Raised Garden Beds. How do you build one?
Ok, I finally found a nice piece of land on my property that I can put a garden in. I want to do a Vegetable Garden.
It’s up against my green chain link fence. The grass is dead in that area. It gets a lot of direct sunlight. It’s a pretty big area, longer than it is wide.
I’m looking to do tomatoes, peppers, peas, and a couple of other items. I want to do raised garden beds. I’m not the handiest person in the world and have limited tools.
What kind of wood should I use? Should it be treated? Does it have to be perfectly level? (I do have a level.)
I’ve got a green thumb but sometimes I’m all thumbs when it comes to being handy so the more basic the better. Any tips would be greatly appreciated?
Obviously I would construct it now (in the fall) and be ready to plant in the spring.
Thank-you
For veggies, you don’t want to use anything treated, because the cyanide in them and the preservatives in the wood can leach out into your veggies…
You have many options – you can do bricks, rocks or lumber. I personally like the lumber for my beds both flower and veggies, because it matches our deck and pergola room. My hubby did my flower ones out of pressure treated 2x10x10′s and my first one he has done is 30 feet long by 3 1/2 feet wide … For my veggies next year, we will be using just plain lumber,which will last app. 5 years or so.
We just moved into our house, so everything is new to us also, but I would suggest making them, so none of your soil drains out of the bottom, so I would make them perfectly lay against the yard you already have….
Have Fun!!!
The new type of treated lumber does not have the chemicals in it that the old
type had. ( U.S. anyway ) And the leaching was never a big issue – it had more to do with direct contact ( your skin ). Don’t worry about railroad ties,
either – they’re safe. You need to nail the wood together for support. The
higher the better but 12″ is sufficient. Don’t worry about being level – close is
good enough. Calculate the cubic feet and buy good quality garden soil.
Mound the soil so that the middle is maybe 4″ higher than the outer edges.
You can use the chain link for support – I used mine for tomatoes, pole
beans, melons, etc. If you can, either till or turnover the original soil the
garden will be over.
you can use car tiers that’s one way another is cinder blocks or get sacks and fill them up with sand or clay soil and build with that I like the tiers coz you help the environment and they wont degrade , you can make all sorts of patterns and height .We use it in South Africa for all sorts of thing from retaining walls to growing carrots to potato’s pumpkin fruit trees you name it you can do it with car tiers if you dont like the look of the tiers then grow hangging plans/ ,veggies on the sides it will cover it up
To build a wood raised bed:
Use galvanized screws or nails:rot-resistant lumber, such as cedar or pressure-treated pine. Avoid pressure- or creosote-treated wood if growing edibles and use wood rated for ground contact.
1.Screw or nail together pieces of rot-resistant lumber. (To desired length.But remember that it is better to make 2 beds than one gigantic one.)
2.Dig a trench 1 to 2 inches deep where you want the bed to stand. Position your frame on the trench and adjust it to be level by adding soil or digging out more.
3.Loosen soil to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, working in soil amendments as needed(blood meal,bonemeal,compost,sulfur,gypsum,lime,manure,perlite,sand and gravel,peat moss,etc. as needed). No need to remove turf(grass) except bermudagrass or most small weeds as they will break down and feed the soil.
4.Fill with good quality topsoil and smooth.
I hope this helps.