Building home garden
How to Build a Raised Vegetable Garden
Project details
Skill
1 out of 5 Easy The frame is simple to assemble, but you'll need an adult to run the power saws and fill the bed with soil.
Cost
About $225
Estimated Time
2 hours
Age Range: 6 and up
Here's a great project for the budding gardener in your family. This Old House TV landscape contractor Roger Cook recently showed a few young friends how to make a raised garden. It's a simple frame of rot-resistant lumber that holds soil in place and brings it to a height that's easy for everyone to reach without stepping onto precious plants—plus no more dirty knees (or at least fewer dirty knees).
Plant a vegetable patch in your new DIY raised garden bed. Kids will have tons of fun caring for their seedlings as they mature. And what better reward is there for a garden well tended than a crisp carrot straight from the earth (washed, of course) or a nice ripe tomato right from the vine. Read the following steps to learn how to build a raised vegetable garden.
Step 1
Overview
Illustration by Carl WiensRoger and the kids made this bed with rot-resistant cedar, a material that's safe around the edible plants it will contain. Cedar will also turn a nice silvery gray as it weathers.
The bed here is 10 feet long, but you can make yours as long as the lumber allows. However, it should be no more than 4 feet wide so that little arms can reach the plants in the middle. Roger cut stakes from 2x4s and angled one end to a point to hold the frame in place and keep the sides from bowing once it's filled with heavy soil.
Vegetable gardens need a lot of light, so Roger and his helpers placed the bed in an area that gets sun for most of the day. To improve drainage and prevent weeds from growing up into the garden, he removed the grass beneath the bed and tilled the earth before adding soil.
Step 2
Cut and assemble the frame
Photo by Ask This Old House TVUsing a jigsaw or circular saw, cut an 8-foot length of 2x10 cedar in half.
Hold one of the 10-foot 2x10s on edge, and butt the end of a 4-foot 2x10 up to it so that the face of the longer board overlaps the end of the shorter board. Using the drill/driver, sink three 3-inch screws through the face of the long side and into the end of the short side.
Attach the other sides together, using three 3-inch screws on each corner and overlapping the long sides over the short sides.
Step 3
Square up the frame
Photo by Ask This Old House TVWith the four sides assembled, place a framing square in each corner, one at a time, and adjust the frame until the corner lines up square. After aligning the entire frame, check all four corners again with the framing square.
Roger Cook says: "The great thing about a raised garden is that you can put in the perfect soil for whatever you want to grow.
"
Step 4
Brace the corners
Photo by Ask This Old House TVLeaving the corners perfectly square, tack scrap lumber across each one with 3-inch screws to hold it in position.
Step 5
Mark the perimeter
Photo by Ask This Old House TVMove the raised garden bed frame to the sunny spot you've picked out for the bed. Using an edger or spade, mark the ground around the perimeter of the frame.
Step 6
Prepare the soil
Photo by Ask This Old House TVSet the raised garden bed frame aside. Using a sod cutter or grub hoe, skim away the grass layer. Increase drainage for your garden by turning the soil beneath the bed area with a pitchfork or rotary tiller.
Step 7
Level the frame
Photo by Ask This Old House TVSet the frame back in place over the tilled area. Using a 4-foot level, check the position of the frame.
Dig out the soil beneath the frame until it sits level on all sides.
Step 8
Stake the frame
Photo by Ask This Old House TVCut ten 2-foot-long pieces of 2x4. Make two diagonal cuts on one end of each piece to create a point. Using a sledgehammer, drive these stakes at least 18 inches into the ground along the outside of the long sides of the frame at 2½-foot intervals. Using the drill/driver, secure each stake to the frame with three 3-inch screws.
Remove the temporary corner braces. Drive a stake inside each corner. On one short side of the bed, secure the stakes with screws driven through the frame on both sides of each corner. On the other short side, leave the screws off.
Step 9
Fill the bed
Photo by Ask This Old House TVRemove the unscrewed short side of the bed. Using a wheelbarrow, fill the bed with a mixture of soil and compost. Level out the soil and continue filling until it is 2 to 3 inches from the top of the frame.
Step 10
Reassemble the frame
Photo by Ask This Old House TVReplace the short side of the bed and, using a drill/driver, secure it to the long sides and to the corner stakes with 3-inch screws. Using a reciprocating saw or handsaw, cut the top of each stake flush with the top of the frame.
Step 11
Plant the vegetables
Photo by Ask This Old House TVPlant seeds or seedlings for your vegetables. Dig a small hole for each one, mix in the appropriate amount of starter fertilizer, set the seed or seedling into the hole, then cover it with soil.
Step 12
Water and mulch the bed
Photo by Ask This Old House TVOnce the bed is planted, water it thoroughly. Then cover the soil with about an inch of mulch made from grass clippings.
Roger Cook says: “Use grass clippings to mulch around the plants. This will help keep the soil moist and stop weeds from growing.
”
Tools:
Tools & Materials
-
Circular saw
-
Drill/driver
-
Edger
-
Grub hoe
-
Pitchfork
-
level - 4-foot
-
Sledge hammer
-
Wheelbarrow
-
Reciprocating saw
How to Build a Raised Garden Bed
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Including what type of wood, soil and plants will work best.
By David Oblas, Zoe Schaeffer and Monique Valeris
Let's face it: Everyone isn't lucky enough to have perfect soil to grow a vegetable garden. Whether your soil is clay-like or way too rocky, at some point, you might have been curious about how to build a raised garden bed as an alternative. The good news is that it's not difficult and can be constructed with a range of materials, including rot-resistant cedar.
Why consider raised garden beds, which are also known as planter boxes or garden boxes? They offer a slew of benefits to help your plants thrive. Beyond keeping critters at bay, your soil will warm up much earlier in the spring season, meaning that your plants have the chance to grow earlier too. Plus, vegetables, fruits and ornamentals will send their roots deeper in search of water, so they would likely be healthier. And they're just so easy to build on your own! Even if you're new to gardening, you'll
The beauty of this particular raised bed build is that it is cheap and easy to build. The wood and rebar will cost no more than $50 if you're using untreated pine planks, and the entire build can be completed in less than an hour's time. The untreated pine might only last five to 10 years, but due to the nature of this build, each board is easily replaceable without taking apart the entire bed. For a 4-by-8-foot bed, you’ll need:
- Two 2-by-12 planks, each 8 feet long
- Two 2-by-12 planks, each 4 feet long
- 12 pieces of rebar, each 2 feet long
- A rubber mallet
- Newspaper or cardboard
- Soil to fill the finished frame
Step 1: Settle on the right position for your boards.
JOHN BORGOYNE
On a level section of ground, lay the boards down with their inner corners touching. Stand one long board on its side, and, using a rubber mallet, hammer two pieces of rebar 1 foot from each corner, a few inches deep into the ground.
Step 2: Prop up the short sides.
JOHN BORGOYNE
Use a piece of rebar at the center of each for temporary support. Next, prop up the second long side and adjust the alignment of your frame as necessary. Then hammer rebar a few inches deep 1 foot from each corner of the second long side.
Step 3: Reinforce the frame.
JOHN BORGOYNE
Hammer rebar a few inches deep a foot from each corner of the short sides and remove the temporary supports. Add two pieces of rebar 2 feet apart along each long side. These will reinforce the frame when it’s filled with soil. Then hammer in the rebar until 6 to 10 inches are exposed above ground.
Step 4: Fill your bed.
JOHN BORGOYNE
Line the bottom of your frame with newspaper or cardboard and wet it thoroughly. Finally, fill your bed with soil to within a few inches of the top.
Alternative Building Materials
JOHN BORGOYNE
The possibilities for building materials are endless:
Prefab Kits
If you love nothing more than DIY projects, a prefab kit, which can be purchased at home centers and garden suppliers, might be for you. You can find versions made of composite material to resist rot and insects. What's more, they tend to fade better than natural wood over time.
Wattle
Weave a frame with long, flexible sticks. The kids will have fun collecting them, and the results are usually Pinterest-worthy.
Logs
If you’ve recently cleared a tree, logs can be a cost-effective material. Choose pieces that are straight and at least 1 foot in diameter.
Concrete Blocks
Placing the blocks with open ends up provides extra growing room.
Tuck herbs or decorative flowers into the cavities.
High and Mighty
A waist-high bed is accessible to those with physical limitations.
Other Tips to Consider
Space
Build your beds somewhere that receives at least five to six hours of daily sunlight — the more, the better! Orient them north to south to prevent plants from shading each other out. Beds should be at least a foot wide, though no more than 4 feet across to make weeding and harvesting manageable. Six to 8 feet long is typical and cost-effective. Ten to 14 inches is an ideal height to accommodate strong roots. Leave at least 2 or 3 feet between beds for walking and wheelbarrow access.
And if your garden bed sits low to the ground, be mindful of critters. To keep them out, consider installing a 3-foot wire fence to ensure rabbits, woodchucks and other small invaders stay away. If deer are present in your area, plastic netting (at least 8-feet high) are a good solution.
Wood
The brilliance of a plank-and-rebar design (see above) is that each individual wall is easily replaced. Try naturally rot-resistant varieties of wood, such as oak, cedar, and redwood.
Soil
You want the kind that’s dark, rich, and loaded with microorganisms. Fill your beds with a mix of 50 to 60% good-quality topsoil and 40 to 50% well-aged compost. Before each new growing season, test your soil for pH and nutrient content. You can buy a kit at most home-improvement stores. If your test shows a need for additional nutrients like nitrogen and potassium, raise levels by working in amendments such as bone meal and kelp. Dress beds with an additional ½ inch of compost later in the growing season to increase organic matter and boost soil health.
Plants
If you’re building your beds in high summer, it’s not too late to plant fall crops. Sow seeds like carrots and lettuce directly into the soil, or buy midseason transplants for crops like kale and broccoli.
If you’d rather wait until next year to plant, cover the soil in your new raised beds with a mixture of grass clippings and shredded leaves in autumn — the material will compost before you’re ready to start in spring.
Water
Raised beds have fantastic drainage, which is great for plant health, but they dry out quickly. Give your plants a long drink in the early evening, but check them again on hot summer afternoons. If the soil is dry, it’s a real scorcher outside, or you live in a hot and arid climate, water again. A programmable drip-irrigation system (try a starter kit from dripworks.com) is inexpensive and convenient, delivering consistent moisture straight to plant roots. Invest in a timer component to save money and water.
Monique Valeris Senior Home Editor Monique Valeris is the senior home editor for Good Housekeeping, where she oversees the brand's home decorating coverage across print and digital.
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