Video: How to Build Raised Garden Beds

Vegetable Gardener, editor

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If your soil isn't the greatest or you just don't feel like digging, raised beds can be a great solution for your vegetable garden.

Materials
Raised beds can be made out of all different kinds of materials, but wood is the most common option. The obvious choice for your wood may seem like pressure-treated lumber, but because it contains copper, an untreated wood that weathers well might be a better option. Douglas Fir is readily available in our part of the country and relatively inexpensive. Other choices might be Cypress or Redwood.

Tools You'll Need
Cordless drill
3.5" galvanized decking screws
Six 8-foot-long 2x6 boards
Six 4-foot-long 2x6 boards
Four 2-foot-long 4x4 boards

Building the Bed
To make the long sides of the bed, screw three 8-foot 2x6 boards to two corner posts. Pre-drill the holes before screwing into the wood to make life a bit easier. Having an extra person around to help you position the boards correctly and make sure they’re flush.

To build the short sides, stand two of the constructed long ends upright about four feet apart. Screw the short 2x6 boards to the corner posts so that they’re flush. If you’re not building on level ground, a speed square and a level will come in extremely handy.

Fill it with soil
Here are some Fine Gardening articles and videos on soil:
How's Your Soil Texture?
Making Compost
How to Make Leaf Mold

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Comments (4)

brianrussell writes: What is the best finish for the rough sewn redwood planter beds I built for my wife? I recently built 4 planter beds out of 4x10 redwood and 4x4 redwood corners.

My wife is concerned about the finish being safe for our vegetable garden.

What are the best finishes on the market that are safe for this use?

Thanks,
Posted: 11:31 pm on September 4th

monnette writes: Can you recommend a soil mix to use in the raised bed? I want to build this project here in Houston.
Posted: 7:33 pm on June 15th

Kate_Frank writes: markgro, that is such a great tip. Thanks for sharing...
Posted: 9:56 am on June 9th

markgro writes: The screws wouldn't be so difficult to work with if you were to first dip the last 1/2 to 1" of them into soap. You can recycle old bar soap and add soap flakes in an old pot and heat the soap up on the concrete outside of the house using an electric burner before transferring the soap into containers. You will need to dedicate the pot to making screw soap as it will be impossible to clean afterwards.

I really like the information on wood choices and the simplicity of the design.
Posted: 12:17 am on June 9th

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