In today's shaky economic times, everyone is looking to save a little and pinch that penny. We're budgeting on our groceries, yet still watching those food prices go up and up. Why not create your own grocery store in your back yard. Building a raised vegetable garden can be simple, fun, and when grown organically will be far healthier than most of the veggies we get from the chain stores. Plus the feeling of eating what you've grown is priceless.
Getting Started Building a Raised Bed
Plan your Garden:
First off, you should know that building a raised bed to grow your vegetables in is very easy to do. Start by visualizing your garden space. You'll need a sunny spot that you can easily maintain. Be creative in your shape design. Square, rectangular, triangle, or circular, but remember that the desirable height should be 20 to 24" and the width of bed should be 4' so you can reach plants from both sides. This height will cut down on back strain and stepping in your garden when maintaining your veggies.
Choose Your Materials:
Decide what materials you'd like to use to build your garden with. For an organic raised bed vegetable garden, untreated lumber, such as cedar or redwood, or stone is acceptable. Use whatever you like so long as it is a natural or non-toxic building material. Your goal is a material that will hold the soil in place, and hold up through the growing season.
If you choose to use wood, use cedar or redwood because they are...
- untreated and no chemicals will leach into the soil
- naturally rot and insect resistant
- very attractive woods
- lighter and are easier to drill into than some other woods
Cedar and redwood are a bit pricey but hold up to weather good, are rot resistant and age attractively. If you don't like the natural weathered look just stain whatever color you like. If you use treated lumber or paint your wood with an oil-based sealer make sure to line the insides with plastic so no toxins will leach into your garden soil.
Building Your Raised Bed Garden With Wood:
This can be a fun experience for the whole family, but it is also an easy endeavor for a single person. Draw the shape of your garden on the ground. Cut a piece of weed mat (porous landscape fabric) and place it on the footprint of your raised bed. This will significantly cut back on those nasty weeds in your garden.
As shown in the image to the right, use 4x4 lumber for corner posts and 2x10 or 2x12's for sidewalls. Remember, your sidewalls will need to be sturdy enough to hold 24 inches of soil. The posts should extend at least a foot or so below the sidewalls so after installation your raised garden will be sturdy. Use lag screws with washers to connect the sidewalls to the corner posts. Lag screws work better than wood screws for long term sturdiness. You will need a lag screw driver attachment for your drill and/or a socket wrench to tighten the screw all the way. You'll need a table or power saw to cut the wood; after cutting, paint the wood on all sides with an oil-based sealer if you like - but, remember to line the inside with plastic to avoid leaching into your garden soil.
Once you have constructed the raised bed garden structure, you'll have to dig some holes at the corners of your garden plot for the corner posts to go in. After digging the corner post holes, set your raised bed garden structure in place and backfill around the corner posts. Fill your garden with soil. Fill approximately 1/3 of your garden with potting soil and manure compost. You can save money by using native soil from another area of your property to fill the rest. Mix this combination thoroughly.
