Building My Raised Beds

This post may be a little late in coming but I thought I would talk about how I built my raised beds for my vegetable garden. If you you are interested in learning about the advantages of gardening in raised beds be sure check out my post: The Benefits of Gardening in Raised Beds.

This spring I built two large beds of equal size that were each made of three smaller beds. The total square footage of the beds is around 144 square feet. It’s really just little smaller since I reduced the long beds by a couple inches each on the sides. The corner beds are 4’x4′ square planters while the the beds that connect to the corner bed are roughly 4’x8′ and 4’x6′.

I began by purchasing non-pressure treated pine wood. In my opinion the best material to use for raised beds would be stone but wood has an economic advantage. In the realm of wood the best wood to use would be a cedar or a redwood since they resist rot and insects pretty well. I didn’t use either of these because of the price. Either one of these would have been about 3 times what I spent on the pine. The pine won’t last forever, in fact in may only last 4-5 years but by then my garden design may be ready for a reinvention, or maybe I’ll be able to afford stone.

I began by making the 4’x4′ box. I used two 2’x10’s to make each corner bed. I could have used a corner post 4″x4″ in each of the corners for stabilization. It may have made it easier to put together but I was trying to “cut corners.” (Yep that’s a pun alright.) I pre-drilled holes in the last inch of each board that would connect with the end of the adjacent board. Then I drilled deck screws through. Deck screws are plastic coated to help resist degradation caused by the weather.


On each end I drew a pencil mark to guide where I drilled the holes. I used a scrap piece of lumber as a template for the pencil mark.


Here you can see the three holes I drilled into the lumber.

I stood the board on its end and connected the next piece to it through the pre-drilled holes.


After the corner beds were built I connected the long 6’x8′ pieces to the corner beds with deck screws through pre-drilled holes. The boards for the long beds are slightly shorter than 4′ to make connecting them to the corner bed easier. Pre-drilling makes everything easier! Again, I could have used 4″x4″ corner posts to connect the beds but instead I chose to screw them directly together. Since these beds aren’t going anywhere for a while they should be stable enough for what I need.

I capped the long ends with a 4′ piece of lumber.


Here’s an overhead view shot from an upstairs window in my house.


After the wood was assembled came the fun part, the filling! To kill off the grass underneath I used a layer of cardboard and newspaper. I gathered up grass and covered the newspaper and cardboard. Then came more newspaper followed by compost and topsoil. I put the compost under the topsoil to encourage the roots to grow deep when I plant the beds. The grass on the bottom layer will decompose and add nitrogen to the mix. In the fall I’ll cover the beds with shredded leaves and grass clippings to protect the soil. I may even plant a small cover crop like clover to invigorate the soil, but that’s a subject for another time.


The layout of my vegetable garden has changed many times now since this was originally posted!  Here’s what my latest raised bed vegetable garden layout looks like – although the transformation is not complete.

10 thoughts on “Building My Raised Beds”

  1. They look good. I got the pun…funny! Are you planting now? I planned on planting tomorrow but my instructor at school said the weather is turning cold this weekend. Geez-not another scare with a freeze!

  2. Dave, this was a great post. Nice photos, easy step by step information. I could really use two beds like this on the back of my garage to grow on small seedlings.

    Yesterday I was digging tiny Thalictrum seedlings out of my gravel driveway but didn’t know where to put them so they’d be safe.

    Thanks for the great information.

  3. You always have the best written instructions, now if you came alone to build them! The pine may last longer than you think.

    meems gave me an excellent award and I was charged with picking others….I have always thought your blog is excellent, so you may pick it up at my blogspot.

    gail

  4. Tina,

    Wait on planting definitely. I’ve been eagerly watching the forecast to find the earliest opportunity to plant but even though today will be in the 80’s Monday night is supposed to be in the lower 30’s. I’m guessing that Wednesday might be a safe target date. But that’s just a guess!

    Thanks Melanie!

    I want to build a couple more raised beds just for plant stock. Kind of a holding area until they are ready to be put into the garden.

    Gail,

    Sorry labor not included, instructions are free though. 😉 Thanks for the award!

  5. Thanks so much on the advice. I am so antsy to get everything done I usually always jump the gun. It is a downfall sometimes.

  6. Thank you so much! You have no idea how much I needed this information! I know how to drill a hole, so maybe I really can do my own raised bed. (I want to grow strawberries this year!) The concept of stone is enchanting, however. I must know more! Thanks, again!

  7. Dr Dave,

    This big E how do we put it on the blogsite!!?? Several people have asked me and I don’t know either. I know there is some magic code! But where is the wizard hiding it?

    Gail

  8. I like the multiple levels. Great job, it looks like you’ve done some hard work! I plan on making something like that within the next couple of years.

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