How to build a raised bed garden
Posted on September 30th, 2008 by kookster
A raised bed garden allows you to have greater control over the soil you are using in your garden. It also puts the garden at a height that is much easier to maintain and work with. Many veggies will thrive in raised beds. Here is how I made mine…
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I started with 4 pieces of wood, 2 are 4 feet long and 2 are 8 feet long. I painted the outside of the wood to make it look more attractive and maybe even seal it from the elements a little bit. I did not paint what would be the inside of the raised bed because I was concerned about paint leeching chemicals into the soil. This is extremely cheap wood and not cedar which is rot resistant. We’ll see how long it lasts. |
| I also bought a 10 foot long ‘post’ that is 2 inches by 2 inches. I cut the posts to the height of the board which will be screwed together to hold the bed together as in the picture below All in all it cost me an entire $34 to build this raised bed garden. I did not use pressure treated wood as the effects of the chemicals used on the wood is not known. |  |
| I spent some time figuring out which area in my backyard got the longest direct sunlight during there day. After determining where the raised bed would go I measured out the size of it and then dug the top layer of grass off the ground. I then dug about 10 inches into the soil to loosen it up |  |
| I put the empty raised bed over the spot where I dug out the grass. I then added a bunch of mushroom compost which I mixed in with the ground soil. I tried to get as close to a 50/50 ratio as possible but it’s definitely a little heavy on the compost side. Mushroom compost is the left over soil that mushroom farmers have after they’ve grown mushrooms. It is very fertile and a GREAT consistency. See this post for some additional info about mushroom compost. Below is the finished product! Just in time for planting some fall garlic and onions! |  |
Filed under: Homesteading, HowTo
Looks great! Wow that compost look rich… very cool, I have never even heard of using that type until I read your blog..
[...] how to build a raised bed garden - a raised bed garden allows you to have greater control over the soil you are using in your garden. it also puts the garden at a height that is much easier to maintain and work with. many veggies will thrive in raised beds. … [...]
This is a really interesting blog post,I have added your blog to my favourites I really like it,keep up the good work!
One thing you need to keep in mind. I built this raised bed for the short term. If you want longevity do not use only 1 inch thick wood or pine. It quickly warps. Use thicker cedar. I just put L brackets on this bed because it’s already starting to bend, which is fine in my scenario because I am renting this house and don’t plan to be here longer than a year or 2
Honestly, if you don’t need to I wouldn’t even used a raised bed, use what nature has given you to garden. Don’t fake it and artificially obfuscate the look of the land with a raised bed. You might not have rich soil and excess moisture to amend to your beds when it comes down to it.
Use what nature gives and NOTHING MORE, if you can.