Things You'll Need:
- Tape measure
- Shovel
- A roll of white string
- Several 8- to 12-inch sticks
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Step 1
Select a level area in your yard or existing garden. Drive a shovel into the ground to see how difficult or easy it will be to dig trenches. If the soil is too compacted, you may need to till it instead.
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Step 2
Plan on making the raised planting beds 18 to 24 inches wide. Make the trenches between them about 12 to 16 inches wide.
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Step 3
Determine how long you want the rows to be.
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Step 4
Starting from one side, drive a stick into the ground. It should lie to the left of the trench you’re going to dig. In this instance, you’ll be building your first row to the right of where the stick is placed.
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Step 5
Tie a string to the stick then walk the length of the row to the other end of the garden and tie the string to a second stick. Drive this stick into the ground too. Try to keep the string straight and taut.
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Step 6
Use the string as a guide and dig up the first shovelful of dirt. Toss it to your right. Before moving forward, dig again in the same spot and toss this dirt to the right as well. Digging twice in the same place is the essence of double digging.
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Step 7
Work your way down the row to the end.
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Step 8
Starting at the opposite end of the garden, reposition the sticks and string so that they are placed to the left of the trench. Be sure and leave enough space so that the raised bed will be about 18 to 24 inches wide.
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Step 9
Dig this second trench the same way as the first. By the end of this row, you should have two trenches and quite a bit of soil piled up between them. This loose soil will make an excellent raised bed.
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Step 10
Repeat steps 5 through 9 for any additional rows. Double digging a raised bed is lots of work, but the payoff is a rich harvest of summer crops.
