How to Build a Raised Garden Bed

If you are thinking about planting a new garden, using raised garden beds is a fast and easy way to get started, and there are several advantages for the smaller garden. For instance, if you want to grow organically and your soil has been contaminated, a raised bed will allow you to plant. Here is how to build a raised garden bed.

Things You'll Need

• 2-by-6 inch lumber
• Weed barrier fabric
• Screws
• Brackets to attach corners of the lumber together
• Short stakes

Instructions

1. Determine the proper location. This is important because after the garden bed is built, as it will be very difficult and time consuming to move. Pick a spot that gets at least a half-day of sun for sun-loving plants.

2. Lay the weed barrier fabric down in your specified location. Use fabric pins to secure it to the ground. This will limit your weeding considerably the first year. Be sure to use woven fabric and not black plastic to ensure proper drainage.

3. Cut your lumber. Cut an 8-foot piece of lumber in half and use two more 8-foot pieces for an 8-by-4 foot garden bed.

4. Attach your ends. Purchase ready-made garden bed ends with a post that sticks into the ground, galvanized angle brackets or just simply screw the ends together with galvanized decking screws. If you are using plastic lumber, use the brackets made by the manufacturer.

5. Place your assembled 8-by-4 foot bed over your pre-pinned fabric.

6. Anchor your garden bed frame to the ground by placing garden stakes around the outside. If you need to add fencing to keep deer away, use longer fence stakes and attach deer fencing to the stakes.

7. Add soil. Add compost, peat moss, purchased garden soil or top soil or a mixture of each depending on what you are growing, then plant your garden.

Tips & Warnings

• There is no need to excavate before building a raised bed. Just place the weed barrier fabric and frame over existing grass or weeds.

• A raised garden bed can be placed virtually anywhere there is a flat surface, even on a paved location. Just be sure of placement and know that your pavement might degrade over time.

• A raised garden bed is easier to tend because the work surface is higher.

• Depending on your soil mixture, you may not need to add fertilizer the first year.

• Do not make your garden bed any wider than 4 feet wide. Wider beds are difficult to plant and tend.