Building a Raised Garden Bed

(I decided to make a garden bed so that I can save on vegetables. There are more pics at end of post.)

Making this garden bed will help to cut down on some of our grocery expenses.  The hubby and I made this raised garden bed and I must say that it turned out fabulous.  It is quite simple to make.  I wanted to take pictures of each step while we we making this bed, however, my hubby was a little under stress because the screwdriver didn’t work too well. So, I thought it best not to keep sticking the camera at him.  This should really keep my grocery bill down.

The directions are listed below.  I found the direction by using my helper, the internet.  I will say that when I make the next bed (of course, this will be next spring), I will go without the white piping. I ended up buying plant spikes to put around the bed to hold up the bird netting.

The directions are quite simple.

Supplies:

(6) – 2 x 6 x 10 …..I wanted to make mines a little longer

(1) 4 x 4  ….6 foot long

(32)  3in wood screws (may be hard to locate)

(6) plant stakes

(1) pack of bird netting

(10-12) bags of garden soil …..(1 and 1.5 cubic yards) You may need more soil.  I used about 12 bags.

(2) bags of manure to mix with soil

(3) bags of mulch

(1) pack of hardware cloth

(1) pack of labeling stakes

Lots of vegetable packs!

Pre-Directions:

Make sure and have 2 of the 2 x 6 x 10 cut into halves in the store.  We had ours done at Home Depot. Lowes wouldn’t cut thick wood for us. Make sure to cut the 4 x 4 piece into (4) 12 inch long pieces. I have piping on my bed, but I wouldn’t suggest using it.  It didn’t turn out well, in regards, to its use.  It looks good, though. I decided to purchase the long green plant stakes to use instead.

Directions:

1. Set one of the 2 x 6 x 10 upright. Connect it to the side of one of the 12 inch pieces using the 32 inch wooden nail.

2. Then connect the other end of that 2 x 6 x 10 to another piece of a 12 inch piece. Then add one of the 2 x 6 x 12 that was cut in half to each end. Then connect the other 2 x 6 x 12 to the opposite side. You should have a closed end rectangle now.

3. Just repeat same instruction for adding the next layer to make it higher. It’s like having a rectangle nailed on top of another rectangle. The bed is upside down, so you will need to flip it over to show the longer 12 inch pieces extending out.  They will be inserted into the ground later.

4. Dig holes deep enough that the remaining 12 inch post extending out will be inserted into the ground to make the bed lay flat. I cleared grass from the area that I was placing bed first. Then I laid the hardware cloth on ground to keep grass from growing up and to keep out creatures that come up out of the ground.

5. Insert the 12 inch post portion on bed into ground.  Adjust depth of hole if needed.  Fill the holes with dirt around the post.

7. Fill with garden soil.  I mixed the manure into the soil before planting.

8. After planting (label vegetables planted) and watering, I put the plant stakes and netting around the garden bed to keep out birds and rabbits.  The piping didn’t hold my netting up far enough for me.  Don’t forget to put the mulch around the garden bed edges. The green plant stakes worked fabulous, but you can use any type of stakes that will hold up the netting.

Check out pictures of how my garden is looking now after 8 days.  I planted mustard greens, onions, spinach, okra, tomatoes, bell peppers, strawberries, cantaloupe, and broccoli. (I got carried away with planting since this was my first garden). The mustard greens were already sprouting in about 4 days.  Now everything is growing up! I will post more pics as the garden flourishes!

Don’t forget to check back often to see how the garden is growing!