I have, maybe you would like to try raised beds. I think we both will be happily surprised. If you are a long time gardener, what’s your advice for me? Please comment below, I’d love to hear from you!

Feel free to share the image above and spread the word about how easy raised garden beds are to make!