Last year I began a style of gardening which was new to me: Raised Bed Gardening.  I was amazed at how easy it was to maintain, and how many things I was able to grow in such a small area.  I was also surprised at how simple it was to build a raised bed.  This year I decided to add two more raised beds to my yard, so back to the home improvement store I went.

Before you build a raised bed you need to determine the size limitations of your yard.  A flat area that receives a good amount of sunlight each day is key to a successful growing environment.   Decide the dimensions that are appropriate for the space you have available and buy the lumber accordingly.  You don’t want to make the bed more than 4-5 feet wide because you want to be able to reach in to plant and harvest without having to walk in the bed; however, it can be as long as you like and have space available for.

They say nowadays that treated lumber doesn’t contain chemicals, but I made the choice to go with untreated lumber.  Do whatever you personally feel comfortable with.   For my boxes I bought 3 boards which were 16 feet in length and 12 inches wide.  I had the boards cut into four 8 foot boards and four 4-foot boards.  The handy fellows at the store will be more than happy to cut the boards to the lengths that you need and load them into your car.  I also purchased 8 L-shaped brackets and a box of 1 ½ inch length wood screws.  If you don’t have a drill, you may want to borrow one, or you could just use nails although I think wood screws are a sturdier option.

For aesthetic purposes I checked the boards to see which sides had markings or factory print on them and made that the interior side which would be covered by the dirt.

I took each 4 foot board and screwed a bracket mid way up the board on the interior side of the board.  The bracket should be touching the edge of the board on each end of the board, but not going over the end.

I then raised the 8 foot board, made sure the edges lined up so that it would be as square as possible and then screwed the bracket into the longer board.  I repeated that process on each corner and voila it was done!

Next time I will review weed barriers and how I chose my soil.